Enforcing Sanctions on China and Russia

The U.S. Department of State’s Office of Cooperative Threat Reduction (ISN/CTR), within the Bureau of International Security and Nonproliferation, has released a Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) titled "Implementing China and Russia Sanctions" under opportunity number DFOP0017256. This funding initiative focuses on countering sanctions evasion activities by China and Russia that exploit global supply chains and the U.S. financial system to support weapons proliferation through illicit networks. ISN/CTR supports projects that enhance public and private sector capabilities to identify and disrupt these evasion tactics. The funding opportunity aligns with the Department’s broader mission to mitigate threats from weapons of mass destruction (WMD) and related delivery systems by adversarial state and non-state actors. This NOFO anticipates awarding up to 10 grants or cooperative agreements, ranging between $250,000 and $5,000,000, with total available funding of $19.5 million, subject to availability. The expected project performance period is up to 24 months, with all projects required to be completed within 15 months. The anticipated start date for funded projects is January 1, 2026. Proposed projects may fall under four broad areas: financial sector sanctions enforcement, sanctions compliance in dual-use technology and manufacturing sectors, evasion in trade and logistics, and public sector engagement for regulatory enforcement. Applicants may include both U.S. and foreign-based organizations, including for-profit businesses, nonprofits, public and private institutions of higher education, federally funded research centers, and public international or foreign entities. Eligibility is broad, with no cost-sharing requirement. Each organization may submit one application that can encompass multiple independently evaluated projects. Applications must be submitted through Grants.gov unless applying for Inter-Agency Agreement (IAA) funding, which should be directed to ctrspecialprojectsproposals@state.gov and ISN-CTR-BUDGET@state.gov. All applicants must have a Unique Entity Identifier (UEI) and be registered in SAM.gov. Applications that fail to comply with these requirements will be deemed ineligible. The proposal package must include several mandatory components, including SF-424 forms, a summary page, key personnel list, monitoring and evaluation narrative and tracker, consolidated project list, detailed project narratives, and budget justification documents. Each proposed project should include objectives, methods, deliverables, outcomes, risk analysis, and a timeline. Review criteria include project quality, feasibility, organizational capacity, cost effectiveness, monitoring and evaluation, and sustainability. Applications will be evaluated by a panel of subject matter experts and must adhere to federal laws and Department of State regulations, including those related to anti-discrimination and terrorism funding restrictions. The application deadline is July 30, 2025, at 11:59 PM EDT. Questions may be submitted to the listed email addresses, and responses will be posted weekly on Grants.gov until July 25, 2025. Award notifications will be issued by October 15, 2025. The grant payment process is managed through the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Payment Management System. Award recipients must comply with quarterly reporting requirements and may be subject to additional federal policies and reviews, such as financial audits and compliance with the Leahy Law and the Trafficking Victims Protection Act.

Format carefully; follow templates and instructions exactly; avoid missing or extra documents; tailor proposals to project areas and country-specific risks