H eadlines
Grant $25,000 to invest in cameras and
bulletproof windows.

The Jewish Federation is
providing grant-writing assis-
tance for organizations like
those seeking funds.

“The [Jewish] Federation has
enabled the organizations, the
agencies and the synagogues
that are interested in pursuing
this funding to get some assis-
tance in making that happen,”
Cohen said.

In addition to Pennsylvania’s
NSGP, the federal NSGP, similar
to its Pennsylvania counter-
part but administered by the
Department of Homeland
Security and FEMA, will have
allocations announced later this
month. The application process for
the Pennsylvania and national
grants differ greatly. While the
commonwealth’s application
process is rolling, and funds
are allocated on a first-come,
first-served basis, national
Continued from Page 1
For Jewish organizations
shaken by the Colleyville, Texas,
hostage crisis at Congregation
Beth Israel, the grant could offer
solace, in addition to security
provisions. “As hate crimes have
markedly increased in recent
years, and white supremacist
groups have proliferated, the
need for security upgrades at
our communal institutions
was apparent,” Pennsylvania
Jewish Coalition Chairman
Marc Zucker wrote in a press
release. The grant was created
following the Tree of Life
synagogue complex shooting in
Pittsburgh in 2018 and is avail-
able to all nonprofits, such as
synagogues, mosques, churches
and community centers vulner-
able to hate crimes.

The announcement of the
budget allocations was unrelated
to the Colleyville crisis but
underscores the grant’s urgency,
Zucker said.

“That crisis illustrated how
critical it is to have adequate
funding for institutions to
protect their security,” Zucker
said. “While the decisions are
in the hands of the governor
and the legislature, we’re hopeful
that this [crisis] properly focused
attention on the risks faced by
synagogues, churches and other
institutions.” Because of the ongoing
violence targeted at Jewish insti-
tutions, the demand for grant
money has been “huge,” said
Robin Schatz, Jewish Federation
of Greater Philadelphia director
of government affairs.

In 2021, the NSGP had an
allocation of $5 million; there
were more than $20 million in
requests, Schatz said.

According to PJC Executive
Director Hank Butler, only
30% of the 2020-’21 applicants
received funding, or about 130 of
429 applicants. The year before,
14% of the applicants, 113 out of
807, received funding from the
$5 million in allocations.

JEWISHEXPONENT.COM applications are scored by DHS/
FEMA based on need.

For the 2020-’21 fiscal year,
Congress appropriated $180
million for nonprofits, but
Schatz is hopeful that this year’s
allocations will double to $360
million. The commonwealth’s 2023
NSGP is already drafted, with
Jewish Federation leaders having
already requested $5 million. In
the future, Schatz would like the
budget increased to $10 million
and for the grant to be extended
for another five years. Schatz said
the region’s entire congressional
delegation has signed on to a
letter requesting the increased
allocation. “We don’t think we can get
it written in perpetuity,” Schatz
said. “Just because, hopefully,
there will come a day when we
won’t need those funds.” l
srogelberg@jewishexponent.com; 215-832-0741
Pennsylvania Jewish Coalition Chairman Marc Zucker
Courtesy of Marc Zucker
The unmet demand in past
years is frustrating to Schatz and
Butler, both of whom helped to
write the legislation that called
for the grant.

In the past, it’s been difficult
for the grant to have a line in
the governor’s division of the
budget, so finalizing the grant
allocation budget is a scramble.

Schatz speculated that about
70% of the 2019-’20 grant
recipients were Jewish, but
that percentage dropped in the
2020-’21 fiscal year. Because
of the Colleyville crisis, Schatz
suspected the number of Jewish
recipients will increase again
this year.

NSGP grant requests must
demonstrate the need for
funds to bolster their security,
according to Ilene Cohen, a
grant writer and consultant.

“The state funds were created
for any organization that has the
potential to be or has been the
victim of hate crime,” she said.

The umbrella of what can be
considered a hate crime is wide,
Cohen said. Synagogues that
experienced a Zoom bombing,
vandalism or even a child in
the congregation being bullied
at school for being Jewish can be
reasons for institutions to apply
for the grant.

A September FBI report
stated that 60% of U.S. hate
crimes in 2020 targeted Jews,
despite Jews making up only 2%
of the population.

Most often, institutions
request funds for parking lot
lighting, surveillance equip-
ment, cameras, access control
systems and electric doors, and
key fobs.

In 2020, Federation Housing,
Congregation Or Ami in
Lafayette Hill and Ahavas Torah
in Rhawnhurst were among
the 38 Philadelphia-area Jewish
organizations and 113 successful
applicants to receive funding.

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