The Executive Office of the President's Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP), and the Department of Health and Human Services' (HHS) Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) are accepting applications for Fiscal Year (FY) 2025 Drug-Free Communities (DFC) Support Program grants.

Purpose

The purpose of the DFC Support Program, administered within the CDC by the National Center for Injury Prevention and Control; NCIPC, is to support the efforts of community coalitions to prevent youth substance use.  The Drug-Free Communities Act of 1997 (Public Law 105-20) set forth two statutory goals for the DFC Support Program:

1. Establish and strengthen collaboration among communities, public and private non-profit agencies, as well as federal, state, local, and tribal governments to prevent and reduce substance abuse among youth (individuals 18 years of age and younger); and

2. Promote factors in a community that minimize the risk of substance abuse while mitigating factors that increase the risk of substance abuse to reduce substance abuse among adults over time.

Eligible Entities

To be eligible for this opportunity, the applicant must be a Community Coalition or a Fiscal Agent that accepts federal funding on behalf of the aforesaid Community Coalition.

Community Coalitions are 501(c)(3) organizations that meet the following DFC statutory eligibility requirements:

1. Members have worked together for six months or longer primarily to prevent Youth from using two or more identified substances.

2. Twelve "sectors" of society are represented:  Youth (18 years or less), Parent (legal caretaker), Business, Media (print, digital or social), School, Youth-Serving Organization, Religious or Fraternal Organization, Law Enforcement, Civic Group, Healthcare Professional, State, Local, or Tribal Governmental Agency with Substance Use Expertise, and Other Organization involved in reducing substance use.

3. Matching funds (cash or in-kind) from non-federal sources are available in the amount of the grant (100 percent).

 

A Fiscal Agent must be one of the following organizations:

• • • • • Independent school district
        • Public, State-controlled and Private institution of higher education
        • Nonprofit with or without a 501(c)(3) status with the IRS
        • State, County, City, Township, or Special District government
        • For-profit organization
        • Native American tribal organization

Eligible Activities

Over the five-year project period, entities must work with the 12 required sectors (above) to carry out evidence- and practice- based Prevention Strategies such as the following:

1. Providing information about youth substance use (e.g., educational presentations, workshops or seminars, and data or media presentations like public service announcements (PSAs), brochures, town halls, forums, web communication, social media);

2. Building social skills and decision-making capabilities among youth, adults, and community members (e.g., workshops, seminars, training and technical assistance, parenting classes, strategic planning retreats, and model programs in schools);

3. Increasing opportunities that reduce risk factors or enhance protective factors for youth and young adults (e.g., mentoring, referrals for services, support groups, and youth clubs);

4. Increasing access to and connections between systems and services that help prevent youth substance use (e.g., better transportation, housing, education, safety, recreational facilities, and culturally-sensitive prevention initiatives);

5. Incentivizing positive practices (e.g., recognizing helpful actors such as businesses and publicizing counterproductive actors);

6. Changing the physical design of the community to reduce the risk for and enhance protection against youth substance use (e.g., rerouting foot and car traffic, adjusting park hours, and reducing the number and location of places where people can access alcohol or tobacco); and

7. Educate and inform about policies that reduce access and availability to substances among youth  (e.g., written procedures, by-laws, proclamations, rules, or laws, to the extent that applicable law and policies allow).

Award

Estimated Total Program Funding, 5-year Project Period: $31,250,000
Expected Total Program Funding, 1- year Budget Period: $6,250,000
Expected Awards: 50
Funding Range per Applicant, 1-year Budget Period: Up to $125,000
Expected Average Award Amount, 1=year Budget Period: $125,000

Cost Sharing:  Yes

Important Dates

Deadline to Submit Applications:  May 05, 2025, 11:59 ET

Expected Award Date:  August 29, 2025

Expected Start Date, 5-Year Project Period:  September 30, 2025

Next Steps

If you have difficulty accessing the full announcement electronically, please contact Christi Jones at dfc_nofo@cdc.gov.

You must submit your application through Grants.gov. Refer to the get registered information if needed. For instructions on how to submit in Grants.gov, see the Quick Start Guide for Applicants. Make sure your application passes the Grants.gov validation checks. Do not encrypt, zip, or password-protect any files.

Electronically submitted applications must be submitted no later than 11:59 pm ET on May 5, 2025.