Short answer, we don’t know. The U.S. Department of Homeland Security cannot formally announce any grant program before there is a federal budget and Congress gave itself up to April 28, 2017 to come to an agreement. Both the House and the Senate included the program in their appropriations, but they must still work out the funding level of the program (We want it raised to $25 million.). It could be that the grant deadline is only days, rather than weeks, after the grant announcement, so get started now! 

We don’t expect many changes in the application process this year. Our best advice, complete all of the preliminary steps below and a draft of your application (known as the “Investment Justification” or “IJ”) as soon as possible. If there are any changes, you will be able to concentrate on the changes.

One final piece of advice. If you think that your organization is at high risk because of ideology-based/spiritual/religious reasons, think about how you would document them, especially if you follow mission implementing policies or practices that may elevate your risk. If you are a religious corporation, the answer is clear. If not, there may be an opportunity to document the risk.

Thank you to our champions. They fought for this grant and 70 NY organizations will benefit this year. They are already fighting for the 2017 allocation. Please let Senators Schumer and Gillibrand and Reps. Lowey, Donovan and King and the rest of our delegation know that you appreciate their hard work.

SCHUMER, GILLIBRAND SECURE OVER $5.1 MILLION TO IMPROVE EMERGENCY PREPAREDNESS FOR RELIGIOUS INSTITUTIONS & ORGANIZATIONS IN-AND-AROUND NYC; GRANTS AWARDED TO 66 AT-RISK JEWISH SCHOOLS AND CONGREGATIONS

Schumer and Gillibrand Secured over 25% Of Total Funding For Organizations Based in New York – Out of the Total $20 Million Granted to Awardees Across the Country
The Awardees Include 66 Jewish Educational Institutions and Congregations; The Money Will Help These At-Risk Nonprofits For Security Preparedness
Schumer, Gillibrand: These Schools and Congregations are Vital Parts of our Community and Like Institutions Have Been Targeted Before; We Must Do All we can to Protect all At-Risk Institutions

U.S. Senators Charles Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand announced today that 66 New York Jewish organizations, including schools and congregations, and more have received a combined total of $5,172,143 for the 2016 fiscal year as Urban Areas Security Initiative (UASI) Nonprofit Security Grant Program (NSGP) Awardees. The program, run by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), awards federal funds to nonprofit organizations that are at a high risk of a national terrorist attack to encourage preparedness efforts.

“Would-be evildoers have previously targeted schools and congregations for attacks and that’s why FEMA’s Nonprofit Security Grant Program is critical in making sure that high-risk organizations like Jewish schools and congregations are safe and protected from terrorist attacks,” said Senator Schumer. “It is especially important for organizations in and around New York City to receive this federal funding, which will go a long way to ensure that they are fully prepared for whatever may happen in the future.”

“New York is the number one terror target in the world, so we must continue to be vigilant, and I’ll continue to fight for every available federal resource to help keep us safe,” said Senator Gillibrand. “New York’s religious institutions and non-profit organizations, including Jewish schools and congregations, are the backbone of our communities. These federal funds through Homeland Security will provide the necessary resources to help keep our places of worship safe and secure.”

The Nonprofit Security Grant Program (NSGP) is run under the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s (FEMA) Urban Areas Security Initiative (UASI). For the 2016 fiscal year, the UASI NSGP was budgeted $20 million. Only eligible nonprofit organizations, as described by the 501(c)(3) tax code of 1986, may apply for this grant. To be eligible, the nonprofit must be at high risk for an international terrorist attack and must be located in one of the designated urban areas throughout the country.

The 66 Jewish organizations that received funding from the New York City-metro area are:

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security released its guidance on Tuesday for the $20 million Nonprofit Security Grant Program. The grant is competitive and awardees can qualify for up to $75,000 in equipment approved for target hardening.

• The NYS Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Services (DHSES)  2016 RFA (application package) at http://www.dhses.ny.gov/grants/nonprofit.cfm is live. The deadline for submission will be March 28, 2016. (Applicants will still have 6 weeks to complete their application package and will be finished before Passover.)  If you have any questions regarding this announcement, please contact DHSES via email at: grants@dhses.ny.gov.
• In New York, nonprofits located in NYC, Long Island and Westchester are eligible. Outside of NY, check here.
• JCRC scheduled its assistance webinar on Monday, February 22, 2016 from 11AM to 12:30PM. Click here to reserve and receive the instructions to connect to the webinar.
• We are busily updating our help webpage at www.jcrcny.org/securitygrants. We plan to include the webinar presentations and a recording of the webinar on the page. Check back often.
• Click here to subscribe to the JCRC-NY Security and Emergency Preparedness Alert list. Subscribers will receive updates on the security grant program and other alerts.

JCRC-NY and UJA-Federation worked closely with JFNA and its partners worked very hard to bolster the NSGP program allocation this year, and the roles of the Orthodox Union and Agudath Israel were critical.

Working on our behalf were Senators Charles Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand and members of Congress who signed onto Congressman Peter King’s letter urging an increase in the allocation this year: Dan Donovan, Elliot Engel, Carolyn Maloney, Grace Meng, Jerry Nadler, Kathleen Rice and Lee Zeldin.

The 2016 U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) budget includes $20 million for the Nonprofit Security Grant Program. According to the best information DHS will release its general grant guidance information to the states in mid-February. NYS Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Services (NY DHSES) will then develop its RFA (application package) based on the DHS guidance. The RFA will specify a deadline for all applications to be electronically submitted. Note: In NY, the requirements and deadlines posted by NY DHSES are final.

This year, we expect very few changes in the RFA. Make sure that you’re prequalified (see below). Don’t wait. If you intend to apply for the grant get started now.

JCRC-NY and UJA-Federation worked closely with JFNA and its partners worked very hard to bolster the NSGP program allocation this year, and the roles of the Orthodox Union and Agudath Israel were critical.