Faith communities are explicitly welcome at the table for federal anti-trafficking funding — the Department of Justice names faith-based organizations directly as eligible applicants. The part that surprises congregations is what the money is actually for: direct services to identified survivors, not the awareness walks, sermon series, or prevention curricula that a lot of church anti-trafficking ministry starts with.
Yes, and this is stated plainly rather than implied. OVC's funding announcements for human trafficking victim services list public agencies, nonprofit organizations, community-based victim service organizations, faith-based organizations, tribal organizations, and community coalitions as eligible applicants — all committed to advocating for the rights and services of crime victims. Faith-based status is not a barrier or an afterthought category here; it's named alongside the other core applicant types.
OVC maintains dedicated funding streams for services to victims of human trafficking, distinct from its broader Services for Victims of Crime funding. The program is built to develop, expand, and strengthen direct service programs — case management, emergency and transitional housing assistance, legal advocacy, mental health counseling, and coordinated support — for people who have been identified as trafficking survivors. Some years also bring more targeted opportunities, such as programs increasing services for specific underserved populations. A congregation's fit depends on whether it's positioned to deliver or coordinate this kind of direct, survivor-facing service, not just raise awareness of the issue.
DOJ isn't the only federal source. The Department of Health and Human Services, through its Administration for Children and Families, operates the Office on Trafficking in Persons (OTIP), which runs its own set of anti-trafficking funding opportunities, often coordinated in the same funding cycle as DOJ's. Congregations researching this space should check both agencies' current opportunities rather than assuming a single program covers the field — the two agencies fund overlapping but not identical activities.
Guides and fill-in templates churches actually use — where the money is, the documents to gather once, and the letter and proposal formats funders expect. $47 one-time.
Get the Starter Kit →See everything in the kit · Or take the free eligibility quiz
This distinction matters most at the application-writing stage. A narrative that describes "raising awareness in our community" reads very differently to an OVC reviewer than one describing a specific direct-service role: emergency shelter beds, a case manager position, legal advocacy hours, or formal participation in a local human trafficking task force.
If your congregation's anti-trafficking activity right now is limited to an annual awareness event or a one-time sermon series, applying directly for OVC or OTIP funding is premature — reviewers are looking for demonstrated service capacity, and a program that exists mostly as intent is a weak competitor. The more productive path is joining or supporting an existing local anti-trafficking task force or victim-services organization first, building a documented role there, and considering a direct application once your congregation has a specific, ongoing service function to describe. This funding sits close to domestic violence ministry grants in structure and reviewer expectations, and often overlaps with congregations already doing refugee or immigrant-focused ministry — see our refugee and immigrant ministry grants guide for that adjacent funding landscape.
See our mental health grants for churches guide for trauma-informed care funding that often supports survivor services work, and our Christian grants for nonprofits guide for how to research foundation and denominational funding for this category. Contact us with questions about a specific program.
No grant writer. No $2,500 consultant. Just the guides and fill-in templates churches actually use: where the money is, the documents to gather once, and the exact letter and proposal formats funders expect.
$47 one-time — instant download (PDF)
Get the Starter Kit →Instant download. Educational templates — not grant-writing services, and no guarantee of funding.