Slots: 1
Deadlines
Internal Deadline: Friday, July 11th, 2025, 5pm PT Closed.
LOI: (Non-binding LOIs due March 14, 2025)
External Deadline: August 18, 2025
Award Information
Award Type: Grant
Total Estimated Available Funding: $103,000,000
Link to Award: https://www.grants.ca.gov/grants/california-violence-intervention-prevention-cohort-5/
Process for Limited Submissions
PIs must submit their application as a Limited Submission through the Research Initiatives and Infrastructure (RII) Application Portal: https://rii.usc.edu/oor-portal/. Use the template provided here: RII Limited Submission Applicant Template
Materials to submit include:
- (1) Two-Page Proposal Summary (1” margins; single-spaced; standard font type, e.g. Arial, Helvetica, Times New Roman, or Georgia typeface; font size: 11 pt). Page limit includes references and illustrations. Pages that exceed the 2-page limit will be excluded from review. You must use the template linked above.
- (2) CV – (5 pages maximum)
Note: The portal requires information about the PIs in addition to department and contact information, including the 10-digit USC ID#. Please have this material prepared before beginning this application.
Purpose
Formerly known as the California Gang Reduction, Intervention & Prevention (CalGRIP) Grant Program, the State Legislature established the California Violence Intervention and Prevention (CalVIP) Grant Program in Fiscal Year (FY) 2017-18. CalVIP encouraged jurisdictions to develop local approaches that would meet the diverse needs of each community. In 2019, the CalVIP grant was codified as the Break the Cycle of Violence Act (Chapter 735, Statutes of 2019) and established the authority and duties of the BSCC to administer CalVIP, including the selection criteria for grants and reporting requirements to the Legislature. The BSCC has now administered four rounds of CalVIP funding, providing more than $250 million toward local violence intervention and prevention efforts.
Assembly Bill (AB) 762 (Chapter 241, Statutes of 2023) made additional changes to the CalVIP program, specifying that the purpose of the program is to support effective community gun violence reduction initiatives in communities that are disproportionately impacted by community gun violence. It expands the CalVIP program to include counties that have within their jurisdiction one or more cities disproportionately impacted by community gun violence and tribal governments. Up to now, the grant has been available only to California cities and the community-based organizations that serve them. AB 762 increases the maximum grant amount to $2.5 million per year and requires BSCC to make at least 20 percent of a grantee’s total award available at the start of the grant period.
Historically, the CalVIP program has been funded by the General Fund, at $9 million per year, with several one-time augmentations. Commencing July 1, 2024, Assembly Bill 28 (Chapter 231, Statutes of 2023), also known as the Gun Violence Prevention and School Safety Act, imposes an excise tax in the amount of 11 percent of the gross receipts from the retail sale in California of a firearm, firearm precursor part, and ammunition. Revenues collected from this fund will be deposited in the Gun Violence Prevention and School Safety Fund and the first $75 million available in the fund, or as much of that amount as is available, shall be continuously appropriated annually to BSCC for the CalVIP Grant Program.
Mental Health to Frontline Workers and their Families
Additionally, AB 762 authorizes the BSCC to reserve up to five percent of CalVIP funds annually for the purpose of supporting programs and activities designed to build and sustain capacity in the field of community gun violence intervention and prevention. It includes provisions allowing these funds to be used for mental health support and other services in order to recruit, retain, and sustain frontline professionals, and mental health services or financial assistance to families of professionals killed or injured in their work. The CalVIP Executive Steering Committee has set aside a portion of the five percent, in the amount of $2 million, for this mental health component.
These funds may be used to support supplemental mental health support and other services for frontline professionals and their families. Frontline professionals are defined as employees of community-based organizations working directly with the target population. These funds may be used for the following types of activities: teambuilding activities, staff retreats, counseling services or support groups, and/or digital tools such as teletherapy platforms, mental health apps, digital therapeutics, text-based helplines, and virtual reality therapy. Before expending these supplemental funds, grantees will be required to submit a plan and receive approval from BSCC.
Applicants interested in receiving a portion of these supplemental mental health funds will be prompted to check the appropriate box in the Submittable Application Portal. Once the results of the competitive process are finalized, the $2 million will be allocated across all successful applicants. It is estimated that each grantee will receive up to approximately 1.5 percent of their total grant award.
Visit our Institutionally Limited Submission webpage for more updates and other announcements.