Making Your Case For VOCA Funds
One of the most important factors in obtaining a VOCA grant involves justifying the need for your work with crime survivors. You need to show what the needs are in your community and how you’re meeting them. This is often called the “Needs Justification.”
Begin thinking about how you will demonstrate this.
Get a snapshot of your community. When creating your case for receiving VOCA funds, gather as much data as possible about the community in which you do your work.
This data may involve the number of specific crimes committed, accessible services (or lack thereof), the proximity of those services, the demographics of the community you serve, and any trends prevalent in your community. Document how the need for these services is not being met (perhaps organizations to provide these services don’t exist at all or
they are too far away, not extensive enough, etc.). If you can, specify the number of crime survivors who are unserved or underserved.
For example, if you work with survivors of gun violence, find out how many shootings there were in the last few years. Is the number increasing? How have you addressed the increasing number of shooting victims through your work? What has prevented you from serving these survivors?
In short, you must show that the services you provide fulfill one or more unmet needs in your community:
- Start with description of the problem that your project will address.
- Back up that description with data and facts about the community.
- Describe any past attempts that have been made to address the problem or any roadblocks that exist.
- Describe other programs in the community that address victimization and what the relationship is to your project. Or describe the lack of such similar programs.
You can keep it simple, but be as specific as possible. As a potential new grantee, you will need to show that your services and activities fill one or more gaps in services and resources in your community. The better you can show the need and the urgency for your program, the better the chance of getting funding.