FEMA and the Department of Homeland Security administer the NSGP to provide funding to non-public and nonprofit facilities so that they can improve their physical security needs since most of these programs are not eligible for direct government funding (putting them in the non-public part of the equation) and are running on shoe-string budgets (part of the problem with being a nonprofit). So, the funding is meant to help put resources in the hands of institutions that could not afford the improvements otherwise.  

Since the program started in 2004, it has steadily gained popularity. For many years, it ran in obscurity, but word of its existence has spread, such that obtaining funding now is increasingly challenging, with more applicants than the funds can serve. This is particularly true this year since a slightly reduced budget of $237 million is being allocated. Last year, the demand exceeded $600 million, but only $305 million was budgeted and awarded. Even though demand now doubles supply, do not be discouraged from applying. Each year, the NSGP emphasizes that many applicants miss their chance due to poor-quality submissions. So follow these guidelines and stay sharp, and you will start off at the head of the pack of applicants.

The key to success is to give the application the necessary due diligence. Any institution can navigate the process successfully with a little guidance. We will show you here a collection of the steps, tips, and key points of understanding that will help you achieve success.

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Applying for NSGP funds is not a difficult process, but it does involve several steps, and it's not entirely intuitive, which can cause some confusion. You apply at the state level through the State Administrative Agency (SAA), and the SAA then applies to FEMA for the NSGP funds on your behalf. Adding to the confusion is the NSGP web page, notorious for its lack of clarity.

But to be fair, the NSGP web page is held hostage by the limitation of being a small cog in the Homeland Security web family, so it's forced to fit a template that is built for the bureaucratic presentation of facts, not to be a simplistic "Beginners Guide to NSGP Applications" that would be much more helpful for those of us that have never applied for a grant. However, where the NSGP might lose points for clarity on the web page, it more than makes up for it with the helpfulness of the staff. Email them and attend their webinars; the staff are extremely helpful and demonstrate a strong commitment to customer service and genuine desire to improve your security.

The program is successful enough that funding is likely to be approved each year, usually by March. Use this information to ensure you are fully prepared by then.

Here is an overview of the process to give you the big picture then continue to read below for the details.

Key Details and Timeline:

• NSGP is a competitive grant, meaning that funding is not guaranteed. Factors such as the total amount of funding requested, available funding, and the competitive review and scoring process dictate final awarding.
• Each application is scored based on its strength, and applicants are ranked accordingly. Awards are granted in order of ranking until funds are exhausted.
• Program funding is renewed annually, and there is no limit to the number of years an organization can apply for and receive funds.
• The application process typically starts in March or April and is likely to finish by the end of May. Some years, such as 2025, do see delays in the start of the process.
• Award decisions are usually made in August.
• Actual spending can commence in September/October (depending on the state).

As noted above, applications are submitted to the SAA, not FEMA. The SAA also manages the distribution of awards. Each state can have some variation in its requirements, but the following steps should be inclusive of most states' application processes.

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Process Steps

1. Determine Your Eligibility as an Organization

Candidates must be non-profit, tax-exempt 501(c)(3) or 501(a) organizations.

This includes, but is not limited to:

• Places of worship (churches, synagogues, mosques...)
• Private schools, both secular and non-secular
• Community/social/shelter/crisis centers
• Medical and science facilities
• Museums, camps, and event venues

Excluded organizations include:

• For-profit businesses and hospitals
• Kiwanis, Rotary, Lions Clubs, etc.
• Utility companies
• Labor unions, HOAs, and other such "group" organizations
• Public schools; however, various state-run programs offer funding assistance. Search the Department of Education resources of your state to find out more information.
• Government or municipal entities; however, the Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS) program offered by the Department of Justice can help pay for a portion of certain local-government security-related improvements.

2. Determine Your SAA and Its Application Deadline

1. Go to State Administrative Agency (SAA)
2. Find your state on the list.
3. Select the website link for your state (second column), then search for "NSGP" on the state site.
4. If that does not produce results, contact the agent listed on the FEMA NSGP SAA page (third column) and ask for directions on the application process.
5. Throughout the process, your organization will be referred to as a subapplicant, as the SAA is the actual applicant for the FEMA funding (applying on your behalf).
6. The SAA establishes the application deadline (which will be earlier than any stated deadline for the SAA's to submit applications to FEMA).

3. Determine Your Application Address and Its Funding Stream

• The program will cover up to $150,000 in security improvement costs per site.
• Organizations are allowed to apply for up to three sites per year ($450,000 total for the organization).
• Each site must have a different physical address.
• The award is based on the facility's physical address, and there are two categories:
  1. High-risk urban area – this application will be routed through the NSGP-Urban Area (UA) funding stream. Verify your location's eligibility with your SAA.
  2. Outside of the high-risk urban area – this application will be routed through the NSGP-State (S) funding stream.

4. Understand What Allowable Projects/Activities Are

Information on funding restrictions and allowable costs is found in the Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO).

READ THE NOFO DOCUMENT CAREFULLY.  

Refer to Section D of the FY 2024 NSGP NOFO for detailed information on these cost categories.  

Here are some general guidelines:

Allowable:

• Alarm systems and access controls
• Security cameras
• Physical security (gates, fences, barrier protection, bullet or blast-resistant windows and doors)
• Planning, training, exercises
• Cybersecurity investments

Unallowable:

• Facial recognition or license plate reading software
• Weapons or weapon training
• Operational expenses or salaries
• Direct hiring of public safety personnel
• Studies or evaluations

5. Prepare Sub-application Materials

As the funding is competitive, it's vital to prepare a thorough and detailed application.

• Carefully plan and organize your thoughts in a systematic manner.
• Clearly explain why your facility is vulnerable and specify the security enhancements you need, and how they will improve the situation.
• Review your draft, gathering input from others, including external outsiders. Treat this like a cover letter for a critical job interview. The more serious you appear, the more seriously they will consider your application.

Consider hiring a grant writer. Some of these writers, like EMD at emdnyc.com, are so practiced at the NSGP process that their rates are surprisingly reasonable, and they have a near-perfect track record with acceptance. Plus, they can do the security assessment over the phone. One thing to note, you cannot seek reimbursement in the proposal for the expense of the grant writer.

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The actual application will entail providing:

1) Mission statement

• Write on official letterhead, if available.
• Describe the "who, what, and why" of the organization's purpose.
• This will be used to validate the information in the Investment Justification and to categorize the facility (ideology-based, education, medical, and other).

2) Vulnerability Assessment

• This assessment is crucial for your application, as it identifies vulnerabilities that your proposed security enhancements will address. It will serve as the backbone of justifying your needs.
• Use an experienced professional, even if you must hire one.
• Identifies vulnerabilities in the context of threats, risks, and consequences of potential attacks at a facility.

3) Supporting Documents

• Anything that will help validate and describe the threats, risks, and vulnerabilities that your facility is facing (e.g., police or insurance reports).
• Contact your SAA for specifics and examples of the supporting documents' requirements.

4) Any additional requirements from your specific SAA

5) Investment Justification

• This is a standard form created by FEMA.
• Required for EACH physical location applying, even if they are all part of the same organization.
• Demonstrate that your organization is at risk by tying vulnerabilities to practical threats- the more evidence of the threats, the higher the priority the application will receive.
• Outline the proposed expenditures:
  • A common mistake is estimating costs without accurate quotes. Contact vendors to get formal proposals for your security upgrades.
  • These vendors are quite often also experts in security; lean on them for advice.
  • It's best to have competing quotes for any significant expenses.
  • Stay neutral and avoid making any vendor commitments at this stage.
• Include budget estimates.
• Include a deployment timeline and project plan.
• Any equipment requested should be directly linked to the threats, vulnerabilities, solutions to these vulnerabilities, and potential consequences of events described in the Vulnerability Assessment.
• Summarize the mission statement, threat/risk/vulnerability assessment, and supporting documents (this may seem redundant to items 1, 2, and 3, but those original documents do not travel with the investment justification throughout the application process to FEMA and without knowledge of this information, the panel will likely turn down the application).
• If you have applied and been turned down in the past or never applied before, make this known as bonus points are awarded to applicants who have not received NSGP funding in the past.
• Bonus points are also awarded to applicants located within a disadvantaged community or to those who demonstrate how they serve a disadvantaged community or population.
• The Investment Justification form downloaded from the FEMA website needs to be opened in Adobe Acrobat Reader. Once in Acrobat Reader, press the "Enable All Features" button to view the form.
• No attachments are allowed; everything you want FEMA to see or read must be entered into the form.

6. Get a Unique Entity ID

If your organization was previously assigned a Data Universal Number System (DUNS), it has been replaced by a new Unique Entity ID (UEI) value. You can log in at sam.gov to check your new UEI.

If you do not already have a UEI (or DUNS, from which to obtain a UEI), register for a UEI number at SAM.gov

• There is a helpful video halfway down the page that explains the process. The video is also found here: Get a Unique Entity ID.
• Then, obtain an Employer Identification Number (EIN) and register in the System for Award Management at sam.gov; your organization will be assigned a Unique Entity Identifier (UEI) once registered.

The UEI is not necessarily needed for the application process, but it will be required for the SAA to distribute the final award to your organization.

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7. Submit Your Application

To your state SAA, not to FEMA

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Key Points to Improve Success

1. If you hire a grant writer, review their work, and remember that the nonprofit must sign the application, not the grant writer.
2. Incomplete application packages will be disqualified.
3. Review all requests to ensure they only contain allowable expenditures.
4. Nonprofits may not act as pass-throughs for government or for-profit entities.
5. Start early.
6. The threat risks must be tied to existing physical vulnerabilities.
7. Contract security or any hiring outside of the nonprofit cannot be sole-sourced.
8. The project content and goals should be logical, reasonable, and attainable.
9. Do not exceed the funding caps ($150,000 per site, $450,000 per organization).
10. Explore peer-to-peer support by contacting other schools or places of worship in your wider organization.
11. Vulnerability assessments should not be older than five years.
12. Avoid any conflict of interest between grant writers and contractors/vendors executing awards.

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Additional resources:

• The main web page for the program: NSGP Home Page
• An easy-to-understand PowerPoint summary: NSGP Summary Slide Deck
• A comprehensive manual describing the 2023 NSGP and other programs: FEMA manual
• An easy-to-follow step-by-step guide for the application process: Step-By-Step Process
• For FEMA's NSGP-specific questions or more information about the federal process, feel free to contact them by email at: FEMA-NSGP@fema.dhs.gov‍
• NSGP fact sheet

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