Pennsylvania Nonprofit Security Grant Fund for Churches: PCCD Guide
Key Takeaways
- Pennsylvania's Nonprofit Security Grant Fund Program is a state-funded grant, administered by PCCD, entirely separate from the federal NSGP.
- It was created after the 2018 Tree of Life synagogue shooting in Pittsburgh and has been renewed through the state budget in every cycle since.
- Eligibility is tied to the FBI's hate-crime bias-motivation categories — a church has to principally serve a population in one of those categories, not just be a nonprofit house of worship.
- Recent cycles have used a two-step process: a brief initial interest form before the full application opens.
- Award ranges have run $5,000 to $150,000 per award, but the total appropriated changes annually — confirm live figures with PCCD before budgeting.
In This Article
- What Pennsylvania's Program Actually Is
- Why This Program Exists
- The Bias-Category Eligibility Test
- What the Grant Covers
- How Much Pennsylvania Churches Can Receive
- The Two-Step Application Process
- How This Differs From the Federal NSGP
- Common Mistakes Pennsylvania Applicants Make
- Frequently Asked Questions
Pennsylvania runs one of the longer-standing state-level security grants for houses of worship in the country: the Nonprofit Security Grant Fund Program, administered by the Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Delinquency (PCCD). It's a state-budget-funded program, not a pass-through of federal money, which means it has its own eligibility test, its own application cycle, and its own award structure — separate from, and stackable with, the federal Nonprofit Security Grant Program (NSGP).
For background on the federal program itself, see our 2026 NSGP complete guide and our NSGP eligible expenses breakdown. This guide covers what makes Pennsylvania's own program different — including an eligibility nuance that trips up applicants who assume every church automatically qualifies.
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Check Your Grant Eligibility →What Pennsylvania's Program Actually Is
PCCD's Nonprofit Security Grant Fund Program funds planning, training, equipment, and technology upgrades at places of worship, community centers, and other nonprofit institutions across the Commonwealth. Because it draws on state appropriations rather than a federal formula grant, the total pool of money and the specific award ranges are set fresh each budget cycle by the Pennsylvania legislature and governor — which means the program's size has genuinely varied from year to year depending on the state budget process, not a fixed annual federal allocation.
Why This Program Exists
Pennsylvania created the program in the aftermath of the October 2018 shooting at the Tree of Life synagogue in Pittsburgh — one of the deadliest antisemitic attacks in U.S. history. That origin shapes the program's continued framing: it exists specifically to help nonprofits serving communities at risk of hate-motivated violence harden their facilities and improve their preparedness, not as a general-purpose nonprofit security fund.
The Bias-Category Eligibility Test
This is the detail that catches Pennsylvania applicants off guard: PCCD directs this program's funding to nonprofit organizations that principally serve individuals, groups, or institutions falling within a bias-motivation category tracked in the FBI's Hate Crime Statistics publication — categories that include race, religion, ethnicity, sexual orientation, disability, and gender identity, among others.
In practice, this means a synagogue, mosque, Sikh gurdwara, Black church, or other congregation serving a community that fits a recognized bias category is squarely within the program's intent. It does not automatically mean every church of every denomination and demographic composition in Pennsylvania qualifies the same way it would under the federal NSGP's broader "ideology, beliefs, or mission" standard. Read PCCD's current eligibility guidance carefully, and if your congregation's fit isn't obvious, that's a reasonable question to ask PCCD directly before investing time in a full application.
What the Grant Covers
| Category | Examples |
|---|---|
| Security equipment | Cameras, access control, alarm systems, lighting, fencing |
| Technology upgrades | Communication systems, monitoring software tied to security |
| Training | Staff and congregant preparedness training, threat-response training |
| Planning | Security assessments and planning tied directly to identified vulnerabilities |
As with the federal NSGP, funded expenses generally need to trace back to a documented security need at the specific facility, not a general wish list. A congregation that has already completed a vulnerability assessment — whether for a prior NSGP application or independently — has a head start on the PCCD application narrative.
How Much Pennsylvania Churches Can Receive
PCCD's program page has listed award ranges from $5,000 to $150,000 per award in recent cycles. The state has renewed funding for the program in successive budgets, including a dedicated appropriation in the 2026-27 state budget — but the exact total pool, and therefore how competitive a given cycle is, changes based on that year's legislative process.
The Two-Step Application Process
- Watch for PCCD's funding announcement. PCCD posts the program's opening on its Active Funding Announcements page — this is the trigger to start preparing, not the final deadline.
- Submit an initial interest or request form. Recent cycles have required a brief initial form, submitted through an online form tool, ahead of the full application. This step has had its own tight window in past years — missing it can mean missing the cycle entirely.
- Complete the full grant application if invited or eligible to proceed, including your organization's eligibility basis under the bias-category standard, a security narrative, and a budget tied to specific equipment, training, or planning needs.
- Track award announcements. PCCD has historically announced awards by region and amount through its newsroom, which is a useful way to gauge typical award sizes for organizations similar to yours.
Get Help With Your Pennsylvania Application
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Start the Free Eligibility Review →How This Differs From the Federal NSGP
| Feature | Federal NSGP | PA Nonprofit Security Grant Fund |
|---|---|---|
| Funding source | U.S. Congress / DHS via FEMA | Pennsylvania state budget |
| Administered by | FEMA via state SAA (PEMA) | PCCD directly |
| Eligibility standard | At risk due to ideology, beliefs, or mission | Principally serves a population in an FBI bias-motivation category |
| SAM.gov required? | Yes | Not required for this state program specifically |
| Can stack with the other? | Yes, no double-funding same expense | Yes, no double-funding same expense |
Because Pennsylvania's program doesn't require SAM.gov registration on its own, it's often a faster on-ramp for a congregation that hasn't yet built out federal registration infrastructure — worth pursuing even before or alongside a federal NSGP application. See our SAM.gov and Grants.gov registration guide when you're ready to add the federal track.
Common Mistakes Pennsylvania Applicants Make
- Assuming automatic eligibility. Being a 501(c)(3) house of worship in Pennsylvania isn't sufficient on its own — your congregation needs to fit the FBI bias-motivation category standard PCCD applies.
- Missing the initial interest form window. Treating the full application as the only deadline that matters, then missing an earlier, shorter first-step window PCCD has used in recent cycles.
- Budgeting off a prior cycle's award range. The total appropriation changes with the state budget each year — confirm current figures with PCCD rather than reusing last year's numbers.
- Submitting a generic security narrative. Applications tied to a documented, site-specific vulnerability score better than general statements about risk.
- Not also checking the federal NSGP. Congregations that qualify for PCCD's program often qualify federally too — pursuing only one leaves funding on the table.
Security funding often pairs with other categories a Pennsylvania congregation might already be exploring — see our church security grants guide for the broader landscape and our 50-state security grants breakdown for how Pennsylvania compares to neighboring states.