What is Funding Navigator?

Funding Navigator is a grant funding platform and professional services firm that helps fire departments, law enforcement agencies, EMS providers, municipalities, and nonprofits find and secure grants — without hiring expensive consultants. It provides AI-powered grant matching, expert grant writing, project planning, and post-award compliance services. The company has helped 500+ public safety agencies secure over $47 million in funding at up to 90% less than traditional consultants.

What types of organizations does Funding Navigator serve?

Funding Navigator serves fire departments (career and volunteer), law enforcement agencies (police and sheriff), EMS and ambulance services, emergency management offices, municipalities and local governments, K-12 schools, and 501(c)(3) nonprofits across the United States.

What grants does Funding Navigator help with?

Funding Navigator helps organizations secure: FEMA Assistance to Firefighters Grant (AFG), FEMA SAFER Grant, FEMA BRIC, FEMA HMGP, COPS Office Hiring Program, Byrne JAG, USDA Community Facilities, Community Development Block Grant (CDBG), state grants, private foundation grants, congressional earmarks, and more — totaling over $1 trillion in annual funding.

How much does Funding Navigator cost?

Funding Navigator is up to 90% cheaper than traditional grant consultants, who typically charge $5,000–$20,000+ per application. Pricing depends on the services required. A free consultation is available, and organizations can join for free to access the Fund Finder tool.

How does Funding Navigator work?

Funding Navigator works in 3 steps: (1) You describe your project need — building, equipment, staffing, or technology. (2) The platform matches you with the grants you're most likely to win. (3) Expert grant writers guide your team through the application with review at every stage. The process is 80% faster than applying without assistance.

Can volunteer fire departments use Funding Navigator?

Yes. Funding Navigator works with fire departments of all sizes — from small all-volunteer departments to large urban career departments. Volunteer and rural departments often have advantages with FEMA AFG and private grants that prioritize underserved communities.

What is the FEMA AFG grant?

The FEMA Assistance to Firefighters Grant (AFG) is one of the most important federal grants for fire departments, providing funding for equipment, vehicles, training, and wellness programs. Funding Navigator has extensive experience helping fire departments apply for and win AFG funding.

What is the SAFER grant?

The FEMA Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency Response (SAFER) grant helps fire departments hire and retain firefighters. It is one of the largest federal grants available to fire departments. Funding Navigator helps eligible departments navigate the SAFER application process.

Does Funding Navigator help with 501(c)(3) formation?

Yes. Funding Navigator provides full 501(c)(3) nonprofit formation services including Articles of Incorporation, bylaws, IRS Form 1023 application, SAM.gov registration, and DUNS/UEI setup — everything a fire department or public safety organization needs to establish a supporting foundation and access private grants.

What is the average grant size Funding Navigator clients receive?

The average grant secured through Funding Navigator is $209,000. Results vary depending on the project type, organization size, and funding source. Funding Navigator focuses on matching organizations with the highest-value opportunities for their specific needs.

What are congressional earmarks and can Funding Navigator help?

Congressional earmarks (Community Project Funding / Congressionally Directed Spending) are direct funding allocations secured through a U.S. Representative or Senator. In FY2024, over $14.6 billion was allocated through earmarks. Funding Navigator helps organizations identify and pursue earmark opportunities for infrastructure and capital projects.

How is Funding Navigator different from a traditional grant consultant?

Traditional grant consultants charge $5,000–$20,000+ per application and handle one grant at a time. Funding Navigator provides expert writing, matching, and compliance support at up to 90% less cost, while simultaneously pursuing multiple grants — giving clients 24x more applications per year and building long-term funding capacity.

What is Funding Navigator?

Funding Navigator - Find and win the grants your organization needs. Simple tools to discover funding, submit applications, and get expert support every step of the way.

Do you work with public, private, and community college police departments?

Yes. Funding Navigator supports public university police, private university and college public safety, community college police and security, HBCU/MSI/tribal college public safety, multi-campus and university system police, and campus Title IX and behavioral intervention teams. We tailor the strategy — eligibility, match assembly, and pass-through pathway — to your specific institutional type and governance structure.

Can smaller campus police departments really win Federal grants?

Yes — smaller campus agencies (under 5,000 students, regional and rural campuses, community colleges) are explicit priorities for BJA STOP School Violence, OVW Campus Program, and COPS School-Based Partnerships. Many programs reserve set-asides specifically for under-resourced institutions. The biggest barrier is application capacity, which is exactly what Funding Navigator solves.

How do you align grant projects with Clery Act and Title IX obligations?

This is where campus-focused expertise matters. Most LE grant consultants don't understand Clery geography, ASR/Daily Crime Log requirements, Title IX investigator independence, VAWA training mandates, or SaVE Act prevention education. We do — and we write applications that turn those compliance obligations into fundable strengths under OVW Campus, STOP School Violence, and state campus safety programs.

Will we have a lot of private grant opportunities?

Yes — and campus agencies have a distinct advantage here. Clery Center, Margolis Healy, higher-ed foundations, Spirit of Blue, Shield 616, security industry partners (Genetec, Axon, Motorola), and your own institution's foundation and alumni base are all active sources for campus safety. Private sources are often faster, lower-friction, and don't carry federal match or compliance requirements.

Do you coordinate with university advancement and the institutional foundation?

Yes. Many of our most successful campus engagements blend federal and state applications with coordinated asks through the university foundation, alumni giving, and named endowments. We work alongside your advancement office to align grant strategy with donor cultivation — particularly for behavioral intervention teams, victim advocates, and blue-light/mass-notification capital.

How much local match will we need to come up with?

It depends on the grant. STOP School Violence and OVW Campus are typically 25% non-federal match. JAG and most BJA programs are no-match. COPS Hiring is 25% local match in years 1–3 plus a fourth-year retention commitment. BVP is 50% reimbursement. We help you assemble match from auxiliary budget, student fees (where permissible), institutional reserves, foundation dollars, or in-kind contributions.

What kinds of campus police projects does Funding Navigator support?

Patrol fleet, body armor and tactical gear, body-worn cameras, blue-light phones, mass notification, access control and CCTV, threat assessment teams, behavioral intervention coordinators, Title IX investigators, victim advocates, mental health co-responders, K9 programs, active threat training, and campus-wide safety technology. If it's a campus safety capital or operational need, we've likely funded it.

What does Funding Navigator cost, and how is the pricing structured?

Flat-fee, transparent pricing — never contingency fees. Our pricing is published openly and is dramatically more affordable than traditional grant consultants who charge 10–15% of the award. Schedule a consultation and we'll quote your engagement based on scope, not on the size of the grant.

All Industries

Campus & University Police

Your direct route to campus police grants.

The fastest way to find and apply for campus safety funding — for university and college police departments, public safety divisions, and Clery-compliant institutions of higher education.

Flat-fee pricingNo contingency feesBuilt by fire & public safety vets

Trusted in

All 50 states

From small to

Multi-million $ awards

20+

Applications submitted per customer, per year

Unlimited

Standard projects, no per-project fees

7,000+

Federal, state & private sources tracked

Clery-Ready

Compliant project scoping

Funding Areas

Projects we help fund

A representative slice — not an exhaustive list. If your campus & university police has a project, there's almost certainly a funding pathway for it.

Vehicles & Patrol Fleet

Patrol vehicles, campus utility units, K9 transport, and emergency response — purpose-built for high-pedestrian campus environments.

Examples

Patrol fleet
Utility units
K9 vehicles
Emergency response

Staffing & Title IX Capacity

Sworn officers, dispatchers, threat assessment specialists, behavioral intervention coordinators, and Title IX investigators.

Examples

Officer hiring
Threat assessment
BIT/CARE teams
Title IX

Campus Safety & PPE

Ballistic vests, less-lethal tools, naloxone programs, AEDs, and de-escalation equipment for campus environments.

Examples

Body armor
Less-lethal
Naloxone
AEDs

Technology & Mass Notification

Body-worn cameras, blue-light phones, access control, CCTV, mass notification systems, and Clery-compliant reporting platforms.

Examples

BWC
Blue-light
Access control
Mass notification

Don't see your project? We fund hundreds more.

Explore all project types

Funding Sources

Funding sources our campus police customers submit to.

A working list — not exhaustive. Your match is built from the sources your institution actually qualifies for, then sequenced so applications don't compete against each other.

Source

What it funds

Typical Award

Federal

BJA STOP School Violence Program

Threat assessment, behavioral intervention teams, anonymous reporting systems, and campus safety technology — the most direct federal source for campus police.

$100K–$1M

COPS Hiring Program (CHP)

Federal funding to hire new career campus officers over a three-year period, with strong scoring for community policing strategies.

$125K per officer

COPS School Violence Prevention Program (SVPP)

Coordination with local law enforcement, training, technology, and physical security for K-12 partner districts and campus-adjacent schools.

$100K–$500K

Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant (JAG)

Flexible federal source — equipment, technology, training, overtime, and crime prevention programs. State pass-through often available for campus agencies.

$10K–$1M+

DOJ Office on Violence Against Women (OVW) — Campus Program

The dedicated federal source for campus sexual assault response, domestic violence, dating violence, and stalking — direct alignment with Title IX and Clery.

$300K–$1M

Patrick Leahy Bulletproof Vest Partnership (BVP)

Direct reimbursement program for NIJ-compliant body armor — campus police agencies are eligible recipients.

Up to 50% reimbursement

BJA Community Policing Development (CPD)

Procedural justice, de-escalation, officer wellness, mental health response, and community engagement training — strong fit for campus environments.

$100K–$500K

FEMA Continuous Training Grant / EMPG Pass-Through

Active threat training, tabletop exercises, and emergency operations planning for institutions of higher education.

$25K–$500K

Congressional Community Project Funding

Direct appropriations through your federal delegation — coached and packaged for your House and Senate offices.

$500K–$5M+

State & Local

State Homeland Security Program (SHSP) Pass-Through

State-administered DHS funding for tactical equipment, interoperable communications, and counter-terrorism capability on campus.

$25K–$1M

State Higher Education Capital & Safety Appropriations

State legislative line items for campus safety infrastructure, mass notification, and physical hardening — often the largest single source for IHEs.

$100K–$5M+

State Campus Safety & Sexual Assault Prevention Grants

State-administered programs supplementing federal OVW — sexual assault response, prevention education, and forensic exam capacity.

$10K–$250K

Corporate Giving

Higher Ed Vendor & Security Industry Programs

Genetec, Axon, Motorola, and access control vendors offer competitive campus safety grants for technology pilots and deployments.

$1K–$100K

National Public Safety & Foundation Programs

Spirit of Blue, Shield 616, Target, and Walmart Community Grants — proven sources for body armor, K9 programs, and campus safety equipment.

$1K–$250K

Private Foundations

Campus Safety & Higher Ed Foundations

Clery Center, Margolis Healy, Jeanne Clery family of programs, and higher-ed-focused foundations supporting prevention, training, and victim services.

$5K–$500K

University Foundation & Alumni Giving

Your own institution's foundation, named endowments, and alumni giving channels — often the cleanest source of unrestricted campus safety dollars.

$5K–$2M+

Capital Campaigns

Donor-Funded Safety & Wellness Initiatives

Targeted donor cultivation for behavioral intervention teams, victim advocate positions, blue-light expansion, and mental-health co-responder programs.

$50K–$5M+

Not exhaustive — we submit to every source your department qualifies for.

How the Program Works

One subscription. As many projects as your campus can run.

Most consultants charge per application or take a cut of every award. We don't. Subscribe to the Campus Police Grant Program and submit as many standard projects as your department can run in a year — to every source you qualify for. Multi-year capital, building, and major technology projects get their own scoped pricing.

No project limits

Threat assessment expansion this semester, BWC deployment next semester, a COPS hiring push in the fall — all included.

Every grant you qualify for

Federal, state, regional, and private — including the campus-specific funders most LE consultants overlook.

Clery, Title IX & Higher Ed compliance built in

Project narratives written to align with Clery Act, Title IX, VAWA, and SaVE Act obligations — turning compliance burdens into fundable strengths.

What's Included

Every piece of the funding lifecycle.

Annual funding strategy & multi-source application calendar

Eligibility screening across federal, state, foundation, and university sources

Full narrative writing — federal, state, and private

Budget development and match strategy

Submission, drawdown, and award acceptance support

Quarterly progress and performance reporting

Post-award compliance (28 CFR Part 200, Clery, Title IX, BABA)

Audit-ready file management and document retention

Who We Serve

Built for every kind of campus & university police agency.

Public University Police Departments

Private University & College Public Safety

Community College Police & Security

HBCU, MSI & Tribal College Public Safety

Campus Title IX & Behavioral Intervention Teams

Multi-Campus & University System Police

FAQ

Common questions from campus & university police.

Straight answers for chiefs of campus police, public safety directors, and Clery coordinators evaluating Funding Navigator.

Schedule a 30-minute consultation

Talk with one of our grant experts about how Funding Navigator could help your campus & university police secure grants.

← All Industries