Security grants in Arizona: federal NSGP and the state AZ-NSGP

Status on October 15, 2026

The Arizona Department of Homeland Security (AZDOHS) is the State Administrative Agency (SAA) for FEMA's Nonprofit Security Grant Program (NSGP). It also runs the state-funded State of Arizona Nonprofit Security Grant Program (AZ-NSGP). Both programs have taken applications by email, and the program inbox for both is hs@azdohs.gov.

Federal NSGP through AZDOHS

Nonprofits can't apply to FEMA directly. They apply to the SAA, which forwards recommended applications to FEMA (FY2026 NOFO). FEMA published the FY2026 notice on June 24, 2026, and later moved its own deadline for SAAs to 5 p.m. ET on July 31, 2026 (Information Bulletin 579). Each state set an earlier deadline for nonprofits.

Arizona's FY2026 nonprofit deadline could not be confirmed from a live AZDOHS source. Search-result excerpts gave July 10, 2026, but the agency page did not show that date. FEMA's FY2026 cycle is over, but the state submission date remains unverified. NSGP deadlines lists verified state dates separately.

Which stream a site uses

Arizona has one FY2026 urban area, the Phoenix Area (FY2026 NOFO, Appendix B). AZDOHS's 2024 page says the area "primarily encompasses Maricopa County" and routes other sites to NSGP-S, but it gives no complete boundary. Because FEMA rejects wrong-stream applications, a site near the boundary should confirm its stream with AZDOHS in writing.

These are total federal allocations. They include the SAA's 5% for management and administration (M&A), so they exceed the amount available for nonprofit subawards. The state lookup table uses the same basis. In FY2026 an organization could apply for up to $200,000 per site and up to three sites per stream, with a combined limit of $600,000 in Arizona. The NSGP program guide explains eligibility and scoring nationally.

What AZDOHS required in its last posted instructions

The newest federal instructions AZDOHS still posts are from 2024. They show how Arizona has run the program, but the next notice may change any of them. The 2024 page set these rules:

• Applications went by email. The page named no portal or separate registration step, and a December 2024 supplemental page used hs@azdohs.gov.
• The package contained an Investment Justification, Arizona's seven-tab supplemental workbook, and a site-specific vulnerability assessment.
• AZDOHS accepted an assessment by the Arizona Counter Terrorism Information Center, local law enforcement, or the CISA self-assessment.
• The application had to come from a current employee or official, not a consultant or contractor.
• A site could not apply under both streams. Filing in the wrong stream made the application ineligible.

These are past-year Arizona instructions, not FY2026 requirements. Separately, the FY2026 NOFO disqualified incomplete packages, scanned or prior-year forms, and wrong-stream applications. The how-to-apply guide covers the federal document list.

Payment and the period after selection

The 2024 page says NSGP in Arizona pays by reimbursement: "All items requested and approved for funding must be purchased ... and paid for prior to requesting reimbursement." An organization should plan to pay vendors from its own cash and wait for each claim. We couldn't confirm the FY2026 wording. FEMA announced FY2026 awards on September 28, 2026, but AZDOHS had posted no Arizona subaward list by October 15. The executed subaward controls; see after the award.

The State of Arizona Nonprofit Security Grant Program (AZ-NSGP)

AZ-NSGP is state money, administered by AZDOHS, with its own limits. It is built as a backstop: it serves organizations that tried federal NSGP and went unfunded, or that could not apply because they couldn't front the costs.

Where the money comes from

The program draws on the Arizona State Nonprofit Security Grant Program Fund, created in 2023 (Laws 2023, Chapter 137). The FY2024 state budget made a one-time $5,000,000 General Fund deposit into it. The Joint Legislative Budget Committee's FY2027 Appropriations Report shows "no funding in FY 2027" for a new deposit, "unchanged from FY 2026," so the program still runs on the 2023 money. The same report says AZDOHS had distributed $2,366,500 from it as of July 7, 2026.

Under the session-law terms that report summarizes, AZDOHS "shall award up to $1,000,000 in each of FY 2025 - FY 2028," and may use up to 5% for administration. The FY2025 report notes that unspent money reverts to the General Fund after September 30, 2028. No statute or budget document we read sets a date for the next round.

Who can apply

AZDOHS's 2024/2025 page required a nonprofit to meet the federal NSGP eligibility rules and show high risk of terrorist attack, hate crime, or attack based on its ideology, beliefs, or mission. It then applied two alternative tests:

1. It applied to federal NSGP and did not receive federal funding in the preceding three cycles. This limit appears in the JLBC FY2025 report.
2. It could not apply to federal NSGP because it could not pay project costs before reimbursement.

The AZ-NSGP page says applications to the current-year federal NSGP "will not be considered" for the state round. Under that wording, a current-year federal application rules out the state round. The JLBC report adds that priority goes to organizations "unable to apply for other funding." Nothing we read bars a nonprofit private or religious school that meets these tests.

Award size and the site question

A nonprofit "may not receive more than $100,000 in any grant year" (JLBC FY2027 report). We found no match requirement, but we could not open AZDOHS's current guidance to confirm that.

What it pays for

Current allowable costs could not be verified from enacted law or live AZDOHS guidance. The 2024/2025 agency page describes target hardening, planning, training, and security personnel. Confirm each proposed cost against the next notice before budgeting it.

Current forms and payment terms are unavailable

Third-party notices described a 2026 Excel application, an active Unique Entity ID, and an advance-payment process for organizations unable to front project costs. Those terms could not be confirmed in a live AZDOHS document. Ask AZDOHS for the current guidance, form, site limit, and payment terms before committing to a vendor.

Schools and local programs

The Arizona Department of Education's School Safety Program (A.R.S. 15-154) pays for school resource officers, juvenile probation officers, school safety officers, counselors and social workers, in a cycle covering school years 2026/2027 through 2029/2030. It says "Arizona public schools and charters are eligible to apply," so nonpublic schools are not eligible. We found no Arizona state security grant for nonpublic schools. A nonprofit private or religious school can look at AZ-NSGP and federal NSGP; see private and religious school security grants.

This review identified no city or county security grant for houses of worship, but it was not an exhaustive review of local or private funding. Federal rules for congregations are covered in the church, synagogue and mosque guides.

Programs compared

Applying to both programs

The 2024/2025 AZDOHS page said a current-year federal application would not be considered for the state round, while the state law uses a three-cycle federal-funding test. Current overlap rules could not be verified. Ask AZDOHS before applying to both programs, and do not charge the same cost to two awards.

Official documents

If AZDOHS issues a newer notice, form or instruction than these, the newer document controls.

Other states' agencies and programs are in the state lookup table.

Last checked and change log

Last checked: October 15, 2026, against AZDOHS's federal NSGP, AZ-NSGP and supplemental NSGP pages; the JLBC FY2025, FY2026 and FY2027 reports for AZDOHS; the ADE School Safety Program page; and FEMA's FY2026 NOFO, Information Bulletin 579 and September 28, 2026 announcement. AZDOHS's FY2026 federal guidance and its AZ-NSGP guidance files could not be opened on that date.

• October 2026: Page published. Arizona's FY2026 federal deadline and the reported June 12 state deadline could not be confirmed on live AZDOHS pages. No new state deposit in FY2026 or FY2027; site rule unresolved.