FEMA · applied through your state's homeland security office
Federal Nonprofit Security Grant Program
The federal government funds security for nonprofits at risk of attack. You don't apply to Washington — you apply through your state: DHSES in New York, OHSP in New Jersey. Each state sets its own forms, its own rules, and a deadline measured in days.
What FY2026 offered.
- Up to $200,000 per site, up to three sites per organization — raised from $150,000 the year before.
- Security equipment and improvements from the federally approved equipment list, tied to a documented vulnerability assessment.
Every year is its own cycle — FY2027 hasn't been announced, and the details can change.
The catch: the window.
In FY2026, New York announced on July 1 with applications due July 10 — nine days. New Jersey opened June 29 and closed July 15 — sixteen days.
The application itself is built on a vulnerability assessment, registrations, vendor quotes and a scored narrative that take weeks to assemble. Nobody starts from zero and files in nine days.
The whole strategy is being ready before the announcement. Our clients are documented, registered and assessed in the quiet months — so when a state opens its window, filing is assembly, not scramble.
What it takes.
- A UEI number from SAM.gov — free, but slow to get.
- A vulnerability assessment of your facility.
- An Investment Justification — the application document, written to a published scoring rubric.
- A budget matched to the approved equipment list.
How it works, step by step.
- You fill out a short form — your organization's name, EIN, and who to contact. Two minutes.
- You review our terms and confirm you'd like to go ahead.
- We send a questionnaire about your building and security, with a link to upload documents and photographs — or we do it with you over the phone.
- We write the entire application: the vulnerability assessment, the Investment Justification, the budget and the equipment list in the government's official codes.
- We submit through your state before its deadline and send you written confirmation.
- If you're awarded, we can manage everything afterward — procurement records, reimbursement requests and reporting, until the grant is closed out.
Common questions.
Do we apply to FEMA directly?
No. You apply through your state's homeland security office — DHSES in New York, OHSP in New Jersey. Each state sets its own forms, rules and deadline, which is why the same federal program looks different from state to state.
Why is the window so short?
Each state opens its own window after the federal announcement, and those windows have been days, not months. The work — assessment, registrations, quotes, a scored narrative — takes weeks, so it has to be done before the announcement, not after it.
What is an Investment Justification?
The application document itself — a structured narrative written to a published scoring rubric, covering your risk, your proposed security investments and how they address the identified vulnerabilities. Reviewers score it section by section, which is exactly why how it's written matters.
Nine days is enough — if the work is already done.
Tell us who you are, and we'll check what your organization qualifies for and what should be ready before FY2027 is announced — no cost, no obligation.
State programs worth knowing: New Jersey's NSGP · New York's SCAHC