Upwards of $17 million in federal security funding allocated to New York nonprofits

Federal funding to help nonprofits and houses of worship at high risk of terrorism improve their security has been awarded to 178 organizations throughout the state, amounting to more than $17 million in total, according to a press release from the governor’s office. 

Nearly three-fourths of the recipients are based in New York City and the surrounding suburbs, which are collectively receiving about $13 million through the federal Nonprofit Security Grant Program.

New York’s congressional delegation touted its role in fighting for increased funding to the program at the start of the year. It aims to help high-risk synagogues, mosques, churches and community centers cover the cost of creating security plans and training and hiring staff and volunteers to promote safety. 

The calls for heightened security for nonprofits became more pressing earlier this year, in the wake of several anti-Semitic attacks in the New York City metropolitan area. Gov. Andrew Cuomo also committed to spend $45 million on bolstering security for religious institutions in response to those attacks.

These security awards will cover initiatives that many financially strained houses of worship would likely otherwise find difficult to afford. Though numerous religious organizations received coronavirus relief loans through the federal government, many are still reeling from the statewide lockdown and its financial impact.