Find funding for the training your team needs.

Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant (JAG)

Best for: Criminal justice training, contractual support, planning and evaluation

The leading federal formula justice program expressly includes training, technical assistance and contractual support across law enforcement, prosecution, courts, corrections and related justice functions.

Next move — Check the agency’s direct local allocation and the state administering agency’s pass-through cycle. Tie training to a documented justice problem and the state’s current priorities.

COPS Office grant programs

Best for: Community policing, school safety and program-specific law enforcement priorities

The COPS Office publishes program-specific notices. Training may fit when it is an allowable and necessary part of the exact community-policing, school-safety or implementation objective.

Next move — Start with the current notice. Confirm applicant eligibility, allowable costs, match requirements and whether training is central to the approved project.

BJA STOP School Violence Program

Best for: Threat assessment, intervention teams and school-personnel training

Eligible projects can include evidence-based training for school personnel and multidisciplinary threat assessment or intervention teams.

Next move — Use only when your proposed Wicklander-Zulawski training directly supports the notice’s school-violence prevention outcomes. Generic professional development is not enough.

OVC and state VOCA assistance

Best for: Victim-centered and trauma-informed capability tied to direct victim services

VOCA assistance is administered by state agencies and is centered on direct services to victims. Limited training can be allowable when it is necessary, reasonable and directly connected to those services.

Next move — Ask the state VOCA administrator before budgeting. Define the direct-service benefit and do not position a prevention-only or general law-enforcement course as a VOCA project.

Homeland Security Grant Program (HSGP)

Best for: Preparedness capabilities aligned to state and urban-area strategies

HSGP funds flow largely through state and urban-area structures. Training must support an approved preparedness capability, investment justification and threat or hazard priority.

Next move — Coordinate with the state administrative agency or urban-area working group before designing the request. Confirm the course, backfill, travel and exercise costs are allowable.

DHS Targeted Violence and Terrorism Prevention (TVTP)

Best for: Multidisciplinary prevention, behavioral threat assessment and referral capacity

TVTP supports sustainable local prevention capacity. A training component can fit when it is embedded in a broader multidisciplinary prevention model with privacy, civil-rights and evaluation safeguards.

Next move — Build a partner-led project around prevention capability and measurable outcomes; do not submit a stand-alone course purchase as the entire project.

Emergency Management Performance Grant (EMPG)

Best for: Emergency-management planning, training and exercises

EMPG supports the national emergency-management system through state-administered planning, organization, equipment, training and exercise activities.

Next move — Work through the state emergency-management agency and connect the proposed training to an approved emergency-management capability and work plan.

Assistance to Firefighters Grant (AFG)

Best for: Fire and emergency-services training tied to responder safety and capability

AFG can support training and resources for firefighters and emergency personnel. Fit depends on the current notice and a direct connection to responder or operational safety.

Next move — Use the current AFG notice and FEMA help resources to test the exact training activity. Avoid assuming that a general interviewing course qualifies.

State JAG and public-safety pass-through funds

Best for: State-priority justice initiatives and local subawards

States decide how to distribute a significant share of federal justice funds. These cycles can be more practical for local agencies than a direct federal competition.

Next move — Find the designated state administering agency, subscribe to its notices and ask whether training is eligible under the current state strategy.

State POST, standards and training reimbursement

Best for: Peace-officer continuing education and approved course reimbursement

Many states operate course-approval, tuition, travel or reimbursement mechanisms through a POST or law-enforcement standards body. Rules and eligible audiences vary widely.

Next move — Ask the agency training manager and the state POST body about course approval, instructor requirements, rosters, evaluation records and reimbursement windows before enrollment.

State homeland-security and emergency-management subawards

Best for: Locally delivered preparedness projects

States and urban areas publish their own schedules, investment priorities and application processes for federal preparedness funds.

Next move — Contact the state administrative agency or emergency-management office early. A local deadline is often earlier than FEMA’s recipient deadline.

Local budget, insurer and risk-pool support

Best for: Risk reduction, claims prevention and annual training plans

Not every viable funding source is a grant. Department training budgets, enterprise-risk funds, insurers and public-entity risk pools may support training that addresses documented loss or liability exposure.

Next move — Bring a short risk case: recent incidents, claims themes, audit findings, policy gaps, expected behavior change and how results will be measured.

Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA)

Best for: Eligible job seekers, dislocated workers and employer-connected training

Local workforce boards and American Job Centers administer training assistance. Individual Training Accounts generally require the program to appear on a state Eligible Training Provider List.

Next move — We are evaluating ETPL approval in priority states. Ask an American Job Center whether your career plan and the exact program qualify before enrolling.

Motorola Solutions Foundation

Best for: Nonprofit-led first-responder programming, leadership and community safety

The foundation makes strategic grants with a narrow focus on first-responder programming and technology and engineering education.

Next move — A qualified nonprofit partner should lead the request. Test alignment to the current annual cycle and avoid treating the foundation as a general agency training fund.

Walmart Spark Good Local Grants

Best for: Small, place-based nonprofit, school and eligible government projects

Local grants are typically small and tied to the service area of a Walmart or Sam’s Club facility. Eligibility and application cycles are published in the current guidelines.

Next move — Use for a tightly scoped local need or as a match component. Do not rely on it as the core financing plan for a large training deployment.

State Farm community grants

Best for: Eligible nonprofit projects connected to safety or community development

State Farm describes safety and community-development priorities, including crime, disaster preparedness and community resilience. Access and fit depend on the current grant process.

Next move — Use a nonprofit-led community outcome and verify current access rules. Do not assume an agency training purchase is independently eligible.

Community foundations and regional philanthropy

Best for: Locally defined safety, workforce and victim-service priorities

Community foundations often fund geographically specific priorities. Candid can help identify funders that have supported similar organizations and projects.

Next move — Search by location, mission and comparable grantees. Government agencies may need an eligible nonprofit or foundation partner and a clear public-benefit structure.

Certification exam reimbursement

Confirm the exact CFI or other credentialing exam in VA’s live tool. Approval for an exam does not cover every related course.

Approved certification-prep course

Confirm both the approved credential and the exact preparation course. Keep proof of enrollment and payment and use VA’s current reimbursement instructions.

Approved Wicklander-Zulawski program

We must complete State Approving Agency and VA school processes before describing any program as eligible. Approval is specific to the program and delivery format.

VR&E, military credentialing or workforce support

A counselor-approved VR&E plan, Army Credentialing Assistance, WIOA or employer/agency reimbursement may be a better fit and preserve GI Bill entitlement.