Bullying Prevention Notice of Funding Opportunity NOFO# 2118-0202

LINK TO NOFO Packet

LINK TO Amplifund Website

The Illinois Criminal Justice Information Authority (ICJIA) is seeking proposals for its Bullying Prevention Program grant. Awards will be funded with State Fiscal Year 2026 (SFY27) funds. A total of $700,000 is available through this solicitation to support projects over a nine-month period.

Application Deadline: 5:00 P.M., March 12, 2026

Program Requirements

Bullying refers to actions in which an individual in an imbalanced power relationship intentionally and repeatedly inflicts, or attempts to inflict, injury or discomfort on another. ^[1] Traditional bullying includes physical aggression, verbal threats and insults, and exclusion from groups. ^[2] Cyberbullying has emerged as a less traditional form of bullying, coinciding with increased use of technology and the internet, and includes activities that occur via electronic means, such as text messaging, emails, websites, or other forms of social media.^[3]

In 2020, 1 in 4 Illinois youth reported experiencing bullying, and 1 in 6 reported experiencing cyberbullying, with variances seen by data source and groups examined.^[4] In developing the ICJIA Statewide Violence Prevention Plan, researchers conducted an Illinois needs assessment and found that certain groups reported higher rates of bullying than others, including:

• LBGTQ youth, including those who identify as transgender and those who do not identify as female, male, or transgender; and gay, lesbian, or bisexual youth.
• Native American/American Indian and multiracial youth.
• Youth across Illinois counties (Appendix A).
• Middle school youth.

Bullying is a form of youth violence that creates an adverse childhood experience. This is important as adverse childhood experiences have been linked to physical health issues, mental health issues, and decreased opportunity in adulthood. ^[5] The ICJIA Statewide Violence Prevention Plan found that youth who experienced bullying and cyberbullying were significantly more likely to report feeling sad or hopeless and suicidal ideation than youth who did not report experiencing any form of bullying. ^[6]

Addressing bullying is important in any context, but especially in the school setting because “bullying can affect the social environment of a school, creating a climate of fear among students, inhibiting their ability to learn, and leading to other antisocial behavior.”^[7] Because bullying is seen as a form of violence, many interventions take a violence prevention approach guided by public health principles, which generally categorize initiatives according to when they are implemented or the population they aim to serve.^[8] This funding opportunity will focus on the following categories:

• Primary prevention ^[9]- addressing the risk factors for violence before violence even occurs. Funding will support efforts to define and address a school’s climate and/or community level activities to reduce bullying.

• Secondary and tertiary prevention^[10] - addressing those at the greatest risk for violence and those who are involved in violence. Funding will support supportive services within a school that will address those at risk for bullying or those already involved.

Anti-bullying programs can approach prevention in many ways (e.g., addressing the general population or targeting youth who are already involved in bullying). Anti-bullying programming varies across locations (e.g., in –a school setting) and among those involved in program activities (e.g., students, staff, and/or families). Furthermore, anti-bullying programs are not the only way to potentially prevent and reduce bullying behaviors, reduce risk factors for bullying, and improve protective factors against bullying. Positive youth development programming works to set youth on positive life trajectories and may help to reduce the risk for bullying and victimization.^[11]

This funding opportunity will be open to schools and community-based agencies. ICJIA asks applicants to address bullying prevention through positive school climate activities and supportive services in the following ways:

School climate and/or Community level activities

• Bullying prevention and pro-social campaigns, events, etc.
• Education and awareness
• Student/youth groups such as youth leadership, gay/straight alliance, etc.
• Planning to determine what school-based BP policies and procedures are necessary.
• Implementation of school bullying prevention policies and procedures
• Implementation of evidence informed bullying prevention program.

Supportive Services

Staff to support students in the community, classrooms, in groups, or individually. This includes the broad range of supports from early intervention to clinical supports (including education and awareness for those who have been bullied and those who have used bullying behaviors) and can address bullying and related mental health challenges, such as suicide prevention.

Eligibility Information

Agencies must be registered through the Grant Accountability and Transparency Act (GATA) Grantee Portal, https://grants.illinois.gov/portal/, to become eligible to apply for an award.

Applicants must be in GOOD standing with all GATA pre-qualification requirements prior to application due date. Approval of the current Internal Control Questionnaire (ICQ) is required before the execution of the grant agreement.

Eligible Applicants

Schools and community-based organizations may apply.

Deadline

Completed application materials must be submitted via AmpliFund by 5:00 p.m., March 12, 2026, to be considered for funding. Proposals will not be accepted by email, mail, fax, or in-person. Incomplete applications will not be reviewed. Late submissions cannot be submitted and will not be reviewed.

Available Funds

A total of $700,000 is available through this solicitation. Applicants may request a minimum of $65,000 and a maximum of $75,000 in grant funding.

Agreements that result from this funding opportunity are contingent upon and subject to the availability of funds.

Period of Performance

Funding is available for the period of October 1, 2026, through June 30, 2027.

Technical Assistance Session

Technical assistance recordings providing additional information regarding this funding opportunity will be available for viewing beginning at 5:00 P.M., February 2, 2026.

VIEW THE REQUIRED TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE WEBINAR RECORDING

Information provided during this webinar recording will be unofficial and not binding on the state.

Timeline

Reporting

Recipients must submit periodic financial reports, periodic performance reports, final financial and performance reports, and, a calendar year end financial report in accordance with the CFR Part 200 Uniform Requirements. Future awards and fund drawdowns may be withheld if reports are delinquent.

Required Documents

The following documents must be completed in Amplifund by 5:00 P.M., March 12, 2026, deadline for application review.

• Uniform State Grant Application
• Budget and Budget Narrative
• Performance Metrics
• Fiscal Information Sheet
• Implementation Schedule

DOWNLOAD NOFO PACKET ZIP FILE

Questions

Questions may be submitted via email at CJA.BullyingPreventionNOFO@Illinois.gov. The deadline for submitted questions is at 5:00 P.M., March 6, 2026.

All substantive questions and responses will be posted. Updates to NOFO materials, and questions from applicants and their responses are revised weekly. View them on our website and on AmpliFund.

Due to the competitive nature of this solicitation, applicants may not discuss this opportunity directly or indirectly with any ICJIA employee other than the respondent of this email address.

Contact Information

Lajuana Murphy
Illinois Criminal Justice Information Authority
CJA.BullyingPreventionNOFO@Illinois.gov