Drug-Free Communities (DFC) Support Program - NEW (Year 1) | CDC RFA CE 24 0050

Opportunity Information: Apply for CDC RFA CE 24 0050

The Drug-Free Communities (DFC) Support Program - NEW (Year 1) is a federal discretionary grant opportunity designed to help community coalitions prevent and reduce youth substance use. The program was established under the Drug-Free Communities Act of 1997 (Public Law 105-20) and is administered through a partnership between the Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP) and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), National Center for Injury Prevention and Control (NCIPC) serving as the accepting agency for applications under this notice of funding opportunity. The core idea behind the program is that lasting prevention outcomes are more likely when local sectors work together in a structured, coordinated way rather than operating as isolated programs.

The stated purpose of the DFC Support Program is to establish and strengthen collaboration that supports community coalitions focused on preventing youth substance use. By law, the program emphasizes two main goals. First, it aims to build and reinforce collaboration across a community, bringing together public and private nonprofit entities along with federal, state, local, and tribal governments to support coalition-led efforts to prevent and reduce substance use among youth age 18 and under. Second, it seeks to reduce substance use among youth and, over time, reduce substance use among adults by addressing local conditions that contribute to substance use, including reducing risk factors and strengthening protective factors within the community. In practice, this means funding is intended to support coalition-driven planning, coordination, and community-level prevention strategies that change environments, norms, and systems, not just individual behavior.

Eligibility is centered on community-based coalitions that address youth substance use and have not previously received a DFC grant, making this specifically a Year 1 entry point for new DFC-funded communities. A key requirement is that the applicant must be a legally recognized domestic entity located in the United States or U.S. territories. The legal applicant can be the coalition itself, an organization applying on behalf of the coalition, or an applicant coalition, as long as it meets the program rules. Applicants generally need to be a nonprofit recognized by the IRS as a 501(c) organization, or another entity the Administrator considers appropriate, including entities that are part of or associated with an established, legally recognized domestic public or private nonprofit organization. The opportunity lists a broad range of eligible applicant types, including state, county, and city or township governments; special district governments; independent school districts; institutions of higher education (public and private); federally recognized tribal governments; tribal organizations; nonprofits with 501(c)(3) status (and certain nonprofits without 501(c)(3) status); and other unrestricted entities, as long as the applicant structure satisfies the DFC legal applicant requirements described in the notice.

For this opportunity, a coalition is defined in a very specific way: it is a community-based, formal arrangement for cooperation and collaboration among multiple community groups or sectors where each participating group keeps its own identity, but all agree to work together toward the shared goal of building a safe, healthy, and drug-free community. This definition matters because it signals that the program is not aimed at a single organization running a standalone prevention project. Instead, it is intended to fund coordinated, multi-sector community prevention efforts that align partners around shared objectives and mutually reinforcing activities.

Key administrative details from the notice include the funding opportunity number CDC-RFA-CE-24-0050 and the CFDA number 93.276, with CDC NCIPC listed as the issuing agency. The original application closing date is April 17, 2024. The award ceiling is $125,000, and the agency anticipates making about 100 awards. The funding instrument type is a grant, and the funding activity category is health, reflecting the program focus on prevention and community health outcomes tied to youth substance use.

Overall, this grant is best understood as a startup funding opportunity for coalitions that are ready to formalize or deepen cross-community collaboration and implement evidence-informed, community-level prevention approaches aimed at reducing youth substance use and shifting the underlying community conditions that contribute to it.

• The Centers for Disease Control - NCIPC in the health sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Drug-Free Communities (DFC) Support Program - NEW (Year 1)" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 93.276.
• This funding opportunity was created on 2024-02-15.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2024-04-17. (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 $125,000.00 in funding.
• The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 100 candidate(s).
• Eligible applicants include: State governments, County governments, City or township governments, Special district governments, Independent school districts, Public and State controlled institutions of higher education, Native American tribal governments (Federally recognized), Native American tribal organizations (other than Federally recognized tribal governments), Nonprofits having a 501 (c) (3) status with the IRS, other than institutions of higher education, Nonprofits that do not have a 501 (c) (3) status with the IRS, other than institutions of higher education, Private institutions of higher education, Others, Unrestricted.

Apply for CDC RFA CE 24 0050

[Watch] Creating a grant proposal using the step-by-step wizard inside the applicant portal: