Security grants in Colorado: federal NSGP and the state NSGP

Status on October 15, 2026

The Colorado Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Management (DHSEM), part of the Department of Public Safety, is the State Administrative Agency (SAA) for FEMA's Nonprofit Security Grant Program (NSGP). It also runs the state-funded Colorado Nonprofit Security Grant Program, which DHSEM calls "Colorado NSGP" or "State NSGP." Questions on both go to cdps_dhsem_nsgpadmin@state.co.us.

Federal NSGP through DHSEM

Nonprofits apply to the SAA, not to FEMA (FY2026 NOFO). DHSEM's FY2026 update notes that FEMA released the notice on June 24, 2026, sets the state deadline at July 16, 2026, and lists a grant webinar on Wednesday, July 1, 2026, from noon to 1 p.m. FEMA later moved its own deadline for SAAs to 5 p.m. ET on July 31, 2026 (Information Bulletin 579). DHSEM's update still shows July 16 as the nonprofit deadline. NSGP deadlines compares Colorado's date with other states'.

How DHSEM took FY2026 applications

Applications went by email to the NSGP inbox. DHSEM named no separate portal or registration step for FY2026. The update lists five required items:

1. The Investment Justification, downloaded and opened outside the web browser.
2. The mission statement on the organization's letterhead.
3. A vulnerability or risk assessment for the location.
4. The application certification form.
5. Biographies or resumes. DHSEM's August 8, 2025 bulletin said they must give the entity type and the leadership and board members, with names and addresses, and that resumes are "subject to approval."

The DHSEM NSGP page adds two eligibility points. The organization must be described in section 501(c)(3) and exempt from tax under section 501(a). The vulnerability assessment must be completed within three years of the application date. An older assessment means a new one before the next window.

DHSEM hosts forms on co.emgrants.com. The readable version was from 2025, so its email subject line should not be reused for a later cycle. The FY2026 NOFO disqualified incomplete packages and scanned or prior-year forms. The how-to-apply guide covers the federal document list.

Which stream a site uses

Colorado has two FY2026 urban areas, the Denver Area and the Colorado Springs Area (FY2026 NOFO, Appendix B). The DHSEM NSGP page lists the Denver urban-area counties: Adams, Arapahoe, Boulder, Broomfield, Clear Creek, Denver, Douglas, Elbert, Gilpin and Jefferson. It says "All other counties are considered part of the state initiative."

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 Colorado. The NSGP program guide explains eligibility and scoring nationally.

After the window

DHSEM's update anticipated FEMA's decision by September 30, 2026, and FEMA announced FY2026 awards on September 28 (FEMA). DHSEM's page showed no award notice on October 15. The DHSEM pages we read don't state how DHSEM pays federal subawards, so ask before you plan cash flow. The executed subaward controls.

One state-level issue may affect timing. A Joint Budget Committee staff briefing of December 8, 2025 listed NSGP among FEMA grants where "Grants have been awarded, but the state is unable to sign award letters due to updated terms and conditions that are counter to state law." We could not confirm how that was resolved or whether it affects FY2026 awards. A selected organization should ask DHSEM when it expects to issue subawards, and should not sign contracts before its own subaward is signed; see after the award.

The Colorado Nonprofit Security Grant Program

The state program rests on C.R.S. 24-33.5-1622, created by HB22-1077, and on DHSEM's rules at 8 CCR 1507-47. It uses state money, its own cap and its own reporting.

Who can apply: the federal-denial test

Under Rule 5.1, an applicant must meet the federal NSGP eligibility rules, have its primary place of business in Colorado, and have applied to federal NSGP and not been selected. DHSEM invites those organizations after FEMA announces its decisions. An organization that FEMA funded is not eligible. So the first step toward a state award is a complete federal application from an organization that meets the federal eligibility rules; see common NSGP mistakes for what makes a federal application fail before scoring.

HB26-1252 changed that test in 2026. It amends C.R.S. 24-33.5-1622(2)(d)(II), the federal-denial requirement, by adding this exception (signed act):

"EXCEPT IN EXIGENT CIRCUMSTANCES, AS DETERMINED BY THE DIRECTOR, WHEN AN IMMEDIATE AWARD IS IN THE INTEREST OF PUBLIC SAFETY."

The Governor signed the act on June 4, 2026, and its effective date was August 12, 2026. Three conditions sit in that text: the circumstances must be exigent, the director decides, and an immediate award must serve public safety. The act does not define "exigent circumstances," and DHSEM has published no process for asking the director to use the exception. An organization facing an urgent threat should ask DHSEM in writing whether and how to request it. Nothing we read suggests the exception replaces the normal invitation route.

The statute also tells the division to consider financial need: the organization's "inability ... to meet the financial requirements from the organization's general operating funds" (HB22-1077).

Award limit and what it pays for

State law says, "A grant award may not be greater than fifty thousand dollars" (C.R.S. 24-33.5-1622(2)(c), in HB22-1077). HB26-1252 did not amend that cap. Neither the statute nor the January 2024 rules states a match requirement.

The statute and rules allow security equipment installed on property the nonprofit owns or leases; security planning, exercises and training; contracted security personnel; work on new or existing infrastructure, with priority to existing; and other improvements DHSEM approves that the federal allowable-cost list also allows. Pre-award costs are not allowed. For the federal list these items track, see NSGP allowable costs.

Funding and the 2025 round

HB22-1077 appropriated $500,000 for FY2022-23. The December 2025 JBC staff briefing shows a General Fund line for the program of $813,182 for FY2025-26, and the same amount requested for FY2026-27, with roll-forward authority through the end of FY2026-27. We could not confirm the final FY2026-27 appropriation.

DHSEM's 2025 announcement says $250,000 was awarded and individual awards ranged from $5,700 to $25,000. Its stated recipient count and itemized list conflict, so neither count nor a calculated total is used here.

Timing, payment and reporting

The January 23, 2024 emergency rules set an October application deadline, November awards, distribution within 30 days, and a seven-month performance period. Those emergency rules are not reliable for the next cycle: current permanent rules could not be confirmed, and the 2025 awards were announced in August. DHSEM's live page says, "We do not have a timeline for the State NSGP grant."

The statute says DHSEM "shall distribute the grant money within thirty days after awarding." It also requires the grantee to file a project implementation plan, quarterly progress reports, a summary report and a reimbursement request. The sources don't explain how the 30-day distribution and the reimbursement request fit together. Ask DHSEM before you commit to a vendor, and keep receipts for every cost either way.

School programs and other state grants

Colorado's Office of School Safety runs two school grants, and neither funds nonpublic schools:

• The School Security Disbursement program pays for security improvements to public school facilities and vehicles, and for threat-assessment and emergency-response training. School districts, charter schools and boards of cooperative services apply. A 501(c)(3) with school-safety training experience may apply only to work with specific public education providers or first responders, not for its own building.
• The School Access for Emergency Response grant pays for communication systems between schools and first responders. It lists districts, public and charter schools, boards of cooperative services and public safety communications system owners.

A nonprofit private or religious school can use federal NSGP and, if FEMA does not select it, Colorado NSGP. See private and religious school security grants.

DHSEM's Preventing Identity-Based Violence grant included nonprofits and had $500,000 for 2026, but it funded prevention work rather than physical security. This review identified no Denver, Colorado Springs, or county security grant for houses of worship and was not exhaustive for local or private funding. Congregations can use the church, synagogue, and mosque guides for federal rules.

Programs compared

Using both programs

A nonprofit FEMA funded is ordinarily ineligible for Colorado NSGP. The 2026 statutory exception allows an immediate state award in exigent circumstances when the director finds it serves public safety. Otherwise, access to the state program begins with a federal application FEMA did not select.

We found no DHSEM rule on an organization that wins a state award and later receives a federal award for a different site or cost. Ask DHSEM before accepting both, and never claim one cost twice; see reimbursement requests.

Official documents

If DHSEM 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 DHSEM's NSGP page, FY2026 update, August 2025 bulletin and 2025 state award announcement; the 2025 forms page; HB22-1077, HB26-1252 and 8 CCR 1507-47; the December 2025 JBC staff briefing; the Office of School Safety's SSD and SAFER pages; DHSEM's 2026 PIBV announcement; and FEMA's FY2026 NOFO, Information Bulletin 579 and September 28, 2026 announcement.

• October 2026: Page published. FY2026 federal NSGP closed in Colorado July 16, 2026; no Colorado award list found. Colorado NSGP not open and no timeline set; $50,000 statutory cap; HB26-1252 exigent-circumstances exception effective August 12, 2026. Colorado Springs Area footprint not published by DHSEM.