Grants for Human Trafficking Survivor Programs 2026

Trafficking survivor source review, Grantsights, October 31, 2026: Grantsights checked the Office for Victims of Crime (OVC) human trafficking overview (opens in a new tab) and human trafficking grants and funding page (opens in a new tab), the HHS Office on Trafficking in Persons (OTIP) direct services page (opens in a new tab), and the statute text of 22 U.S.C. 7105 on GovInfo (opens in a new tab) against foundation filings that name trafficking survivors. Where official sources stop: no federal page lists which private foundations back survivor housing, or what a bed in a long-term residential program costs per night, so your request has to supply those numbers.

5 Kinds of Survivor Programs and Who Pays Each

The 217 human services grants in the pull went to at least 5 kinds of programs, and each draws a different mix of money. Pick your row before you build a funder list. This table is illustrative, not data: budgets and funders vary a lot by region and program size.

A long-term residential home and a legal clinic both serve survivors, but they sell different results. Housing funders want to know how many people moved into stable homes; legal funders want cases closed and records cleared. Write to the funder's result, not your mission statement.

Grants for Human Trafficking Survivor Programs: What 990-PF Filings Show

Foundations reporting grants on IRS Form 990-PF are one main source for trafficking survivor programs, alongside federal awards, churches and individual donors. According to IRS guidance about Form 990-PF (opens in a new tab), private foundations use that form to report their activities and the grants they pay, so each gift below traces back to a filing. Grantsights analysis of 990-PF human services grants pulled October 31, 2026 found 130 foundations that made 217 grants to survivor-serving groups, totaling $6,682,975, or about $30,800 each on average.

That average hides how small most checks are. The median human services grant in the pull was $10,000, with a quarter at $2,500 or less and a quarter at $25,000 or more. 122 of the 217 grants, about 56%, came in under $10,000.

The human services count also misses the biggest gifts, because many funders put no cause tag on a trafficking grant. Here are 8 of the bigger US survivor service gifts Grantsights found once untagged filings are included (policy, research and overseas grants left out):

For example, Thistle Farms received $2,000,000 from the Champions of Love Foundation in 2023 and another $2,021,694 in 2024, both filed simply as general support. The Jensen Project's own 2023 filing says Thistle Farms gives women survivors of trafficking, prostitution and addiction a second chance, which is why it counts here. One organization in Maryland, Turnaround Inc in Towson, drew $250,000 from the Stephen and Renee Bisciotti Foundation in 2024 for a safe house for child survivors.

Survivor program grants by state

Each row counts human services gifts by the state where the recipient is based, from the October 31, 2026 pull. 17 states had 3 or more foundations giving to survivor programs, including Colorado, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana and Michigan with 3 each and Kansas, Minnesota, Ohio and Virginia with 4.

Why Nevada and Missouri look so large

A handful of big checks drive both states. Nevada's 5 grants total $510,776, and 1 of them is the A. Gary Anderson Family Foundation's $100,000 to Community Action Against Rape in 2023, for survivors of sexual violence and trafficking. Missouri's $470,000 includes the Allen P. and Josephine B. Green Foundation's $50,000 to the Central Missouri Stop Human Trafficking Coalition in 2024 for its transitional housing program. A survivor home in St. Louis shouldn't read those totals as the normal check size; the $10,000 median is the better guide.

Pennsylvania shows the other end. The Sylvia Perkin Perpetual Charitable Trust gave Bloom for Women $4,000 in 2024 for shelter and services, and Path to Autonomy Emergency Shelter in Easton $3,000 in 2023 for housing women who escaped sex trafficking. Small, repeat local gifts like these add up when a program asks 10 or 15 funders at once.

California's survivor program funders

California's 21 foundations made 34 human services grants worth $713,262, about $21,000 each. The free preview on the Grantsights human services funder list for California leads with the Pinpoint Foundation, whose filings say it takes requests and list what to send and a contact. It gave the YWCA of Silicon Valley in San Jose $50,000 in 2023 and YWCA Golden Gate Silicon Valley $37,500 in 2024, both for domestic violence, sexual assault and human trafficking programs. That's a good picture of how much survivor money reaches people through a broad agency.

Other California filings in the wider search show dedicated survivor groups too. The Conrad N. Hilton Foundation gave the Coalition to Abolish Slavery and Trafficking in Los Angeles $200,000 in 2024 for direct services that build survivors' self-sufficiency. The Randall Dick J. and Carolyn L. Foundation gave the Bay Area Anti-Trafficking Coalition $52,000 in 2023 and $52,500 in each of 2024 and 2025 for daily operations, which is exactly the kind of steady support a small program should chase.

Why the Human Services List Fits Best

Human services is the right list for most survivor programs, but it isn't the only one. In the broader October 31, 2026 search, which Grantsights didn't hand-check across causes, 641 foundations put no cause tag on their trafficking gifts, 130 used human services, 119 used youth and 69 used education. Human services wins because shelter, housing and case management are what those funders already pay for, and the hand check showed every sampled human services recipient was serving survivors. Programs for trafficked minors should also read the youth funder list, since youth funders in 13 states tagged trafficking gifts that way.

According to Grantsights analysis of 990-PF human services filings pulled October 29, 2026, the median human services gift ran from $5,000 in New York, Florida, Arizona and Missouri to $7,000 in Texas. These are statewide figures for all human services, not funders picked for trafficking work, so check each funder's past grants before you write. Grantsights charges $29 for a single state's human services funder list and $99 for twelve months of every cause list, and you can ask for a refund on either within 30 days.

What OVC Doesn't Tell You About Trafficking Grants

OVC's pages explain its programs well, but 5 practical facts get lost between the program list and the notice you can actually apply for today.

1. The money is big, and it shrank in 2025. According to DOJ figures on OVC's grants and funding page, Office of Justice Programs (OJP) trafficking funding under 22 U.S.C. 7105(b)(2) totaled $101,000,000 in fiscal year (FY) 2024 and $95,000,000 in FY 2025, including a $7,000,000 transfer from the Domestic Trafficking Victims Fund. That's still the largest single pool for US survivor services.
2. You'll put up at least 25%. The statute text of 22 U.S.C. 7105 (opens in a new tab) says the federal share of these grants may not exceed 75% of total project cost, and it lets contributions that support survivor recovery count toward the match. A $400,000 project needs $100,000 from somewhere else, and foundation grants are often where it comes from.
3. The only open OVC notice on October 31, 2026 isn't for local programs. The OVC FY 2026 Specialized Human Trafficking Assistance notice (opens in a new tab) is open until December 8, 2026, but it funds national training for OVC-funded task forces and legal service providers: about $5,000,000 for 2 awards, up to $3,000,000 and $2,000,000. A local safe house can't use it. OVC's current funding page also says awards for its FY 2025 trafficking notices were still pending.
4. HHS funds services, but not through an open notice right now. According to OTIP's direct services page, the office pays organizations to give survivors case management and emergency help with food and housing. Its funding opportunities page (opens in a new tab) said there were no open funding opportunities when Grantsights checked it on October 31, 2026.
5. Federal awards favor programs with a track record. According to DOJ data on OVC's overview page, 288 OVC trafficking grantees served an average of 10,394 clients per quarter from October 2024 through September 2025. Those are established programs that report outcomes every quarter. A new group usually starts with foundation money, a subaward from a bigger grantee or a state victim services award covered in the DOJ crime victim assistance grants guide.

What most survivor program guides skip is how much of this money flows through broader agencies. In the hand check, 25 of 40 recipients weren't anti-trafficking groups at all; they were domestic violence shelters, refugee agencies and multi-service centers with a trafficking track. If you're a small dedicated program, those agencies are your competitors for local funders and your likeliest partners for a federal subaward.

Where Trafficking Programs End and DV or Rape Crisis Programs Begin

Of the 40 recipients Grantsights checked, 25 were broader agencies, so the overlap is real, and funders notice when a group stretches a label. A trafficking survivor program serves people whose labor or sex was compelled through force, fraud or coercion, or minors in commercial sex. According to the USCIS page on T nonimmigrant status (opens in a new tab), that status lets certain victims of a severe form of trafficking stay in the US for up to 4 years and work, which is why legal help is such a large share of survivor needs.

• Domestic violence programs serve people harmed by a partner or family member. If most of your clients come from abuse at home, grants for domestic violence programs is the better fit.
• Rape crisis centers run hotlines, hospital accompaniment and counseling after sexual assault. Their funders are covered in grants for sexual assault centers.
• Trafficking survivor programs handle exploitation by a third party for profit, labor trafficking cases and immigration relief. If you can count those cases separately, you can apply as a trafficking program.

A common mistake is adding "and human trafficking" to a domestic violence mission statement without a separate intake question, staff training or case count. Funders who read many proposals spot that fast. If you do run both, report trafficking clients as their own line.

Costing a Survivor Program for a Grant Request

Most survivor programs underestimate the length of stay. A survivor leaving a trafficker often needs housing, legal help and income support for well over a year, and short-term grants rarely cover that. This table is illustrative, not data: costs vary by city, program model and client mix.

Report clients served, nights of housing, cases filed and people working 6 months after exit. Those numbers let a funder compare you with a shelter down the road, and they show progress without asking survivors to tell their stories again.

6 Survivor Projects Foundations Have Paid For

All 6 projects below were paid for by a foundation, according to filings in the October 31, 2026 pull. Use them as models for a specific ask instead of a general plea.

1. Housing units. The Nina Mason Pulliam Charitable Trust gave New Life Center in Goodyear, Arizona $250,000 in 2023 to turn office space into single-occupant rooms for survivors of domestic violence and trafficking.
2. Transitional housing. The Allen P. and Josephine B. Green Foundation gave the Central Missouri Stop Human Trafficking Coalition $50,000 in 2024 for its transitional housing program.
3. Tech careers. The Patrick J. McGovern Foundation gave AnnieCannons in Oakland $250,000 in 2023 and $200,000 in 2024 to train survivors for technology jobs and place them in careers.
4. Job training and placement. The Harry and Jeanette Weinberg Foundation gave Sanctuary for Families in New York $150,000 in both 2023 and 2024 for its economic program, which trains and places survivors of domestic violence and sex trafficking in jobs.
5. Clearing records. The Covalent Foundation gave the Texas Advocacy Project in Austin $220,000 in 2023 for arrest and conviction expungement services for trafficking victims, plus general support.
6. A women's residential program. The Kozmetsky Family Foundation gave New Friends New Life in Dallas $150,000 in 2023 for its program for women who survived sex trafficking and exploitation.

The strongest requests pair 1 concrete deliverable, such as housing units or a job track, with general operating money. A funder likes to see a result it can name, and you still have to pay case managers.

Common Mistakes in Survivor Program Grant Requests

These 5 mistakes come up when a program writes for sympathy instead of results.

• Leading with a survivor's story. A red flag for careful funders is a proposal built on one client's trauma story. Lead with outcomes and protect identities.
• No legal status or partner. A grassroots group with no 501(c)(3) can apply through a sponsor; read what a fiscal sponsor is first.
• Underestimating the federal match. The 25% minimum match catches many first-time DOJ applicants. Line up foundation and in-kind sources before you apply.
• Ignoring labor trafficking. Many requests read as sex trafficking only. If you serve farmworkers, domestic workers or restaurant staff, say so; grants for immigrant services covers funders who back that work.
• Guessing the ask. Use how to read a 990-PF to see what a funder usually gives before you name a figure. Asking a $5,000 funder for $100,000 ends the talk.

A Survivor Program's Funding Calendar

This 12-month plan assumes a fiscal year that starts in July and a federal notice cycle that runs late in the year.

The Grantsights grant database tracks open federal and state notices, including victim services and housing programs that accept survivor-serving groups.

Related Guides for Survivor Programs

The 130 foundations behind $6,682,975 in survivor grants also give to related housing and youth programs, and these guides cover them.

Programs that move survivors from crisis beds into their own homes should read grants for transitional housing programs, since many funders treat survivor housing as part of that field. Drop-in centers and street outreach teams that meet trafficked teens can turn to grants for homeless youth programs. Survivor job programs share trainers and employers with the groups in grants for job training programs, which lists workforce funders.

FAQ: Common Questions

How many foundations fund human trafficking survivor programs? 130 in Grantsights' search of 990-PF human services grants pulled October 31, 2026, making 217 grants worth $6,682,975.

What's a typical foundation grant for a survivor program? $10,000 is the median, and 122 of the 217 grants were under $10,000.

Does the federal government fund trafficking survivor services? Yes, mainly through OVC, with the federal share capped at 75% of project cost.

Can a domestic violence shelter apply for trafficking money? Often, if it runs a real trafficking track with its own intake and case counts.

Who gave the largest survivor program grants? The Champions of Love Foundation, with about $4 million to Thistle Farms over 2023 and 2024.

Do youth funders pay for programs serving trafficked minors? Yes. 119 foundations tagged trafficking gifts as youth in the same search.

Sources

• Office for Victims of Crime: Human Trafficking Overview (opens in a new tab)
• Office for Victims of Crime: Human Trafficking Grants and Funding (opens in a new tab)
• Office for Victims of Crime: FY 2026 Specialized Human Trafficking Assistance notice (opens in a new tab)
• HHS Office on Trafficking in Persons: Direct Services (opens in a new tab)
• HHS Office on Trafficking in Persons: Funding Opportunities (opens in a new tab)
• GovInfo: 22 U.S.C. 7105, Protection and assistance for victims of trafficking (opens in a new tab)
• USCIS: Victims of Human Trafficking, T Nonimmigrant Status (opens in a new tab)
• IRS: About Form 990-PF (opens in a new tab)