The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced the award recipients for the Countering Violent Extremism (CVE) Grant Program today.
These grants support community-led initiatives across the country to combat all forms of violent extremism, including the rising threat from Islamist terrorism.
“We are witnessing a global surge in terrorist activity, and in many ways our own backyard has become the battleground,” said Secretary of Homeland Security John F. Kelly.
“That is why DHS is focused on stepping up efforts to counter terrorist recruitment and radicalization, including through close collaboration with state and local partners.”
“Shortly, after starting at DHS, I requested a thorough policy review of the CVE Grant Program to ensure taxpayer dollars go to programs with the highest likelihood of success, that support the men and women on the front lines of this fight, and that can be self-sustaining into the future.”
“We will closely monitor these efforts to identify and amplify promising approaches to prevent terrorism.”
DHS awarded $10 million to 26 local law enforcement and community organizations.
DHS received nearly 200 applications, from 40 states and territories and the District of Columbia, including 106 non-university non-profits, 60 state and local government organizations, and 31 universities.
Background
In December 2015, Congress appropriated $10 million for the Department of Homeland Security to award grants to state and local governments, universities and non-profit organizations in order to assist local communities in their own efforts to counter violent extremism.
These grants are the first of their kind in the United States, and as DHS oversees and evaluates the performance of each grant, we will broaden our understanding of how to best advance DHS’s terrorism prevention mission, especially in light of the uptick in homegrown terrorist activity.
- The grants are structured around five focus areas:
- Developing community resilience to violent extremism recruitment
- Training for, and engagement with, local partners tackling the challenge of violent extremism
- Support for programs that intervene in the radicalization process to “off-ramp” potentially radicalized individuals
- Challenging extremists’ narratives, and
- Building the capacity of local partners to sustainably address issues related to violent extremism
Awardees are required to affirm acceptance of the grants and agree to terms and conditions, such as providing performance data.
Awardees by Category and Areas Served
Developing Resilience
- Heartland Democracy Center: $423,340 (Minneapolis, MN)
- Nashville International Center for Empowerment: $445,110 (Nashville, TN)
- Peace Catalyst International: $95,000 (nationwide)
- Police Foundation: $484,835 (Boston, MA)
- Seattle Police Department: $409,390 (Seattle, WA)
- Tuesday’s Children: $386,670 (nationwide)
Training and Engagement
- City of Arlington Police Department: $47,497 (Arlington, TX)
- City of Dearborn Police Department: $51,521 (Dearborn, MI)
- City of Houston Office of Public Safety & Homeland Security: $500,000 (Houston, TX)
- Denver Police Department: $481,313 (Denver, CO)
- Global Peace Foundation: $453,497 (statewide, NJ)
- Hennepin County Sheriff’s Office: $347,600 (Minneapolis, MN)
- Illinois Criminal Justice Information Authority: $187,877 (statewide, IL)
- National Consortium for Advanced Policing: $200,000 (nationwide)
- National Governors Association (NGA) Center for Best Practices: $500,000 (nationwide)
- Nebraska Emergency Management Agency: $300,000 (Lincoln, NE)
Managing Interventions
- Alameda County Sheriff’s Office: $499,125 (Alameda, CA)
- City of Los Angeles Mayor’s Office of Public Safety: $425,000 (Los Angeles, CA)
- Crisis Intervention of Houston, Inc.: $500,000 (Houston, TX)
- Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department: $500,000 (Las Vegas, NV)
- Massachusetts Executive Office of Public Safety and Security: $500,000 (statewide, MA)
Challenging the Narrative
- America Abroad Media: $647,546 (nationwide)
- Masjid Muhammad, Inc.: $531,195 (nationwide)
- Rochester Institute of Technology: $149,955 (statewide, NY)
Building Capacity
- The Counter Extremism Project: $298,760 (nationwide)
- University of San Diego: $634,769 (San Diego, CA)
The Notice of Funding Opportunity for this program can be found at Grants.gov.
The Department’s efforts to partner with communities are a part of its terrorism prevention mission.
These grants will help communities identify and counter terrorist recruitment and radicalization, including deterring individuals before they engage in criminal behavior or terrorist plotting.
Among other activities, these DHS investments will help foster counter narratives to push back against terrorist messaging and will assist local law enforcement in building the trust needed to intervene in time to keep young people from going down the path toward violence.
The grant program was created by Congress in December 2015, and it will be executed by the DHS Office for Community Partnerships, in conjunction with the Federal Emergency Management Agency, which will ensure the public funds are used appropriately.
For more information on the CVE Grant Program, visit https://www.dhs.gov/countering-violent-extremism.
