Applicants urged to register early for OVW RPPS: SAM.gov, Grants.gov and JustGrants deadlines, budget and MOU rules

OVW presenters used a pre-application webinar to stress that completing account registrations and submitting required forms well before the RPPS deadlines is essential to an eligible application.

"If you don't submit these documents in Grants.gov, then you will not be able to submit the rest of the application in JustGrants," Debbie Tanaka said, reiterating that Grants.gov is the first step in the two-step submission process. OVW recommended applicants submit initial Grants.gov components early because Grants.gov registration can take an average of one week and SAM.gov registration averages two to three weeks.

Kristene Moore, Budget Analyst with OVW's Grants and Financial Management Division (GFMD), highlighted common application omissions that delay review. She said nonprofit applicants must include an IRS 501(c)(3) determination letter if applicable, fully answer all parts of the Pre-Award Risk Assessment (11 questions), and provide an IRS three-step safe-harbor disclosure letter when using the safe-harbor procedure to determine executive compensation. Moore urged applicants to follow sample templates provided in the solicitation and accompanying resources.

Veronika Murrut, Grant Management Specialist, reviewed technical formatting: the Proposal Narrative must be double-spaced (charts may be single-spaced), use Arial font (at least 11 point), fit within an eight-and-a-half-by-eleven-inch page with one-inch margins, include page numbers, and be no more than 20 pages (reviewers will stop reading beyond 20 pages). Accepted file formats are Microsoft Word, PDF, or plain text; applicants must upload components in JustGrants after submitting SF-424 and SF-LLL in Grants.gov.

The webinar also covered Memorandum of Understanding requirements: each application must include a signed MOU showing the partnership's allocation of roles and responsibilities and demonstrating six elements (experience implementing restorative practices; history of collaborating with community-led efforts to address violence against women; history of survivor advocacy; experience screening those who caused harm; experience working with people who caused harm; and willingness to engage with evaluators). Tribal Governments may submit signed Letters of Commitment at application time and must provide MOUs within six months of an award.

Speakers repeatedly urged applicants not to wait until the last minute and suggested submitting components at least 48 hours before each deadline to allow time to correct failed submissions. OVW pointed to additional resources, including a GFMD budgeting webinar, the DOJ Grants Financial Guide, and the FY2024 RPPS solicitation and companion guide, and provided contact emails and a phone number for GFMD helpdesk support.

The webinar moved to Q&A where staff clarified that "existing program" means restorative practices are already implemented and that, except for the applicant, partners do not each need to register in SAM.gov/Grants.gov/JustGrants. On the question of whether a fee-for-service organization may be an MOU partner, staff said such an entity can generally be an MOU partner but asked applicants to email OVW for clarification about paying them with grant funds.