The VA Is Giving Away $112 Million in Suicide Prevention Grants. Here’s Who Can Apply and Why It Matters

The Department of Veterans Affairs is giving away $112 million in grants to community organizations that provide suicide prevention services to veterans. Applications are open now through June 12, 2026, and the money is available to nonprofits, state and local governments, federally recognized tribes and other community-based organizations with a demonstrated capacity to serve veterans.

The funding comes through the Staff Sergeant Parker Gordon Fox Suicide Prevention Grant Program, named for Army Staff Sgt. Parker Gordon Fox, who died by suicide in 2020 after two combat deployments. The program was established to reach veterans who are not connected to VA care, the population that accounts for the majority of veteran suicides.

Why Community Grants Matter

The VA’s own data underscores the urgency. Sixty percent of the veterans who die by suicide were not receiving VHA care at any point in the two years before their death. That means the VA’s clinical infrastructure, no matter how well funded, does not reach the majority of veterans at highest risk. The Fox grant program is designed to close that gap by funding organizations that are already embedded in the communities where these veterans live.

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The results so far suggest that the approach is working. In 2025, Fox grant recipients served more than 17,000 veterans, service members and family members, a 31% increase over 2024. That included nearly 9,000 veterans identified as having an elevated risk for suicide, and 91.8% of those individuals reported a decrease in risk factors after receiving help through the program. More than 2,500 veterans enrolled in VA health care for the first time in 2025 as a direct result of their contact with a Fox grantee, a 43.7% increase from the previous year.

Who Can Apply

Eligible applicants include nonprofit organizations, state and local government agencies, federally recognized tribal organizations and other community-based groups that can demonstrate an existing capacity to serve veterans. Since the program launched in 2022, the VA has awarded $210 million to 111 organizations across 46 states, U.S. territories and tribal lands. The grants fund a range of services including outreach, peer support, care coordination, clinical referrals and connection to VA benefits and enrollment.

Full eligibility details, priorities and application requirements are available through Grants.gov (opportunity number 361498). The VA is also offering technical assistance including webinars and application guidance materials through its Fox grant program page at MentalHealth.VA.gov/ssgfox-grants.

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The Broader Context

The Fox grant announcement comes during a period of heightened concern about veteran mental health. Approximately 17 veterans die by suicide each day, a number that has remained largely unchanged for 15 years despite annual suicide prevention budgets that reached $588 million in recent years. VA Secretary Doug Collins has publicly questioned whether those dollars are being spent effectively, calling for a redirection toward programs that produce measurable results. The Fox grant program’s 2025 outcome data, particularly the 91.8% reduction in risk factors and the sharp increase in first-time VA enrollments, represents the kind of measurable return Collins has called for.

At the same time, the VA’s broader workforce reductions and the ongoing VHA reorganization have raised questions about whether the department’s internal suicide prevention capacity is keeping pace. The Veterans Crisis Line handled 1.3 million calls, texts and chats in 2025 with an average answer time of under 10 seconds. Whether the community organizations funded by Fox grants can continue to scale as the population of veterans in crisis grows, particularly as the Iran conflict generates a new cohort of combat veterans, will depend on sustained funding and congressional support.

Organizations interested in applying should begin the process now. The June 12 deadline will come quickly, and the VA’s technical assistance resources are available immediately.

If you or a veteran you know is in crisis, contact the Veterans Crisis Line by calling 988 and pressing 1, texting 838255, or chatting at VeteransCrisisLine.net. Support is available 24/7.

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