Homeland Security Nonprofit Security Grant
The Nonprofit Security Grant (NPSG) provides $150,000 in grant funding to nonprofit organizations anywhere in the United States who are at risk of terrorist or hate-crime attack.
A nonprofit organization can apply for up to three $150,000 grants if the organization has 3 different building addresses. Grant funding can be used for security equipment purchase and installation, security training for staff and constituents and for security guard costs. This grant becomes available in the spring with an application window of 3-5 weeks, on average. Organizations that have not received a previous award receive bonus points.
Note: All New York applicants must be pre-qualified on the New York State Grant Gateways System before submitting an application. Evergreen Grant Writing provides this service.
Bonus Round
Later this summer FEMA is expected to issue an additional Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO), allocating the second $240 million tranche of supplemental emergency funding, with similar requirements and criteria as the regular annual program. Simply put, there will be a Fall 2024 round of NSGP applications.
UPDATE
Steps Required for the Homeland Security Grant
Vulnerability Risk Assessment
A Vulnerability Risk Assessment can be carried out by a police department official or by a private security firm. The police department reviews are free but not necessarily as complete or customized as those done by a private firm. The private security firm’s fee is often worth the cost as the Vulnerability Risk Assessment is an important part of this competitive grant submission.
Security Grant Committee
Assemble a Security Grant Committee of 3 to 5 individuals with key management or financial roles at the agency. These Security Grant Committee members should ideally have project management experience, financial oversight experience and a history of working with contractors and security personnel.
NYS Grant Gateways Registration
New York nonprofits must be registered and prequalified on the NY Grant Gateways platform. This is a time-consuming process and requires the gathering of official agency documents to submit as well as the answering of questions about agency policies. More details here. When this process is completed, the nonprofit is "Prequalified" and can apply for the Nonprofit Security Grant.
If you are a nonprofit agency outside of New York State, this registration is not required, though your state may or may not have its own registration requirements.
Item List
The Security Grant Committee of your agency, in consultation with the board needs to select a list of items to apply for that totals $150,000. These budget costs are estimates and actual bids will be needed AFTER you are approved for the funding. The budget item costs need to be reasonable estimates to be included in the application.
Writing Grant Application
The grant application needs to be written and follow the recommendations provided in the Vulnerability Risk Assessment. This grant application is a narrative answering various questions about the agency, its mission and activities and what about the agency puts it at risk of a terrorist or hate crimes attack.
Police Reports
Any incidents of attack or threat at the nonprofit need to be documented and a police report should be filed. The records should be kept in order to be included with the grant application.
Once the grant application is written and submitted, award decisions will usually made with 2 months. This is a competitive grant, and the application is scored. Applicants who have never received an award are granted bonus points in the scoring of the application.