Hate crimes are criminal offenses motivated by some form of bias toward a victim based on their perceived or actual race, color, religion, national origin, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity, or disability.

Through the Community-based Approaches to Prevent and Address Hate Crimes Program, the Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA) provides funding to support community-based organizations (CBOs) and civil rights organizations in addressing hate crimes and to assist victims and communities that are facing an increase in these crimes. This program seeks to build the capacity of community institutions to leverage their unique ability to empower communities, and to facilitate dialogue and deescalate tensions to prevent these types of crimes.

Program objectives include the following:

• Build or enhance partnerships and coordination among CBOs, justice agencies, educational institutions, houses of worship, and other stakeholder organizations to develop local strategies for education, outreach, prevention, preparedness, and improved responses to hate crimes.
• Establish effective outreach, education, and engagement strategies that meet the specific needs of the groups or populations being served.
• Develop comprehensive approaches that expand and enhance strategies to prevent and respond to hate crimes.
• Develop activities that facilitate dialogue and defuse tensions between groups, and that create a shared sense of empathy and a community environment that will not tolerate hate.
• Establish practices or activities aimed at reducing the frequency and impact of hate speech, hate incidents, and hate crimes.
• Promote trauma-informed services and outreach materials that foster community resiliency and address the specific needs of hate crime victims.

Program Funding

There are not currently any funding opportunities available through this program. 

See the Past Funding section of our site for access to previous opportunities and awards made through this and other BJA programs.

Training and Technical Assistance

BJA has selected a team of training and technical assistance (TTA) providers to assist grantees and the field at large. This TTA will include ongoing coaching and communication as well as support for peer-to-peer dialogue and training, knowledge diffusion products, grantee learning communities, dissemination of best practices and lessons learned, and a listserv.

Funded by BJA, the Hate Crimes TTA Program provides tailored technical assistance, resources, and project management guidance to hate crimes-related award recipients and the field. The program works to enhance the capacities of state, local, and tribal law enforcement and prosecution agencies, their partners, and community-based organizations to develop and enhance strategies that foster strong collaborations, promote community awareness and preparedness, increase victim reporting, improve responses to hate crimes, and support the investigation and prosecution of hate crimes.

Additionally, BJA’s National Training and Technical Assistance Center provides no-cost training and technical assistance on a wide variety of criminal justice topics to improve the knowledge and skills of criminal justice professionals. Agencies interested in receiving TTA can submit a TTA request through an online application.