California Baptist University

California Baptist University, a private non-profit educational institution headquartered in Riverside, California, operates as a prime recipient of federal grants supporting STEM education, student retention, and substance-abuse prevention programs, with supplementary subcontract engagement in defense research and technology integration services. The university does not hold federal prime contracts but receives grant awards from the Department of Education, the National Science Foundation, the Department of Health and Human Services, and the Department of Defense, positioning it primarily within the federal grant ecosystem rather than the federal contracting market.

CBU's customer concentration aligns heavily with education and workforce development. The Department of Education's Office of Postsecondary Education has funded 8 awards across the source snapshot; the Office of the Secretary of Defense, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and the Health Resources and Services Administration each account for 2 to 3 awards. These top agencies represent 77% of CBU's recent award count. Recent grant work spans four years to four decades in duration and includes a $1.9 million Project Grant from the Education Department under the Fund for the Improvement of Postsecondary Education (CFDA 84.116) effective through December 2029, supporting academic readiness and retention initiatives; a $500,000 National Science Foundation grant under the NSF STEM Education program (CFDA 47.076) awarded May 15, 2024, for the "3 PASOS (3 STEPS) PROGRAM" targeting recruitment and retention of underrepresented STEM students through research opportunities and mentorship; the "Preparados Para el Exito" grant from the Education Department's Office of Postsecondary Education (October 2023 through September 2025); and a Department of Health and Human Services grant supporting the Healthy Jurupa Valley Coalition STOP Act Alcohol Prevention Project (September 2022 through September 2026), a community partnership addressing youth substance-abuse prevention in Riverside County.

CBU subcontracts on defense research and technology-integration work. The university has placed task orders under the One Acquisition Solution for Integrated Services (OASIS) vehicle—three task orders across the source window—and holds subcontract awards under HII Mission Technologies Corp for technology-integrated services to the Naval Surface Warfare Center and National Security Innovation Network (awarded January 2024, July 2024, and January 2026), supporting NSIN mission-partner engagement, Tech Bridge programming, and SBIR/STTR outreach. CBU also subcontracts with the University of Montana on a defense advanced warfighter physiology research effort applying biometrics and body-worn sensors to injury-risk reduction, covering physiological assessment and heat-stress response modeling over an extended data-collection period.

Activity remains modest but has accelerated in recent years—one award in 2022 and 2023, four in 2024, declining to one in 2025, with two in 2026 year to date. Combined obligated dollars across all awards total $62.1 million. Only one award completes in the next twenty-four months, limiting near-term recompete exposure. CBU's grant portfolio centers on student success, STEM broadening participation, and community health outcomes; its subcontract work targets applied research and technology-integration support routed through established defense contractors rather than direct Defense Department prime positions.