More than 400 Jewish leaders have lobbied Congress to invest a historic $1 billion into a federal program that helps houses of worship at high risk of terrorist or extremist attacks, including churches, to enhance their physical security and cybersecurity.
The program, known as the Nonprofit Security Grant Program, was launched in 2005 and is administered by FEMA and funded by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. It provides funding to tax-exempt, 501(c)(3) nonprofit organizations, including churches.
Last Tuesday, U.S. Senators Jacky Rosen D-Nev., and James Lankford R-Okla., who are co-founders and co-chairs of the Senate Bipartisan Task Force for Combating Antisemitism, introduced the bipartisan Jewish American Security Act, which calls for increased funding for the NSGP.
The bill would require the Department of Education to develop and implement a comprehensive Title VI framework to combat antisemitism on college campuses, invest $1 billion in security resources for at-risk houses of worship and other nonprofit institutions, and hold large social media platforms accountable by requiring transparency regarding their handling of antisemitic content online, the senators announced in a release.
“Our nation is facing an epidemic of antisemitism – year after year we are seeing unprecedented levels of antisemitic violence and harassment. Jewish Americans are being targeted, attacked, and killed simply because of who they are. This alarming trend demands a comprehensive, bipartisan approach that addresses both the seeds and the impacts of this vile hatred,” Rosen said in a statement. “From social media to college campuses, we’ve seen how this bigotry manifests into real-world violence against Jews.”
Data from the Family Research Council, which has been tracking incidents of hostility against churches in the United States since 2018, also show that hostility and hate crimes against churches across the country have risen significantly in recent years. These attacks include vandalism, arson, bomb threats, gun-related incidents, and other crimes, but vandalism is the leading crime.
The FRC identified 1,384 acts of hostility toward U.S. churches that have occurred between January 2018 and December 2024.
“These acts are destructive and have the potential to intimidate religious communities. Therefore, they deserve to be condemned,” the FRC stated.
Congressional records show that the largest investment in the NSGP by the government since 2005 came in 2024, when $454 million was invested in the program.
Under the program, individual houses of worship and other nonprofits can request up to $200,000 in funding. Nonprofits with more than one site can submit applications for no more than three of them for a maximum of $600,000.
“Policymakers continue to debate several important issues related to funding, oversight, and effectiveness of the NSGP. One major concern is to what extent Congress should increase funding levels to meet growing demand for nonprofit security assistance,” an assessment of the program reads.
“Arguably, this demand has increased due to recent attacks on religious nonprofits such as the March 2026 attack on the Temple Israel Synagogue in Michigan, and the August 2025 shooting at the Church of the Annunciation in Minnesota.”
Shane Dennis, the community security director for the Jewish Federation of Greater Ann Arbor, told NPR that he helps organizations navigate the NSGP application and provides security assessments.
“We start from the outside, whether there’s fencing or gates in the parking lot, how many entrances it has, lighting, cameras, access,” he explained. “And inside, looking for door locks, locations to secure yourself within a building, blind spots for cameras, things of that nature.”
Rep. Josh Gottheimer, D-N.J., who is a part of the bipartisan group of lawmakers pushing for increasing NSGP funding, says he frequently gets calls from scared religious leaders seeking help.
“I’ve got religious leaders constantly calling me and saying, ‘I’m scared. My parishioners are scared,'” he told NPR. “We are meeting fewer than half of the requests from synagogues, churches, and mosques around the country, so we need more resources.”
Of the 12,000 applicants for funding in 2024, only 4,000 got help from the NSGP, and a separate, related security fund records show.
In addition to increased funding to help secure houses of worship, the bill is also pushing for the government to allow funds to be used to hire public safety officers as direct employees.
“The security guards at Temple Israel and the Islamic Center in San Diego were the difference between saving lives and not,” said Eric Fingerhut, president and CEO of the Jewish Federations of North America. “Security guards who work for the institution are so much more effective — they know the buildings, the families, the employees. They know when something is out of sorts.”
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