Church Security Grants 2026: FEMA NSGP and State Funds

This guide is for: pastors, trustees, safety teams, and church administrators who want outside money for cameras, access control, lighting, doors, or security training, and need to know what's open, what's closed, and what to do before the next round.

Full answer: The main federal source of church security grants is FEMA's Nonprofit Security Grant Program (NSGP). Its FY2026 round had $300 million, let a church request up to $200,000 per site with no cost share, and multiplied houses of worship's scores by 3. That round is closed: the federal deadline was July 24, 2026, state deadlines came earlier, and FEMA announced awards on September 28, 2026. No FY2027 notice was posted as of October 15, 2026. Some states run their own security programs that include churches, including New York, Pennsylvania, and California. The step that decides who gets funded happens before any notice opens: a site-specific vulnerability assessment, which NSGP itself won't pay for.

Data note: Grantsights checked the FY2026 NSGP listing and four earlier NSGP notices on Grants.gov, FEMA's NSGP program, application, and FY2026 key changes pages, Maine's FY2026 subapplicant notice, USAspending.gov obligations for Assistance Listing 97.008 in FY2024 and FY2025, CISA's houses of worship page, and three state program sources, all on October 15, 2026. Foundation figures come from Grantsights analysis of tax-year 2024 Form 990-PF grant records from 3,972 private foundations.

Last updated: October 15, 2026.

For the wider set of programs churches can use, start with our grants for churches guide. If the security work is part of a bigger building project, our church building repair grants guide covers roofs, storm damage, and historic sanctuaries.

Church Security Funding Routes at a Glance

Four kinds of money pay for church security, and only 1 of them is a large, recurring federal program. The table shows each route's terms as of October 15, 2026.

Foundations almost never earmark money for church security. Grantsights analysis of tax-year 2024 Form 990-PF grant records from 3,972 private foundations found 2,937 grants to 2,533 churches and ministries, and only 2 of them had a stated purpose that named security. Most foundation gifts to churches are written as general support, so a foundation could still pay for security that way, but almost none earmark it. For church security, public programs are the route that's actually built for the job.

FEMA's Nonprofit Security Grant Program: The FY2026 Round

The FY2026 NSGP had $300 million, split evenly: $150 million for nonprofits inside designated urban areas (NSGP-UA) and $150 million for nonprofits elsewhere in each state (NSGP-S), according to FEMA's Nonprofit Security Grant Program page. The page now reads "FY 2026 Funds Awarded" and dates the award announcement to September 28, 2026.

The federal listing on Grants.gov, opportunity DHS-26-GPD-008-00-99, was posted June 24, 2026, closed July 24, 2026, and archived August 23, 2026. Its listed eligible applicants are "State Administrative Agencies," and it expected 56 awards. That's the detail many churches miss: the church never applies to FEMA. It applies to its state, and the state applies to FEMA.

The FY2026 terms that matter for a church, from FEMA's FY2026 key changes document and the Maine FY2026 subapplicant notice:

• Per-site cap: up to $200,000 for each physical site, with a separate Investment Justification for each site.
• Multiple sites: up to three sites per funding stream, and no more than $600,000 per organization in one state. In states with no designated urban area, no more than three applications per organization.
• No cost share: the FY2026 program had no match requirement.
• Period of performance: Maine's notice listed September 1, 2026 through August 31, 2029.
• Allocation: FY2026 money went to states as risk-based allocations, with subawards still made competitively.

Who Applies, and What a Church Has to Submit

A church applies as a subapplicant, and its State Administrative Agency sets a deadline that comes before FEMA's. FEMA's NSGP application page says the state "establishes the final deadline for the submission of subapplications," which is earlier than the deadline in the federal notice. In Maine's FY2026 round, the state window ran July 1 to July 16, 2026, which is 15 days.

Eligibility. The organization must be described under section 501(c)(3) and exempt under 501(a), and it must show that it's at high risk of a terrorist or other extremist attack. Maine's notice lists houses of worship first among eligible types. It also says churches, mosques, and synagogues aren't required to provide an IRS recognition of exemption, because the IRS treats them as automatically exempt when they meet 501(c)(3) requirements.

Registrations. Maine's notice required an active SAM.gov registration with a Unique Entity Identifier (renewed every year), an EIN, a Login.gov account, and a Grants.gov account for downloading forms. SAM registration can take weeks, so it's the first thing to start. Our guide on how to apply for church grants walks through the registration order.

The four documents in Maine's FY2026 package:

1. Investment Justification (IJ): one per site, describing the threat, the vulnerabilities, and the projects that address them. Scanned IJs and old-year forms were grounds for disqualification.
2. Vulnerability or risk assessment: specific to the site in the IJ.
3. Mission statement: plus any mission practices that raise the organization's risk. The state uses it to confirm the organization's category.
4. Bios and resumes: short bios for leadership and board members, using a state template.

Requirements differ by state, so treat Maine's list as a model, not your state's checklist. Find your agency on FEMA's State Administrative Agency contacts page.

How NSGP Scores Houses of Worship

The FY2026 scoring formula gave religious organizations a multiplier of 3, which is the single biggest reason churches should take NSGP seriously. According to Maine's FY2026 notice, the state's score is multiplied by:

• 3 for ideology-based, spiritual, or religious organizations, including houses of worship and religious schools
• 2 for secular medical and secular educational institutions
• 1 for all other nonprofits

First-time recipients get 15 points added to the final score, and FEMA's FY2026 key changes document says no other bonus points apply. Applications are then funded in score order until the money runs out. After selection, DHS checks each organization's name and address against intelligence community reporting before final awards.

The multiplier doesn't rescue a weak application. The state's base score still rests on criteria such as:

• A documented, current threat against the organization or similar ones, based on its beliefs or mission
• The site's symbolic value
• How closely the requested projects match the vulnerabilities in the assessment
• Whether the project can be finished within the three-year performance period
• Whether the organization has received NSGP money before (not having it counts in your favor)

A common mistake is asking for a list of equipment without tying each item to a named vulnerability. If the assessment says the side entrance has no access control, a request for an access control system at that door scores well. A request for cameras that the assessment never mentions doesn't.

What NSGP Pays For, and What It Won't

NSGP pays for four categories of cost, and the FY2026 equipment list covers most of what a church safety team asks about. Maine's notice lists:

• Planning: security and emergency plans, evacuation and shelter-in-place plans
• Equipment: access control and credentialing systems, impact-resistant doors and gates, shatter-resistant glass and window film, fencing, bollards, barriers, perimeter lighting, security cameras, alarm and intrusion detection systems, public address and warning systems, cybersecurity software, generators and backup power for security systems, and screening equipment
• Training and exercises: such as active shooter training and threat response exercises
• Contracted security: private guards, including off-duty law enforcement acting as contract security

Up to 5% of each subaward can go to management and administration.

What it won't pay for is just as important. The FY2026 notice lists these as unallowable:

• Funding the vulnerability assessment itself, or paying someone to write the Investment Justification
• Pre-award costs (anything bought before the award)
• Hiring public safety personnel, overtime, and backfill
• General-use expenses

The rules after an award catch churches off guard too. Any project that changes the building or installs fixtures, including cameras and fencing, needs a completed Environmental Planning and Historic Preservation review before federal money is released. Build America, Buy America rules apply to materials permanently attached to the project. And a contractor who helped draft the application or the project scope can't then bid on the work. A church that let its security vendor write the IJ has a procurement problem before it starts.

NSGP Funding History and Timing

FEMA has posted an NSGP notice on Grants.gov every year since FY2009, and the federal window has been as short as 14 days. Grantsights checked each recent notice there:

Two patterns stand out. The notice has moved later in the year, from late February in FY2023 to late June or July in FY2025 and FY2026. And state deadlines sit inside these windows, so the real time a church has can be about two weeks. Any church that waits for the notice before ordering an assessment, registering in SAM, and collecting board bios will likely miss the state deadline.

Federal obligations by year. According to USAspending.gov data for Assistance Listing 97.008, NSGP obligations were $432.6 million in FY2024 and $467.4 million in FY2025, spread across 56 states and territories. Obligations in a fiscal year can include money from more than one notice, so they won't match the notice totals above. The states with the largest FY2025 obligations were:

These amounts go to the state agency, which then makes subawards to nonprofits, so they show where the money lands, not how many churches got it.

State Security Grant Programs That Include Churches

At least 3 large states run their own nonprofit security programs that list houses of worship, and their rules differ from NSGP in ways that matter. Grantsights verified each on its official source:

New York: Securing Communities Against Hate Crimes. On September 8, 2026, the Governor's office announced a record $70 million for 290 nonprofit organizations, with requests of up to $250,000 each. Eligible organizations include religious organizations and houses of worship, and funded projects cover exterior or interior security work such as lighting, locks, alarms, panic buttons, fencing, barriers, access controls, cybersecurity, and training. Applicants submitted vulnerability assessments showing they were at risk. The state reports 2,035 projects funded since 2021.

Pennsylvania: Nonprofit Security Grant Fund. The Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Delinquency announced $10 million on July 27, 2026 for places of worship and other nonprofits that primarily serve communities at heightened risk of hate crimes. Awards range from $5,000 to $150,000, and eligible uses include vulnerability and threat assessments, which NSGP won't fund. Initial requests were due through an online form by September 10, 2026. The previous round, awarded in March 2026, funded 191 organizations across 28 counties.

California: State Nonprofit Security Grant Program. The FY2025-26 Cal OES RFP offered $76 million, up to $250,000 per location and $500,000 per applicant, with proposals due December 12, 2025. Like NSGP, it accepts churches without an IRS letter. One rule trips up churches that share space: only one nonprofit per building can apply, so a church and a school or ministry in the same building have to decide which one files. Grantsights didn't find a newer California RFP posted as of October 15, 2026.

Other states may run similar programs through a homeland security office or criminal justice agency. Ask your State Administrative Agency whether a state-funded round exists alongside NSGP.

What Security Grant Lists Don't Tell You

Grantsights compared the official NSGP and state program rules against how church grant lists usually describe security money, and five gaps come up often.

1. "Open" usually means "last year." Lists keep showing NSGP as available. FY2026 closed in July, and the next notice hasn't been posted. Plan around the assessment, not the deadline.
2. The assessment is unpaid prep work. NSGP won't reimburse it. CISA's free Houses of Worship Security Self-Assessment is a starting point, and CISA's Protective Security Advisors work with private-sector partners on protecting facilities. Some state programs, like Pennsylvania's, fund assessments directly.
3. Nothing bought early counts. Pre-award costs aren't allowed. A church that installs cameras in spring and applies in summer can't be reimbursed for them.
4. Your vendor can't write your application and then do the work. FY2026 procurement rules bar contractors who drafted the application, budget, or scope from competing for the contract.
5. Historic buildings add a review step. Every physical change needs environmental and historic preservation clearance before money is released. Older sanctuaries can take longer to clear, so build that into the three-year timeline.

Can Federal Security Money Go to a Worship Building?

Yes. NSGP is one of the few federal programs that funds houses of worship by name, and it pays for hardening the building where worship takes place. That's different from HUD programs, where 24 CFR 5.109 bars direct federal money from rehabilitating sanctuaries or chapels used as the principal place of worship. NSGP equipment protects people and property; it doesn't pay for religious activity, and it's scored on threat and vulnerability, not on what happens inside.

State programs follow similar logic. In Trinity Lutheran Church v. Comer (2017), the Supreme Court held that Missouri violated the Free Exercise Clause by denying a church preschool a playground resurfacing grant because it was a church; the opinion notes that the center ranked fifth of 44 applicants. A state that offers a generally available security grant can't exclude churches solely for being religious. For the wider picture on government money and churches, see our guide to government grants for churches.

A 90-Day Plan Before the Next NSGP Notice

A church that finishes these 6 steps in the next 90 days will be ready for a window as short as two weeks.

1. Register in SAM now. Get the Unique Entity Identifier and set a reminder to renew it every year. Create Login.gov and Grants.gov accounts at the same time.
2. Complete a site vulnerability assessment. Use CISA's self-assessment, ask your state's homeland security office whether it offers help with assessments, and document each finding by location (doors, windows, parking, lighting, cyber).
3. Document threats. Keep dated records of incidents, threats, police reports, and vandalism at your site or similar congregations in your area. The threat section carries real weight in scoring.
4. Draft the Investment Justification in plain language. Tie every requested item to a specific vulnerability and a cost estimate from a vendor who won't bid on the work.
5. Gather board bios, the mission statement, and EIN paperwork. These were required in Maine's FY2026 package and take longer than they should.
6. Call your State Administrative Agency. Ask when it expects the next notice, what its internal deadline was last year, and whether a state-funded program also exists.

Use the eligibility checker to see which other programs fit your congregation, and the church grant path index to compare routes for security, food, youth, and buildings.

Foundation Money Alongside NSGP

Private foundations rarely give for church security specifically, but they do give to churches: 1,188 foundations made 2,937 grants to churches and ministries worth $83.8 million in tax year 2024, with a median grant of $7,000, according to Grantsights analysis of tax-year 2024 Form 990-PF grant records from 3,972 private foundations. That covers only foundations in our dataset and one tax year, and it undercounts gifts to churches that report under a different name.

That money can fill the gaps NSGP leaves: the assessment, training before an award, or items bought before the grant period. Since 632 of those 1,188 foundations gave to just one church, a local funder with a tie to your congregation is a better target than a national one. You can see how many foundations gave to churches in your state, with two named. The $29 church funder list names all of the foundations that reported grants to churches and ministries on their own IRS Form 990-PF filings, by state, with links to their filings and a 30-day refund. Our guide to foundations that give grants to churches explains how to read those filings.

Sources Checked

All sources were checked on October 15, 2026:

• FEMA: Nonprofit Security Grant Program, NSGP application process, FY2026 NSGP key changes, State Administrative Agency contacts
• Grants.gov: FY2026 NSGP, DHS-26-GPD-008-00-99, plus FY2023, FY2024, FY2025, and National Security Supplemental NSGP listings (opportunities 346423, 353550, 360157, 356869)
• Maine Emergency Management Agency FY2026 NSGP subapplicant notice
• USAspending.gov obligations for Assistance Listing 97.008, FY2024 and FY2025, by recipient state
• CISA Protecting Houses of Worship
• New York Governor's office, September 8, 2026 release
• Pennsylvania PCCD, $10 million Nonprofit Security Grant Fund announcement
• Cal OES FY2025 CSNSGP RFP
• 24 CFR 5.109; Trinity Lutheran Church v. Comer, 582 U.S. (2017)