NOFA Request for Initial Proposal Ideas JAMS Foundation ACR Initiative for Students and Youth for 2026 Funding Cycle, The Association for Conflict Resolution (ACR) announces the release of this Notification of Funding Availability (NOFA) and invites initial proposal concepts for the 2026 funding cycle of the JAMS Foundation–ACR Initiative for Students and Youth.
Applicants are encouraged to carefully review the full details and submit their applications before the specified deadline to seize this grant opportunity.
Last Date of Submission: 9th January 2026
Overview Funding
(NOFA Request for Initial Proposal Ideas JAMS Foundation ACR Initiative for Students and Youth for 2026 Funding Cycle)
Mission: This JAMS Foundation-ACR Initiative seeks to provide financial support for conflict resolution education and training (CRE) for Pre-K through 12th grade students and youth. The populations to be served by the funding streams will be both (1) youth in Pre-K through 12th grade age range and (2) adults working with these youth populations in ways that directly transfer CRE skills for adults to the youth populations.
Funding Contexts: The contexts for projects may include community, schools, alternative education (online education, charter schools, after school programs), government (juvenile justice facilities, courts) and NGO settings. While some proposals may be able to secure and guarantee access to or cooperation from traditional K-12 school districts/schools, this funding opportunity is intended to provide potential financial support for CRE work in other contexts as well.
2026 Recommended Funding Focus
(NOFA Request for Initial Proposal Ideas JAMS Foundation ACR Initiative for Students and Youth for 2026 Funding Cycle)
The focus of the 2026 funding cycle intends to support work at the intersection of culture and conflict. This funding track will implement and evaluate the effectiveness of conflict resolution skills in navigating multicultural environments among middle school youth, grades 5-9 or a subset thereof. Culture is defined as a set of shared attitudes, values, goals, and practices that characterize an institution or organization. The intent is to foster changes in school or school district policy by employing conflict resolution approaches to improve students’ peaceful interactions with their peers (primary), school personnel (secondary) and in their home environment (tertiary).
There are three proposal priorities:
- Increase in the use of CRE approaches to improve students’ communication across cultures, increase their understanding and appreciation of different cultures, and decrease incidents of fighting and bullying. The measurement should document students’ knowledge and use of CRE techniques in fostering understanding about the diversity of the cultures in the school or school district, as well as points of shared attitude, value, goal, or practice among these diverse cultures.
- Increase in the use of non-violent communication by middle school youth that measurably increases bonding and belonging across different cultures represented by other students, faculty and others associated with the school. Measures of this increase 2026 Notification of Funding Availability/ JAMS Foundation- ACR Partnership pg. 2 would include the use of self-report surveys and questionnaires that assess students’ use of non-violent communication/CRE skills in their interactions with individuals from different cultures, their feeling of emotional and behavioral connection to others across cultures both at school and beyond, and their engagement with a shared culture of school values and norms.
- Substantial adoption of the use of CRE approaches as system-wide practice, either through formal policy or other means, that increases the use of these approaches by both students and school personnel. Measurement of impact will include the use of CRE practices to bridge cultural divides and address intercultural conflict before the use of other disciplinary remedies with middle school youth, grades 5-9 or a subset thereof.
Selection Parameters and Criteria for the 2026 Funding Cycle
(NOFA Request for Initial Proposal Ideas JAMS Foundation ACR Initiative for Students and Youth for 2026 Funding Cycle)
- Requests for Year 1 funding may be up to $20,000 of the potential two-year funding cycle.
- While the proposed projects are two-year projects, decisions on funding for a second year will be contingent on evidence of benchmark accomplishments at the end of the first year of funding with a focus on the integration of the new service or expansion of the current services. For those who may seek a second year of funding, those requests may be for up to $40,000.
- ACR seeks to recommend a small number of high-quality projects with likely or proven impact and the potential of regional and national impact upon completion to the JAMS Foundation for their review and selection.
- Preference for funding is given for those that may bring existing programs or exciting new ideas to a level of scalability and sustainability on a regional or national basis.
- Eligible organizations include nonprofit 501(c)3 organizations, educational institutions, and public agencies working in conjunction with nonprofit educational institutions or organizations.
How to apply?
(NOFA Request for Initial Proposal Ideas JAMS Foundation ACR Initiative for Students and Youth for 2026 Funding Cycle)
The Grant Process
An informational conference call will be held on Monday December 1st, 2025, at 3:30 PM EST. Day-of registrations may not be accepted and because space is limited, spots are not guaranteed. Accordingly, attendance is strongly advised but is not mandatory to apply.
You may register by going to the following link: 2026 NOFA Overview
After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting. The meeting is scheduled to last 90 minutes. This call will not be recorded.
- Interested organizations or individuals are required to submit a 1–3-page Initial 2026 Notification of Funding Availability/ JAMS Foundation- ACR Partnership pg. 3 Project Idea description (using the guidelines on the following page) to ACR no later than 11:59 PM local time of the organization’s legal/main location, Friday, January 9h, 2026, to grants@acrnet.org.
- The JAMS Foundation – ACR Grant review committee will notify applicants if they have been selected to develop a full proposal for submission and review by February 20th, 2026.
- A Full Proposal Submission Webinar will be offered on March 17th, 2026, at 3:30 PM EST. The link for attendance will be sent to those applicants who are invited to submit a full proposal. Please note this date, as attendance is mandatory for this session in order to continue with the application process.
- Full proposals that are responsive to the application protocol provided upon notification, will be due to the JAMS Foundation – ACR Grant review committee no later than 11:59 PM local time of the organization’s legal/main location on May 4th, 2026.
- Funding decisions will be approved by the JAMS Foundation Board at its August meeting and all grantees will be notified of their status.
- The selected grantees will be formally announced during ACR’s 2026 Annual Conference; location and date to be announced. Selected grant recipients should plan on attending.
Please address questions about the grant program to D.G. Mawn at grants@acrnet.org.
Note: For more comprehensive details click the link below
Get full access to the grant information, visit the Official Website Link
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