Matthew Shepard and James Byrd, Jr. Hate Crimes Education, Investigation and Prosecution Program
Active
- Assistance listing
- 16.040
- Agency
-
Bureau of Justice Assistance
Office of Justice Programs, Department of Justice
- Grant awards
- 41 $34,937,321 in federal obligations
Program facts
- Also known as
- Shepard and Byrd Hate Crimes Program
- Assistance types
-
- Project Grant
- Cooperative Agreement
- Treasury account
-
- 15-0404-0-1-754
- More information
Program details come from SAM.gov Assistance Listings. Updated . Grant award figures come from USAspending.gov.
About this program
The Department of Justice Office of Justice Programs Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA) funds state, local, and tribal law enforcement and prosecution agencies through the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd, Jr. Hate Crimes Education, Investigation and Prosecution Program (CFDA 16.040) to identify, investigate, prosecute, and prevent hate crimes, with the most recent award issued October 1, 2024, and an open FY25 solicitation due April 27, 2026.
The program finances concrete investigative and prosecutorial capacity-building across jurisdictions responding to documented increases in hate crime incidents. Recent funded projects support hiring dedicated hate crime prosecutors, analysts, victim advocates, and community outreach coordinators; conducting specialized training for law enforcement and prosecutors on investigation and bias identification; establishing hate crime task forces and multidisciplinary teams; launching public awareness and community education campaigns; procuring surveillance and monitoring technology to support investigations; and developing victim services and reporting infrastructure. A representative 2024 award to Montgomery County, Maryland ($2 million) funded dedicated hate crime analyst positions, annual staff training, and security cameras for religious institutions and vulnerable locations. Alameda County, California received $2 million in 2024 for prevention and vertical prosecution demonstrating culturally responsive victim services. Graham County Attorney's Office in Arizona was awarded $600 thousand in 2024 to deliver statewide training for law enforcement, prosecutors, and victim advocates across 15 in-person sessions and 16 webinars addressing investigation and victim support.
Award activity has remained steady over the past four years, with nine awards in 2024 following sixteen in 2023, six in 2022, and ten in 2021. The program obligated $34.9 million in combined federal dollars across 41 awards since 2021. Project Grants constitute 98 percent of the assistance mix, with one Cooperative Agreement (the training and technical assistance provider awarded $3.1 million). BJA funds 39 of 41 awards totaling $33.3 million; the National Institute of Justice funds two research awards at $1.7 million. Individual award sizes range from $300 thousand to $2 million for most prosecution and law enforcement projects, with recent awards clustering between $400 thousand and $2 million for four-year performance periods. All awards carry 48-month performance periods with no-cost extensions available upon meeting specific criteria.
Two active FY25 solicitations remain open: the primary Matthew Shepard and James Byrd, Jr. Hate Crimes Program (solicitation O-BJA-2025-172491, due April 27, 2026) seeks applications from state, local, and tribal law enforcement and prosecution agencies and their partners; an earlier FY25 solicitation (O-BJA-2025-172359, due April 17, 2025) is also posted. Both invite outreach, education, victim reporting enhancements, and investigation and prosecution work on hate crimes based on race, color, religion, national origin, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity, or disability. Applicant eligibility is broad and includes state and local government entities, tribal governments, nonprofit organizations, and research institutions depending on project category.
Objective and description
- Objective
Program goal(s) name: Improve investigation and prosecution of hate crimes. Program goal(s) description: Support state, local, and tribal law enforcement and prosecution agencies in their efforts to better identify, investigate, and prosecute hate c
- Description
AL description: This program supports state, local, and tribal law enforcement agencies, prosecution agencies, and their partners in identifying, investigating, prosecuting, and preventing hate crimes. Funding may be used to provide technical, forensic, prosecutorial, or any other form of assistance in the criminal investigation or prosecution of such crimes and can also be used to address serial violent hate crime offenses by the same person(s).
Eligibility
- Length and time phasing of assistance
Award period is 48 months.
How to apply
- Criteria for selecting proposals
Criteria for selecting proposals is determined as part of the notice of funding opportunity (NOFO).
- Award procedure
All final award decisions will be made by the Assistant Attorney General, unless a statute explicitly authorizes award decisions by another official or there is written delegation of authority to another official. For successful applicants, JustGrants will send a system-generated email to the Application Submitter, Authorized Representative, and Entity Administrator with information on accessing their official award package in JustGrants. The award package will include key information (such as funding amount and period of performance) as well as award conditions that must be followed. The Authorized Representative for the entity should accept or decline the award within 45 days of the notification.
- Deadlines
Deadlines are included with the application instructions available at the Office of Justice Programs web site (https://www.ojp.gov/funding/explore/current-funding-opportunities).
- Time to approval or disapproval
The review procedure for applications is specified in the notice of funding opportunity (NOFO) and generally includes eligibility and responsiveness, merit, programmatic, budget, and risk reviews.
- Renewals
In some cases, award periods may be extended if specific criteria are met. For details, please review the discussion of no-cost extensions in the Criteria for Award Extension section of the Department of Justice Grants Financial Guide available at https://www.ojp.gov/funding/financialguidedoj/overview
Grant opportunities
Show all 14
Grant awards
Latest 10 of 41 listed here. See the rest on GovTribe.
Top recipients by federal obligations
| Rank | Recipient | Federal obligations | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | The Institute For Intergovernmental Research, Inc. | $3,094,328 | 9% |
| 2 | New Jersey Department Of Law & Public Safety | $2,643,314 | 8% |
| 3 | County Of Alameda | $2,000,000 | 6% |
| 4 | Montgomery County, Maryland | $2,000,000 | 6% |
| 5 | The Regents Of The University Of Colorado | $1,999,939 | 6% |
| 6 | County Of LOS Angeles | $1,600,000 | 5% |
| 7 | County Of Orange | $1,600,000 | 5% |
| 8 | Miami-Dade County | $1,600,000 | 5% |
| 9 | State Of IL Attorney General | $1,300,000 | 4% |
| 10 | County Of Cook | $1,200,000 | 3% |
10 of 39 recipients listed here. See the rest on GovTribe.
Federal obligations by fiscal year
| Fiscal year | Federal obligations |
|---|---|
| FY2026 | -$130,990 |
| FY2025 | -$300,000 |
| FY2024 | $9,396,253 |
| FY2023 | $19,582,462 |
| FY2022 | $5,894,328 |
Quick answers
What is Assistance Listing 16.040?
Assistance Listing 16.040 is Matthew Shepard and James Byrd, Jr. Hate Crimes Education, Investigation and Prosecution Program, a federal grant program run by Bureau of Justice Assistance (Office of Justice Programs).
What is the CFDA number for Matthew Shepard and James Byrd, Jr. Hate Crimes Education, Investigation and Prosecution Program?
Its CFDA number is 16.040: Assistance Listing numbers were called CFDA numbers before 2018.
How much funding has Assistance Listing 16.040 awarded?
41 grant awards under 16.040 have obligated $34,937,321 in federal funds to 39 recipients.
Who receives the most funding from 16.040?
The recipients obligated the most under Matthew Shepard and James Byrd, Jr. Hate Crimes Education, Investigation and Prosecution Program are The Institute For Intergovernmental Research, Inc. ($3,094,328), New Jersey Department Of Law & Public Safety ($2,643,314) and County Of Alameda ($2,000,000).
How much did 16.040 obligate in fiscal year 2025?
Grants under 16.040 obligated -$300,000 in federal funds in fiscal year 2025.
Are there open grant opportunities under 16.040?
No opportunity listed under 16.040 is open now. The latest, BJA FY25 Matthew Shepard and James Byrd, Jr. Hate Crimes Program, was posted on March 27, 2026.
On GovTribe
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