Church security grants are not limited to one tradition. The federal Nonprofit Security Grant Program (NSGP) has funded Catholic parishes, mainline Protestant congregations, evangelical megachurches, historically Black churches, African Methodist Episcopal (AME) congregations, and Eastern Orthodox parishes across multiple cycles. State programs in Pennsylvania, Maryland, Ohio, Tennessee, Georgia, and Connecticut have followed the same pattern.
The 2026 cycle continues that breadth. Federal NSGP and the six state programs below make several hundred million dollars collectively available to Christian congregations that can document risk, define vulnerabilities, and tie funded mitigations to specific consequence reduction. This guide covers each program plus the cross-cutting issues that come up for multi-site ministries, denominational offices, and missions buildings.
Federal NSGP for Churches
The federal NSGP is administered by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and runs through State Administrative Agencies (SAAs) in every state. The official program page is https://www.fema.gov/grants/preparedness/nonprofit-security. Two streams operate in parallel.
NSGP-UA (Urban Area). Funds churches inside federally designated Urban Area Security Initiative (UASI) cities (New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Houston, Philadelphia, Phoenix, Dallas, Miami, Atlanta, Washington DC, and roughly two dozen others). Award ceiling: $200,000 per facility in 2026.
NSGP-S (State). Funds churches everywhere else. A rural Catholic parish, a historically Black church in the Mississippi Delta, an evangelical congregation in suburban Idaho, an Orthodox parish in upstate New York: all apply through NSGP-S in their state. Award ceiling: $200,000 per facility in 2026.
Three rules govern church eligibility:
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501(c)(3) status. The applying entity must hold a current IRS determination letter. A parish usually applies under the diocese’s 501(c)(3) or a parish-level group exemption letter. Independent evangelical churches apply under their own 501(c)(3). Networks like the Southern Baptist Convention or the United Methodist Church do not file one application for all congregations; each local church applies on its own.
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Documented risk. Federal NSGP does not require a prior incident at the specific facility. It requires documented risk meeting a community-pattern threshold: bias incidents against Christians or a specific denomination in the region, threats received by the congregation, the congregation’s visibility, and the broader pattern of attacks on houses of worship. The Mother Emanuel AME shooting in Charleston (2015), the Sutherland Springs Baptist Church shooting (2017), the Covenant School shooting in Nashville (2023), and recurring arson and vandalism documented annually by the FBI establish federal recognition that churches face credible threats.
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Active registration. The church must hold an active SAM.gov Unique Entity Identifier (UEI). Register or renew at https://sam.gov/ at least six weeks before the SAA deadline.
Each funded facility submits one Investment Justification (IJ), one vulnerability assessment, one mission statement, and a budget. Multi-site ministries submit one IJ per facility. The IJ is scored on Risk, Vulnerability, Consequences, and Effect of Funding.
Allowable categories include physical security equipment (bollards, doors, locks, windows, fencing, lighting, access control, cameras, PA systems), contract security personnel, training, and planning. Pews, sanctuary furniture, worship sound systems, and items not tied to documented vulnerability fall outside scope.
If you lead a congregation, multi-site ministry, or denominational office evaluating NSGP plus state programs for the 2026 cycle, the application package looks different by denomination and by state. We run church-specific intake calls that map the full stack against your facility set. Book a free consultation with SGA here.
Pennsylvania: NSGFP for Churches
Pennsylvania’s Nonprofit Security Grant Fund Program (NSGFP) was created by Act 83 of 2019 and is administered by the Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Delinquency (PCCD) at https://www.pccd.pa.gov/. Pennsylvania funds Christian congregations in every cycle, including Catholic parishes across the Archdiocese of Philadelphia and the Dioceses of Pittsburgh, Harrisburg, Allentown, Erie, Greensburg, and Scranton, plus Episcopal, Lutheran, Presbyterian, United Methodist, AME, Baptist, Pentecostal, and non-denominational congregations.
2026 cycle parameters:
- Award ceiling: $150,000 per facility
- Match: tiered by request size. Requests up to $25,000 carry no match; requests from $25,001 to $75,000 carry a 33% match; requests from $75,001 to $150,000 carry a 50% match. The match applies to the requested amount, not the organization’s annual budget
- Eligible costs: alarm systems, surveillance, perimeter barriers, contract security personnel
- Submission: PCCD Egrants portal, with a state-specific form on top of the federal-style IJ
PCCD permits parallel applications for different cost categories at the same facility, so Pennsylvania churches frequently stack NSGFP with federal NSGP for the same cycle.
Maryland: PAHC for Churches
Maryland’s Protecting Against Hate Crimes (PAHC) grant program is administered by the Governor’s Office of Crime Prevention and Policy (GOCPP) at https://gocpp.maryland.gov/. PAHC funds nonprofits at risk of hate-motivated attacks, including Christian congregations. The 2026 cycle uses three tiers by annual organization budget:
- Tier 1 (annual budget under $500,000): award ceiling $50,000
- Tier 2 (annual budget $500,000 to $2 million): award ceiling $100,000
- Tier 3 (annual budget over $2 million, including major archdioceses): award ceiling $200,000
- No required match for most tiers
Catholic parishes under the Archdioceses of Baltimore and Washington, AME congregations in Baltimore and on the Eastern Shore, Episcopal parishes, and historically Black Baptist churches have all appeared in PAHC award lists. Maryland weighs documented hate-incident data heavily, so churches with filed police reports build the strongest applications. PAHC stacks with federal NSGP for different scopes at the same facility.
Ohio: OSG for Churches
The Ohio Security Grant (OSG) program is funded through the state biennial budget (HB 96 in the most recent enacted cycle) and administered by the Ohio Emergency Management Agency at https://ema.ohio.gov/. 2026 cycle parameters:
- Award ceiling: $125,000 per site, up to two sites per organization (up to $250,000 total per 501(c)(3) per cycle)
- Multi-site ministries select up to two campuses per cycle
- Eligible costs: hardening (doors, windows, locks, barriers), access control, surveillance, communication systems, training
- No required match for nonprofits
Ohio has funded Catholic parishes under the Archdiocese of Cincinnati and the Dioceses of Cleveland, Columbus, Toledo, Youngstown, and Steubenville, AME congregations along the Ohio River corridor, and large evangelical and Pentecostal congregations. Multi-site ministries select up to two campuses for OSG per cycle; additional campuses can still receive federal NSGP in the same cycle.
Tennessee: HOW for Houses of Worship
Tennessee’s Houses of Worship (HOW) Security Grant Program is administered by the Tennessee Department of Safety and Homeland Security at https://www.tn.gov/safety/. HOW is structured differently from most state programs: personnel-focused. 2026 cycle parameters:
- Award ceiling: $70,000 per house of worship
- Eligible costs: contract security personnel, off-duty law enforcement details for worship services and major events, basic training for volunteer safety teams
- No equipment funding (equipment for Tennessee churches goes through federal NSGP)
- Stackable with federal NSGP
The personnel-only structure makes HOW the cleanest stacking partner for federal NSGP. A Tennessee church can apply for HOW to cover armed contract security through a 12-month cycle while applying for federal NSGP for door hardening, surveillance, and access control, with no overlap risk. Tennessee has funded Catholic parishes in the Dioceses of Knoxville, Nashville, and Memphis, Southern Baptist congregations statewide, AME and AME Zion churches in Memphis and Nashville, and non-denominational megachurches.
Georgia: FPC for Churches
The Georgia Faith-Based Protection Council program (FPC), administered by the Georgia Emergency Management and Homeland Security Agency (GEMA) at https://gema.georgia.gov/, funds physical security and contract personnel for faith-based organizations. 2026 cycle parameters:
- Award ceiling: $150,000 per organization
- Eligible costs: equipment, contract security personnel, training, exercises
- Stackable with federal NSGP for different scopes at the same facility
Georgia’s funded list includes Catholic parishes under the Archdiocese of Atlanta and the Diocese of Savannah, large historically Black Baptist congregations, AME and AME Zion churches statewide, and evangelical megachurches in the Atlanta metro. Georgia reviews equipment and personnel under one application, so the narrative makes the case for each category independently.
Connecticut: CT NSGP for Churches
Connecticut’s state-funded NSGP is administered by the Department of Emergency Services and Public Protection / Division of Emergency Management and Homeland Security at https://portal.ct.gov/demhs. CT NSGP is one of the most generous state programs on a per-facility basis. 2026 parameters:
- Award ceiling: $50,000 per site
- No per-organization cap
- Equipment-only (no personnel)
- Stackable with federal NSGP
The no-per-organization cap is the defining feature for multi-site ministries. A church with eight campuses can submit eight CT NSGP applications in one cycle, each eligible for up to $50,000. An archdiocese with 60 parishes can submit 60 parallel applications plus federal NSGP for the highest-risk facilities. The Archdiocese of Hartford and the Diocese of Bridgeport have used this structure extensively, alongside historically Black Baptist and AME congregations and Episcopal, Lutheran, and Presbyterian parishes statewide.
Multi-Site Ministries and Satellite Campuses
Multi-site ministries (one 501(c)(3) operating two or more campuses) face a structural choice each cycle: which campus to submit for which program.
Federal NSGP. One IJ per facility. Each stands on its own risk, vulnerability, and consequence picture. Reviewers do not pool scores; a weak IJ for Campus B does not pull down a strong IJ for Campus A.
Per-state caps. Pennsylvania, Maryland, Ohio, Tennessee, and Georgia apply per-organization caps that limit how many facilities one 501(c)(3) can fund per state cycle. Connecticut does not.
Central coordination. Multi-site ministries produce stronger packages when one coordinator runs federal and state submissions. Independent campus submissions frequently duplicate language and create avoidable internal cannibalization in the scoring pool.
Denomination-level guidance. Catholic dioceses, Episcopal dioceses, ELCA and LCMS synods, United Methodist conferences, and AME districts often issue cycle-level guidance on federal versus state priority. Working with the judicatory body avoids parallel applications that compete against each other.
The most common multi-site mistake is letting two campuses in the same UASI metro submit identical-language IJs to NSGP-UA. Reviewers see the duplication immediately and downgrade both.
Denominational Considerations
Denominational structure affects who applies, what the mission statement looks like, and how risk is documented.
Catholic. Parishes apply under the diocesan 501(c)(3) or a parish-level group exemption letter. Diocesan offices for safe environment, emergency preparedness, or facilities coordinate applications. Risk documentation references attacks on Catholic churches and clergy, recurring arson incidents tracked by the USCCB, and visibility through public processions, school programs, and pro-life or immigration-related ministries.
Mainline Protestant. Episcopal dioceses, ELCA and LCMS synods, PCUSA presbyteries, United Methodist annual conferences, and UCC associations operate as judicatory bodies. Local congregations are their own 501(c)(3)s, but the judicatory body often provides risk documentation, coordinates training, and (in some traditions) holds title to parish property.
Evangelical. Most evangelical congregations are independent or loosely networked (SBC, Evangelical Free Church, Assemblies of God, Calvary Chapel, Acts 29). Each files its own 501(c)(3) and applies independently. Risk documentation references high-visibility teaching on contested issues, large public events, and mass-casualty incidents at megachurches.
Historically Black churches. Baptist (NBC USA, PNBC, NBCA, NMBCA), AME, AME Zion, CME, and COGIC congregations form a distinct vertical. The risk file leans on FBI hate crime data on anti-Black bias, the Mother Emanuel AME attack, and the long history of arson at Black churches documented by the DOJ. Networks like the Conference of National Black Churches provide cycle-level coordination.
Orthodox. Greek Orthodox, Antiochian Orthodox, OCA, Serbian Orthodox, and Coptic Orthodox parishes apply under their diocesan structures. Risk documentation references anti-Christian bias and (for ethnically identified parishes) bias tied to national origin, plus visibility from processions, festivals, and ethnic schools.
Mission Statement Framing for Churches
The mission statement is a separate required document, distinct from the IJ. For churches, it establishes four elements reviewers use to weigh ideological visibility:
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Denominational identity. Name the tradition specifically: “Roman Catholic parish under the Diocese of [Name],” “Congregation of the AME Church, Bishop District [Number],” “Member congregation of the Presbyterian Church (USA), [Name] Presbytery.”
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Visible programs. Worship, religious education, food pantries, immigrant aid, recovery ministries, school operations, pro-life ministry, racial justice ministry, sanctuary ministry. Programs that draw public attention establish documented visibility.
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Community role. The parish that serves as the only Spanish-language Catholic Mass within 40 miles. The historically Black church that has hosted civil rights organizing since 1962. The evangelical megachurch with the largest public Christmas Eve service in the county. Community role establishes consequence and visibility at once.
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Documented threats. Threats received, vandalism, arson attempts, or bias-motivated incidents on file. Statements referencing specific incidents with dates and police report numbers carry more weight than generic threat language.
The mission statement is not the IRS-filed mission statement. Reviewers want the risk-relevant profile, not the tax-exemption profile.
Peak Occupancy and Special Calendar Days
The Consequences section of the IJ requires peak occupancy numbers tied to specific dates. Christian congregations have a distinct calendar of high-occupancy days that build the consequence picture:
- Christmas Eve. Often the highest-occupancy service of the year, with multiple sequential services pushing combined attendance well above weekly norms.
- Easter Sunday. Across nearly every tradition, the highest-attended Sunday of the year.
- Holy Week and Ash Wednesday. Palm Sunday, the Triduum, and Ash Wednesday produce sustained high occupancy in liturgical traditions.
- Pentecost. Particularly significant for Pentecostal, charismatic, and liturgical congregations.
- Mother’s Day. Above-average attendance across most American Protestant congregations.
- Denominationally significant services. Orthodox parishes for Theophany and the Dormition. AME congregations for Founders’ Day. Catholic parishes for the patron saint’s feast day. Evangelical congregations for baptism Sundays and church anniversaries.
- School-affiliated days. Congregations with attached schools include graduation, back-to-school Mass, and Christmas pageant occupancy.
The IJ names the date, the service, prior-year documented occupancy, and (where applicable) demographic composition. “High occupancy on Sundays” loses scoring points; “1,420 attendees across three Christmas Eve services in 2025, including 380 children at the 4 p.m. family service” earns them.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can a small rural church with no prior incident apply for NSGP?
Yes. Federal NSGP does not require a prior attack at the specific facility. A rural church builds its risk picture from documented community-pattern threats (regional FBI hate crime data, peer incidents at nearby congregations, denomination-wide attack history), the congregation’s visibility, and consequence at peak occupancy. Rural IJs that score in the funded range tend to be shorter on local police reports and longer on denominational and regional patterns.
Does NSGP fund church schools, or just the worship facility?
Both, in most cases. Christian schools co-located with a church or under the same 501(c)(3) can be included. A parish school sharing a building with the sanctuary is one facility with one IJ. A school on a separate property requires a separate IJ. Christian schools also frequently qualify independently if they hold their own 501(c)(3).
Can a diocese apply on behalf of all its parishes at once?
No. NSGP and the state programs require one IJ per facility. A diocese coordinates submissions, but each parish submits its own IJ, vulnerability assessment, mission statement, and budget. The diocesan office prepares the documentation file, trains parish security committees, and tracks deadlines, but the application unit is the facility.
Are missions buildings and parish offices eligible?
If the building is owned or leased by a 501(c)(3) church, has documented risk, and houses people during operating hours, it can be eligible. Missions buildings, denominational headquarters, retreat centers, and parish administrative offices have all received NSGP awards. The picture differs from a sanctuary: lower peak occupancy, but often higher symbolic visibility.
Can a church receive federal NSGP and a state program in the same cycle?
Yes, in nearly every funded state. Federal NSGP, PA NSGFP, MD PAHC, OH OSG, TN HOW, GA FPC, and CT NSGP stack at the same facility for different scopes. The common stack is federal NSGP for major equipment plus a state program for additional categories or, in Tennessee, contract security. Each program tracks its own scope; double-funding the same item is not allowed.
What We Do
Security Grant Advisors works with Christian congregations on federal NSGP and the state programs above. The work covers vulnerability assessment, risk documentation, IJ drafting against the current FEMA NOFO, mission statement framing, budget assembly, multi-site coordination, and submission through the SAA portal in each state.
If you represent a church, multi-campus ministry, denominational office, missions building, or Christian school in any of the funded state programs (PA NSGFP, MD PAHC, OH OSG, TN HOW, GA FPC, CT NSGP) plus federal NSGP, SGA runs church-specific intake calls where we map the full federal-plus-state stack against your facility set, denominational considerations, and 2026 cycle deadlines. You can book a free consultation with SGA here.
Official Sources
Every program and figure in this guide traces back to a primary federal or state source. Confirm the current cycle requirements at the official URLs below before submission.
- FEMA Nonprofit Security Grant Program (NSGP): https://www.fema.gov/grants/preparedness/nonprofit-security
- SAM.gov (Unique Entity Identifier registration): https://sam.gov/
- Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Delinquency (NSGFP): https://www.pccd.pa.gov/
- Maryland Governor’s Office of Crime Prevention and Policy (GOCPP) (PAHC): https://gocpp.maryland.gov/
- Ohio Emergency Management Agency (OSG): https://ema.ohio.gov/
- Tennessee Department of Safety and Homeland Security (HOW): https://www.tn.gov/safety/
- Georgia Emergency Management and Homeland Security Agency (FPC): https://gema.georgia.gov/
- Connecticut Division of Emergency Management and Homeland Security (CT NSGP): https://portal.ct.gov/demhs
- FBI Hate Crime Statistics: https://www.fbi.gov/services/cjis/ucr/hate-crime