Nonproliferation and Disarmament Fund

The Department of State Bureau of International Security and Nonproliferation administers the Nonproliferation and Disarmament Fund (CFDA 19.224), which funds weapons of mass destruction threat reduction, nonproliferation capacity building, and disarmament implementation activities worldwide, with the most recent award issued in February 2026.

The program remains active with recent funding velocity showing 15 awards in 2024 and declining to 2 in 2025 and 1 in 2026 to date, reflecting a shift in operational tempo rather than program closure. Awarded activities span biological threat reduction, nuclear security and nonproliferation, chemical weapons convention implementation, artificial intelligence security safeguards, and conventional weapons elimination. Recent grants have funded biosafety and biosecurity laboratory practices development, investigations of suspected chemical and biological weapons attacks in Syria, enforcement of UN Security Council Resolution 1540 in Africa and the Indo-Pacific, nucleic acid synthesis screening security standards, cybersecurity training for international AI developers, and capacity building for pathogen detection networks in Southeast Asia and the Middle East.

The program is predominantly Project Grants, which represent 70 percent of awards, with Cooperative Agreements making up the remaining 30 percent. The Department of State Bureau of International Security and Nonproliferation funds 44 awards representing $47.7 million in federal dollars obligated; the Bureau of Arms Control Verification and Compliance and Bureau of Diplomatic Security each fund a smaller share. Combined federal obligation across 46 awards totals $49.7 million, with recipients contributing an additional $5.6 million in cost-share, bringing total obligation to $55.3 million. Award magnitudes range from under $100 thousand to $5.9 million; recent representative awards include $2.2 million to the White Helmets for documenting violations in Syria, $1.6 million to the OPCW Technical Secretariat for Syria-focused missions, and $999 thousand to strengthen nucleic acid synthesis screening security.

Multiple grant opportunities are currently open. A Cooperative Agreement solicitation closed July 23, 2026 to advance civilian nuclear power development in Türkiye and counter proliferation risks from non-U.S. reactors. Another Cooperative Agreement opportunity (due July 21, 2026) solicits proposals to identify and develop safeguards against chemical and biological AI model misuse risks. A third opportunity (due July 1, 2026) seeks event management support for the 2027 Multilateral Action on Sensitive Technologies Plenary, open to U.S.-based nonprofits only. Earlier-posted opportunities from late 2024 targeting biological weapons threat reduction priorities have closed.