Sexual Violence Prevention Grant Request for Proposals

The goal of the Sexual Violence Prevention grant program is to support activities that stop sexual violence from occurring by making sure that all Minnesotans have a fair and just opportunity to achieve health and safety. 

See the complete Sexual Violence Prevention Grant Request for Proposals (PDF) for full details.  

Important dates 

• March 18: Request for proposals released 
• March 28: Information session #1 (Noon Central Time) 
• April 8: Information session #2 (11 a.m. Central Time) 
• May 7: Last day to submit RFP Questions 
• May 17: Proposals due 
• August 1 or when grant is fully executed: Grant begins 
• January 31, 2029: grant ends 

Funding and project dates 

Up to $225,000 will be available annually for the Sexual Violence Prevention Grant Program. Applicants are encouraged to request an annual funding amount between $15,000 - $75,000 per year. 

The estimated grant start date is August 1, 2024, or when the grant agreement is fully executed by all parties, whichever is later. The projected end date is January 31, 2029. The grant period will be up to four years and six months, contingent on satisfactory grantee performance and funding availability. 

Eligible applicants 

Eligible applicants may include but are not limited to nonprofit organizations, Tribal governments, city or county governments, schools, colleges and universities, and other interested organizations. 

Eligible applicants should be based in Minnesota and include reach to some part of the state. 

Applicants and/or proposed collaborative partners must demonstrate experience with at least one of the following: 

• Sexual violence prevention and/or services 
• Strengthening economic supports for individuals and/or families 

Applicants without previous experience working on sexual violence are encouraged to collaborate on the project with a partner that has expertise on sexual violence prevention and/or services. 

Applicants must have state or federal recognition as a formal organization or entity, such as a Federal Employer Identification Number or 501c3 status. Organizations or groups that do not have state or federal recognition may apply with a fiscal agent. Applicants must be located in and conduct grant activities in the state of Minnesota, but fiscal agents may be located outside of Minnesota. Eligible applicants who wish to work together but have not formed a legal partnership may designate one organization as a fiscal agent. 

Multiple applications 

An applicant may submit more than one application. Applicants should submit separate applications for each unrelated project. 

Questions and answers 

All questions related to this RFP should be submitted via email to: health.violenceprev@state.mn.us. If you need to submit a question through an alternative format, please call 651-201-5484 for assistance. 

MDH SVPP will post all questions and answers within seven business days on the Sexual Violence Prevention Grant Request for Proposals Questions and Answers. 

The answer will not be emailed to the person asking the questions. The asker will be directed to check the website to view the answer. 

Please submit questions no later than 4:30 p.m. Central Daylight Time (CDT) on Tuesday, May 7, 2024. To ensure all applicants have access to the same information, questions submitted after this date will not be answered or posted to the website. The final questions and answers will be posted to the website by Monday, May 13, 2024. 

To ensure the proper and fair evaluation of all applications, other communications regarding this RFP including verbal, telephone, written, or internet initiated by or on behalf of any applicant to any employee of the Department, other than questions submitted to as outlined above, are prohibited. Any violation of this prohibition may result in the disqualification of the applicant. 

MDH staff may not advise any grantees on their application or review drafts of proposals. 

While MDH staff may not advise potential grantees on their applications or review drafts of proposals, applicants may communicate with MDH staff about: 

• Requests for data about sexual violence in Minnesota (See Attachment C: Data Sources for more information on the available data) 
• General information about public health or primary prevention, including referrals to existing resources 
• General information about sexual violence prevention, including referrals to existing resources 

RFP information meeting 

MDH will provide RFP information and guidance through during two virtual RFP information sessions.  

ASL interpretation will be available during these sessions. 

Attendance of virtual information sessions is not required, but prospective applicants are encouraged to participate in at least one of the sessions. 

Virtual information sessions will not be recorded. Questions and answers from the virtual information sessions will be posted on Sexual Violence Prevention Grant Request for Proposals Questions and Answers. 

Virtual RFP Information Sessions 

• RFP Information Session #1: Thursday, March 28, 2024, Noon – 1 p.m. CDT 
• RFP Information Session #2: Monday, April 8, 2024, 11 a.m. – Noon CDT 

Program details  

Sexual Violence Prevention grant program activities are required to focus on at least one of the following three priority areas: 

• Strengthen economic supports for individuals and families 
• Create protective environments 
• Promote social norms that protect against violence 

Applicants that choose to address more than one grant priority area will NOT be scored higher than those that focus on only one grant priority area. 

The priority areas are described in the complete Sexual Violence Prevention Grant Request for Proposals.  

Application deadline and materials 

All applications must be received by MDH no later than 11:59 p.m. Central Time, no later than Friday, May 17, 2024.  

Late applications will not be accepted. 

Applicants must submit applications via email to health.violenceprev@state.mn.us with the subject line Sexual Violence Prevention RFP Application – [insert applicant organization name]. 

It is the applicant’s responsibility to allow sufficient time to address all potential delays. Sole responsibility rests with the applicant to ensure that their application is received on or before the submission deadline. MDH will not be responsible for technological delays. All submissions are final. Full and complete proposals not received by the deadline given above will NOT be considered. 

Applicants must complete and submit the following documents for their application to be considered complete: 

1. Application Form (Microsoft Word template) 
2. Budget (Microsoft Excel template) 
3. Applicant Conflict of Interest (COI) Disclosure Form 
4. Due Diligence Review Form 

Applicants proposing a multi-organization collaboration should also include letters of support from each of the agencies listed as partners on the application. 

MDH will reply to the email address that submitted the application to acknowledge receipt of your application within three business days of the receipt of an application. If you do not receive an acknowledgment email within that time frame from when you submitted the application, it means MDH did not receive your application/documents. Please contact Julia Tindell at julia.tindell@state.mn.us or 651-201-5484 after that time frame for further instructions.

Documents 

• Sexual Violence Prevention Grant Request for Proposals (PDF)
• Attachment A: Application Form (Word)
• Attachment B: Budget Template
• Attachment C: Application Submission Checklist (Word)
• Attachment D: Application Scoring Criteria (Word)
• Attachment E: Data Sources (Word)
• Attachment F: Resources for Project Planning (Word)
• Attachment G: Grant Writing Tips (Word)
• Attachment H: Sample Invoice Template (Word)
• Applicant Conflict of Interest Form (PDF)
• Due Diligence Review Form (PDF)