The Department of Homeland Security announced Wednesday that it will award $10 million to organizations that want to get involved in counterterrorism efforts, according to grants.gov.
The fiscal year 2016 Countering Violent Extremism grant will be awarded to 60 organizations with an award amount ranging from $20,000 to $2 million.
DHS noted that in 2015, Congress passed the Department of Homeland Security Appropriations Act, which provided $10 million for a “countering violent extremism (CVE) initiative to help states and local communities prepare for, prevent, and respond to emergent threats from violent extremism.”
The DHS grant summary states that there is an “evolving landscape of international and domestic terrorism” in which extremist groups encourage people to “commit violence wherever they happen to be in the name of their cause.”
As such, DHS has declared counterterrorism efforts a “priority area of emphasis.”
The grant intends to support programs that prevent recruitment and radicalization in part by engaging community members and “challenging the narrative.”
DHS will also support efforts by U.S.-based organizations that are interfering with violent extremists’ online recruitment initiatives that specifically target people in the U.S.
Organizations that are eligible to apply for the grant include independent school districts, special district governments, private institutions of higher learning, nonprofits with 501(c)(3) status, and tribal partners.
