Honoring National Missing Persons Day with Grants for Resources

This past year, one missing person case gained the attention of millions. The case of 22-year-old Gabby Petito was everywhere in the news and quickly became a heavily social media-reliant case. This attention eventually led to answers for Petito’s family and loved ones. However, Petito is just one of the many people who have gone missing over the past few years. According to the FBI, in 2020, there were more than 540,000 missing persons. In addition, officials discover approximately 4,400 unidentified bodies every year, according to the National Missing and Unidentified Persons (NamUS) database.

After finding their daughter, Petito’s family decided to start a foundation in her name. According to the foundation’s website, its mission is, “to address the needs of organizations that support locating missing persons and to provide aid to organizations that assist victims of domestic violence situations, through education, awareness, and prevention strategies.”

While it is apparent that more needs to be done when it comes to missing person cases, many agencies lack the resources needed to make a real difference. GrantWatch has several grants specifically to assist with searches to locate missing people. And in honor of National Missing Persons Day, which takes place on Feb. 3, GrantWatch is sharing five of these grants today.

Five Grants to Help Locate Missing People

1. Firstly, there are grants of $500 to Montana Native families and individuals to help locate missing people. Funding is to assist families who are conducting community-wide searches for missing loved ones in reservations and in urban areas. The grant will provide direct assistance to the leaders of the search.
2. There are also grants to California nonprofit organizations in eligible counties for programs to benefit Indigenous women and girls. Applicants must submit an organization information form prior to submitting a full proposal. Funding is to address the injustices facing missing and murdered Indigenous women. Organizations in Monterey and Santa Cruz Counties may apply.
3. In addition, there are grants of $1,000 to Alaska, Idaho, Montana, Oregon, Washington, and British Columbia families of missing indigenous women. The purpose of funding is to support indigenous families searching for their loved ones. Funding can go to conducting searches, raising awareness, holding healing ceremonies, assisting those found, or paying for funeral-related costs.
4. There is funding of up to $2,000 to New Hampshire nonprofits and government agencies for efforts to improve hiking trails and search and rescue operations. Funding will go to proposals for public education, equipment, and group training. The grant program assists organizations that align with the Council’s mission of support for the New Hampshire hiking trail system, search and rescue operations in the state, and educational projects to prevent the need for search and rescue missions.
5. Finally, there are grants to California nonprofits, government agencies, public schools, and tribes in eligible locations for programs with a focus on human trafficking. Funding is to support new or existing programs that involve outreach, education, interorganizational communication, and rehabilitation of victims.

GrantNews Notes

Also, make sure to give your organization the gift of GrantWatch in 2022! Signing up for a paid subscription to GrantWatch will help you to gain access to resources to aid in your grant journey. Specifically, one of the tools that subscribers have access to is our exact keyword search function. This tool allows grant seekers to narrow down a grant search.