Grants for Child Advocacy Centers 2026: VOCA and More

If you're the executive director, development director or board member of a children's advocacy center (CAC), this guide explains how the federal money actually reaches a center, what it will and won't pay for, and how to find foundations in your state that already fund child abuse response.

Child advocacy source review, Grantsights, October 29, 2026: Grantsights read the VOCA victim assistance rule, the Victims of Child Abuse Act sections on local children's advocacy centers, OJJDP's FY 2024 and FY 2025 CAC notices and the Crime Victims Fund overview, then reviewed child advocacy grants named in 990-PF filings. Where official sources stop: the regulations say what VOCA can pay for; they don't tell a center how to cover the 20% match or the costs VOCA won't touch.

How Federal Money Reaches a Child Advocacy Center

There are 2 federal streams, and neither usually comes straight from Washington to your center.

Stream 1: VOCA victim assistance. According to OVC's Crime Victims Fund page (opens in a new tab), the fund was created by the Victims of Crime Act of 1984 and is financed by fines and penalties from federal criminal cases, not tax dollars. OVC reported the fund balance at over $3.9 billion as of August 2026. Each year, part of it goes to state administering agencies, which make subawards to local victim service providers, including CACs.

The VOCA rule at 28 CFR Part 94, subpart B (opens in a new tab) says each state must give priority to programs serving victims of sexual assault, spousal abuse or child abuse. That priority makes VOCA a natural funder for CACs.

Stream 2: Victims of Child Abuse Act grants. Under 34 U.S.C. 20304 (opens in a new tab), the OJJDP Administrator makes grants to establish and maintain a network of care for child abuse victims through local children's advocacy centers and multidisciplinary teams. According to 34 U.S.C. 20306 (opens in a new tab), Congress authorized $40,000,000 a year for fiscal years 2022 through 2028 for these programs. An authorization isn't an appropriation, so the actual amount depends on each year's spending bill.

In practice, OJJDP routes that money through national and regional partners:

According to Grants.gov (opens in a new tab), the national subgrants program supports CACs through subgrant assistance designed to improve interventions in child abuse cases. For a local center, that means the realistic federal route is a subgrant from the National Children's Alliance. Check your state chapter and the Alliance's current subgrant cycles.

What VOCA Will and Won't Pay For at a CAC

VOCA is generous for direct services and strict about the rest. Under 28 CFR 94.119 (opens in a new tab), allowable direct service costs include crisis intervention, accompanying victims to hospitals for medical examinations, and forensic interviews, provided the interview results are also used to identify needs such as social services, personal advocacy and case management.

The 20% match is easy to underestimate. According to 28 CFR 94.118 (opens in a new tab), subrecipients must contribute at least 20% of each project's total cost, in cash or in-kind, unless an exception applies, such as tribes and projects on tribal lands. If VOCA pays $200,000, the total project is $250,000 and your match is $50,000. Donated space from a county, volunteer hours and partner agency staff time can often count, so document them every month.

Which Foundations Fund Child Advocacy Centers: What 990-PF Filings Show

Grantsights counted 13,110 human services grants to Texas recipients and 1,420 to Louisiana recipients in 990-PF filings. According to IRS rules, private foundations list each grant on IRS Form 990-PF (opens in a new tab) with the recipient and a purpose, so CAC funders are visible.

For this guide, Grantsights matched CACs to its human services list, which also includes shelters, food programs and family services. The counts below cover that whole pool, from 990-PF records pulled October 29, 2026:

One honest caveat: in Grantsights' tagging, several child advocacy center grants landed under youth and children rather than human services, because their purpose lines mention children. Check both the human services and youth and children lists before you finalize a prospect list.

Child advocacy grants named in the filings

These tax year 2025 grants show what private funders pay CACs for:

• The Oscar J. Tolmas Charitable Trust gave the Children's Advocacy Center in Covington, Louisiana $200,000 to support its tax-exempt mission.
• The Northwest Foundation (opens in a new tab) gave KIDS Center in Bend, Oregon $142,500 to support its child abuse intervention center.
• The Howard L. and Mary C. House Charitable Foundation gave the Children's Advocacy Center of Independence County in Batesville, Arkansas $25,000 for the protection of children.
• The Leo C. Balzereit unitrust gave the Children's Advocacy Center in Dover, Delaware $20,000 for forensic interviews.

One center in Delaware received a grant earmarked for forensic interviews, the core CAC service. That's a useful model: when a foundation funds the same service VOCA funds, the private grant can serve as part of your VOCA match. Confirm with your state administering agency that the funds are non-federal and unrestricted enough to count.

Get the funder list for your state

For a CAC, the Grantsights human services funder list is the starting point. It shows foundations that reported human services grants on their own 990-PF filings, by state, with those that take requests listed first. Recent recipients and purpose lines show which funders already gave to a CAC, a domestic violence program or a victim services agency near you. Browsing the state preview costs nothing. A one-time $29 opens the full list in every state, the $99 plan covers every cause list for a year, and both carry a 30-day full refund.

What VOCA Doesn't Tell You About Funding a CAC

1. VOCA amounts swing year to year. VOCA money comes from a fund fed by federal criminal fines and penalties, and Congress decides how much is released each year, so state allocations change. Build a reserve and a foundation base so a VOCA cut doesn't mean losing an interviewer.
2. Membership status matters. OJJDP also funds a separate Children's Advocacy Centers Membership and Accreditation Program, so a center's standing with the National Children's Alliance affects its access to the federal pass-through money. A center working toward accreditation should say so in every request.
3. Multidisciplinary team partners can be match. Under the VOCA match rule, in-kind contributions count. Law enforcement and child protective services staff time at the center may qualify if documented under your state agency's rules.
4. Prevention money is a separate pool. School prevention programs usually fit youth, education and family funders better than VOCA. Write those requests separately.

Common Mistakes in CAC Grant Requests

• Missing the match. A common mistake is accepting a VOCA subaward without a plan for the 20%. It's the first thing to fail in a tight year.
• Sharing identifiable case details. Funders want impact, not identities. Use counts: children interviewed, families served, cases referred within the 72-hour window the statute describes. Sharing a child's story without consent is a red flag.
• Treating VOCA as permanent. Centers that fund every interviewer with VOCA alone struggle when allocations drop.
• Asking foundations for things VOCA already covers without explaining the gap. Explain what VOCA doesn't cover, or how the gift serves as match.
• Late SAM registration. VOCA subrecipients and federal applicants need active registrations. See the SAM.gov registration guide.

A CAC Funding Calendar

For the federal background, Grantsights' DOJ crime victim assistance grants guide explains VOCA in more depth. Use how to write a grant letter of inquiry for foundation asks, and search open programs in the Grantsights grant database.

Related Guides for Victim Service Organizations

CACs share funders with domestic violence and family service programs. See grants for domestic violence programs, grants for domestic violence shelters and the roundup of best grants for domestic violence nonprofits.

Other Grantsights guides for specific kinds of organizations include grants for diaper banks and grants for mentoring programs.

FAQ: Common Questions

Where does federal money for child advocacy centers come from? VOCA subawards from your state administering agency, and Victims of Child Abuse Act money passed through the National Children's Alliance.

Can a child advocacy center apply directly to OJJDP? Usually not. The FY 2025 national subgrants program was invite-only for the National Children's Alliance.

Do VOCA subawards require a match? Yes, generally 20% of total project cost in cash or in-kind under 28 CFR 94.118.

What do private foundations give child advocacy centers? Operating support and services, such as the $200,000 a Louisiana center received from the Oscar J. Tolmas Charitable Trust.

How big is a typical foundation grant to human services? Grantsights analysis of 990-PF human services grants found medians of $4,000 to $7,000 in most states.

Sources

• 28 CFR Part 94, subpart B, VOCA Victim Assistance Program (opens in a new tab)
• 28 CFR 94.119, Allowable direct service costs (opens in a new tab)
• 34 U.S.C. 20304, Local children's advocacy centers (opens in a new tab)
• 34 U.S.C. 20306, Authorization of appropriations (opens in a new tab)
• OVC: Crime Victims Fund (opens in a new tab)
• Grants.gov: OJJDP FY 2025 Children's Advocacy Centers National Subgrants Program (opens in a new tab)
• Grants.gov: OJJDP FY 2024 Regional Children's Advocacy Centers Program (opens in a new tab)
• IRS: About Form 990-PF (opens in a new tab)