Before applying for NSGP or SCAHC in New York, your organization must prequalify through the Statewide Financial System. Here’s what the process involves.
If your house of worship or nonprofit is planning to apply for security grant funding in New York, there is an important step most applicants don’t realize exists until they’re staring down a deadline. Before you can receive money from either the federal Nonprofit Security Grant Program (NSGP) or the state’s Securing Communities Against Hate Crimes program (SCAHC), your organization must complete a mandatory prequalification process through the New York State government. This post explains what that process involves, what documents you’ll need, and how to avoid the delays that cause organizations to miss an application cycle entirely.
What it Means to Prequalify for Security Grants in New York State and Why It’s Required
New York State requires all organizations that receive state-administered funds to “prequalify” before a grant can be issued. The purpose is straightforward: the state wants to confirm that your organization is financially stable, properly governed, and legally compliant before it sends you public money.
Prequalification is managed through the New York Statewide Financial System (SFS), an online vendor portal operated by the state. An active, certified prequalification status is required for both NSGP and SCAHC. Both programs use SFS for prequalification, even though each uses a separate portal for the actual application. If your prequalification lapses, you cannot be reimbursed for grant expenses, even if you’ve already been awarded funds.
One detail worth knowing upfront: prequalification is not a one-time event. It must be renewed every year.
A note on terminology: The SFS portal refers to your organization as a “vendor.” This surprises some applicants, since you’re applying for a grant, not selling anything. The word is simply how the state’s financial system categorizes any external organization it transacts with. When you see “vendor” in the portal’s instructions, it means you.
Step One: Get Your SFS Vendor ID
Before you can prequalify, your organization needs an SFS Vendor ID. This is a unique 10-digit number that identifies your organization as a registered state vendor. Without it, you cannot access the SFS prequalification portal.
To register, you’ll need to submit three items to the state:
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- A completed NYS SFS Registration Form (which must be notarized)
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- A completed NYS Substitute W-9 Form (Form AC3237-S)
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- An organizational chart
All materials are submitted by email to grantsmanagement@its.ny.gov. The registration form, W-9, and full instructions are available on the NYS Grants Management registration page.
The state reserves five to ten business days to process a complete registration submission. Your primary contact will then receive an email containing your Vendor ID, a link to the SFS Vendor Portal, and temporary login credentials to activate your account.
If you can’t find your Certificate of Incorporation: It’s one of the documents you’ll need later in the process. If your organization can’t locate its copy, you can request one from the NY Secretary of State using your organization’s exact legal name.
Questions or login issues: The SFS Help Desk can be reached at helpdesk@sfs.ny.gov or (855) 233-8363. Email is the faster route.
Step Two: Set Up Your SFS Account Roles
Once your account is activated, log in to the SFS Vendor Portal and assign the correct roles before anyone can work in the system. SFS uses three distinct roles for grant-related work:
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- Primary Contact: The person who received the initial SFS welcome email. Their name and email are already in the system.
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- Delegated Administrator: The only person who can assign or change roles for other users in your organization. This person also manages account changes, addresses, and contact information.
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- Prequalification Processor: The person authorized to submit the prequalification application, upload documents, and answer the organizational questions in the portal.
A single individual can hold all three roles, which is common for smaller organizations. That said, having at least two people designated as Delegated Administrators is strongly recommended. If the only admin loses access to their account, your organization will have to wait on the SFS Help Desk to restore it, which can cost you time you don’t have near a deadline.
Step Three: Complete SFS Prequalification
This is the most time-intensive part of the process. SFS prequalification has two components: a questionnaire and a document upload. Think of it together as the state’s due diligence review of your organization.
Before you can begin the prequalification submission itself, you’ll need to update your organization’s Grants Management (GM) information through an SFS Supplier Change Request. The state can take two weeks or more to process these requests, so this step alone can create a significant lag if you’re working against a deadline. This is also the point where you can set up direct deposit for your reimbursements, which is worth doing early.
The Questionnaire
The prequalification application includes a series of questions in addition to the document uploads. These fall into three categories.
Organizational Integrity Questions cover your organization’s contracting and legal history over the past five years. These are yes/no questions. The state is asking whether your organization, any affiliated entity, or any employee has been:
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- Suspended, debarred, or disqualified from any government contracting process
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- Denied a prequalification, or had a bid rejected for non-responsibility
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- Terminated for cause on any government contract
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- Subject to a license or permit revocation
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- Indicted, convicted, or granted immunity for a felony or any business-related crime, including fraud, bribery, or bid collusion
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- Under investigation by any government entity for a civil or criminal violation
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- Cited for unsatisfactory performance on a government contract
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- Delinquent on required state filings, unemployment insurance payments, or formal information requests from NYS agencies
Answering yes to any of these will not automatically disqualify your organization, but it will require a written explanation and may trigger additional review. The large majority of faith institutions and nonprofits answer no to all of them.
Organizational Capacity Questions assess whether your organization has the internal systems to manage a grant responsibly. The state will ask whether:
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- One staff member is authorized to receive money while a different person is authorized to disburse it (separation of duties)
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- Your senior staff meets regularly to manage organizational operations
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- Your organization uses an automated payroll system
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- Your organization uses an electronic accounting system such as QuickBooks
The last point is a hard requirement. Organizations that manage finances through spreadsheets or paper records will need to implement an electronic accounting system before they can prequalify. The NY Attorney General’s office publishes guidance on internal controls for nonprofits that is worth reviewing if your fiscal systems need strengthening before you apply.
Legal and Regulatory Compliance Questions focus on governance practices. The state will ask whether:
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- Your board reviews financial statements on a regular basis, and how often
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- Bank statements are reconciled at least monthly
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- Fiscal and legal functions are properly separated within the organization
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- Your organization has a written Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) policy (required for organizations with 15 or more employees; recommended for all)
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- A quorum of the board met last year in compliance with your bylaws
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- The board takes and maintains minutes of all meetings
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- The board reviews and approves key organizational matters, including the annual budget, executive compensation, internal controls, program operations, and the annual audit
The Document Checklist
In addition to the questionnaire, the prequalification application requires a set of organizational documents, each uploaded as a separate PDF. The state’s Grantee Documents page has supporting materials and templates. The full requirements are also detailed in the NYS Prequalification Manual for Grantees. Here is what most applicants need to provide:
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- Organizational policies: The state requires that your organization have the following policies in place. You will not upload these documents, but you will certify under the application that they exist and have been adopted by your board. The required policies are: anti-nepotism, staff code of conduct, conflict of interest (two versions: one general and one specific to the Board of Directors), diversity, fiscal/internal controls, gender-based violence, and whistleblower. The whistleblower policy is only required for organizations with 20 or more employees and annual revenue over $1 million in the prior fiscal year.
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- Governance documents: Certificate of Incorporation and corporate bylaws
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- Organizational chart: Senior leadership only, with the board or congregation at the top. This is also submitted at the registration stage.
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- Leadership information: A Board of Directors roster with names, affiliations, and years of board tenure (the state provides a sample Board of Directors profile template), plus resumes or brief professional summaries (one to two paragraphs) for the Executive Director, senior clergy, and other paid senior staff
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- Tax status documentation: IRS 501(c) determination letter, or equivalent documentation for organizations that are automatically exempt
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- Financial statement: The level of review required depends on your annual operating budget. Organizations with budgets over $1 million need an audited financial statement; those between $250,000 and $1 million need a CPA-reviewed statement; those under $250,000 can submit an internally prepared financial report reviewed and approved by the board
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- NY Charities Bureau registration: Proof of registration, typically the most recent CHAR500 annual filing. If your organization is newly registered, the CHAR410 initial registration is acceptable
What This Looks Like for Houses of Worship
Religious organizations face somewhat different documentation requirements in several of these categories, and the state has established formal accommodations for each one.
IRS 501(c) determination letter: Houses of worship incorporated under New York State Religious Corporation Law are automatically considered tax-exempt and do not need to apply for IRS recognition. A signed letter on congregational letterhead stating this exemption is acceptable. Sample language: “[Congregation name] is a house of worship and meets the requirements of IRC Section 501(c)(3). We are automatically considered tax-exempt and are not required to apply for and obtain recognition of tax-exempt status from the IRS, nor are we required to file IRS Form 990.”
IRS Form 990: Religious organizations are exempt from filing. The same signed letterhead statement above covers both the 501(c) and 990 exemptions in one document.
NY Charities Bureau registration: Houses of worship are legally exempt from the annual CHAR500 and CHAR410 filing requirements. To document this, you’ll need two things: a screenshot from the NY Charities Registry showing your organization’s exempt status, plus a signed letter on letterhead explicitly stating the basis for the exemption. If you’ve never registered with the Charities Bureau at all, you can claim your exemption online through the NY Attorney General’s office, after which your organization will appear in the registry as exempt.
Financial statements: Religious corporations without a formal audit can upload a QuickBooks Profit and Loss report and Balance Sheet from the prior fiscal year, accompanied by a signed letter from the President, Secretary, or Treasurer stating that the Board reviewed and approved the financials.
One governance rule that applies to all organizations: the Executive Director, CEO, Rabbi, Pastor, Imam, or equivalent senior leader cannot also serve as the President or Chair of the Board. If your current structure has this arrangement, it will need to be restructured before prequalification can be completed.
The Final Certification Step
Once all documents are uploaded and the questionnaire is complete, there is one step that cannot be delegated. Your organization’s authorized representative must log in personally and complete the final certification. This is a legal attestation that the information submitted is accurate. No consultant or third party can do this on the organization’s behalf.
How Long This Takes, and Why Starting Early Matters
Adding up the pieces: five to ten business days to receive your Vendor ID after registration, two weeks or more for the state to process the Supplier Change Request, and then the time needed to gather and format all the required documents. A realistic timeline from start to finish is four to six weeks under normal conditions. If anything needs to be corrected or resubmitted, plan for more.
Both NSGP and SCAHC application windows are competitive and deadline-driven. Missing prequalification is one of the most common, and most preventable, reasons organizations miss a funding cycle.
If your prequalification is already active from a prior year, you still need to verify that it hasn’t lapsed and that your documents reflect your organization’s current status. An outdated financial statement, a change in board composition, or an expired policy document can all create compliance gaps. An expired prequalification is treated the same as no prequalification at all.
Additional Resources
The state’s Grantee Documents page has templates and reference materials for the prequalification process. The Community Security Initiative (CSI), a nonprofit that supports Jewish institutions in New York, also offers free step-by-step tutorial slides and video walkthroughs of the full SFS process that any applicant may find useful.
What Comes Next
Completing prequalification means your organization is eligible to apply. It does not guarantee an award. The actual application for both NSGP and SCAHC requires a documented vulnerability assessment of your facility, a detailed written narrative explaining the specific security improvements you’re requesting and why, and supporting materials that meet each program’s scoring criteria.
For a plain-English overview of how the NSGP works, see our guide: What Is the NSGP? For details on SCAHC, including the 2026 application timeline and eligibility rules, see our 2026 SCAHC Application Guide.
For a full overview of security grant programs available to New York organizations, visit our New York grants page.
Still have questions about prequalification, or want a hand working through the document checklist? We’re happy to take a look. You can book a free consultation with SGA here: https://securitygrantadvisors.com/contact
