FY25 COPS Blue Alert Program | O COPS 2025 172383

Opportunity Information: Apply for O COPS 2025 172383

The FY25 COPS Blue Alert Program is a U.S. Department of Justice funding opportunity administered by the Office of Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS Office) to strengthen and promote the National Blue Alert Network. The program traces back to the Rafael Ramos and Wenjian Liu National Blue Alert Act of 2015, passed after two New York City police officers were killed in an ambush in 2014. That law directed DOJ to create a voluntary nationwide alert system that can (1) provide early warning of threats against law enforcement, (2) help locate and apprehend suspects who have killed or seriously injured an officer or deputy, and (3) help find an officer who is missing in connection with official duties. The COPS Office implemented the act in 2016 by establishing the National Blue Alert Network, and this FY25 award is meant to support and expand the effectiveness and visibility of that network.

Funding is offered as a discretionary cooperative agreement (meaning the federal government expects to have substantial involvement in the funded work, such as coordination, oversight, or collaboration). The notice anticipates a single award, with an award ceiling of $150,000. The opportunity is listed under CFDA 16.710 and falls within the Law, Justice, and Legal Services activity category. Applications are due by June 24, 2025 (original closing date), under Funding Opportunity Number O-COPS-2025-172383.

The work supported by this cooperative agreement centers on four main objectives. First, it aims to support states that already participate in the National Blue Alert Network, which can include helping those states maintain or improve their ability to issue alerts and share information quickly. Second, it focuses on outreach to states that are not currently participating, with the goal of raising awareness and providing practical education about the Blue Alert system. The NOFO specifically mentions outreach products like an educational video, fact sheets, newsletters, and presentations, suggesting the awardee should be capable of producing clear public-facing and stakeholder-facing materials and distributing them effectively. Third, the awardee is expected to produce monthly summaries of Blue Alert activations across the country, including detailed accounts of heroism tied to Blue Alert events, which implies ongoing collection, verification, and narrative reporting throughout the project period. Fourth, the program calls for research and information gathering to compile accurate and timely details from credible sources on all reported incidents in which on-duty law enforcement officers across the United States, territories, and tribal lands are shot in the line of duty, indicating a major emphasis on careful documentation, quality control, and nationwide scope.

Eligibility is broad and includes public governmental agencies, for-profit (commercial) organizations, nonprofit organizations, institutions of higher education, community groups, and faith-based organizations. A key restriction is that for-profit recipients must forgo any profit or management fee, so the budget should reflect direct allowable costs rather than embedded profit. The COPS Office also allows partnerships, but it requires a single applicant to serve as the primary recipient with overall responsibility for administering the funds, managing the full project, and monitoring compliance. If multiple organizations will help carry out the project, they must be identified as subrecipients under the application, and the award terms and conditions will apply to them as well. The NOFO highlights the importance of properly distinguishing between subawards (financial assistance relationships carrying out part of the project) and contracts (procurement of goods and services), pointing applicants to 2 C.F.R. 200.331 for guidance on making that determination.

Finally, the solicitation notes that awards will align with applicable Executive Orders and Attorney General memoranda tied to the broader federal priority of reestablishing law and order. In the NOFO language, this includes priorities such as hiring and retention of sworn officers, collaboration with federal task forces, addressing open illegal drug use, disrupting fentanyl and other drug distribution, preventing crime, nuisance abatement, countering human trafficking and child smuggling, and enhanced immigration enforcement and border security. It also emphasizes that funding depends on appropriations and may be subject to legal or policy changes. The document frames community policing as "common sense policing" and uses those terms interchangeably, signaling that proposals should be written with that lens in mind while staying tightly focused on Blue Alert Network support, awareness-building, and national incident/activation reporting.

• The Community Oriented Policing Services in the law, justice and legal services sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "FY25 COPS Blue Alert Program" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 16.710.
• This funding opportunity was created on 2025-05-14.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2025-06-24. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
• Each selected applicant is eligible to receive up to $150,000.00 in funding.
• The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 1 candidate(s).
• Eligible applicants include: Others.

Apply for O COPS 2025 172383

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