Security grants in Illinois: federal NSGP and the state NSGP-IL

Status on October 15, 2026

The Illinois Emergency Management Agency and Office of Homeland Security (IEMA-OHS) is the State Administrative Agency (SAA) for FEMA's Nonprofit Security Grant Program (NSGP). It also runs the Illinois Not-for-Profit Security Grant Program (NSGP-IL). Questions on all three funding routes go to EMA.ITTF.grants@illinois.gov.

Which federal stream a site uses

Illinois has one urban area in FY2026, the Chicago Area, and IEMA-OHS draws its line at the county. Its Cook County page covers "the Chicago Urban Area of Cook County and the City of Chicago," and its statewide page covers "all other counties in Illinois" (IEMA-OHS NSGP-S page). So a site anywhere in Cook County, inside or outside the city, applies under NSGP-UA, and a site in any other county applies under NSGP-S. The FY2026 NOFO disqualifies an application filed in the wrong stream, so check the county of each site's street address before anyone drafts.

These are total federal allocations from the FY2026 NOFO. They include management and administration funds, so they exceed the amounts available for nonprofit subawards. The state lookup table uses the same basis.

An organization with sites on both sides of the Cook County line may file up to three applications in each stream, six in all, but the NOFO and IEMA-OHS cap its combined Illinois award at $600,000. Each application covers one site with a physical address (not a P.O. box) that the organization occupies when it applies, and each site needs its own assessment. The NSGP program guide explains the two streams and the scoring nationally.

How IEMA-OHS took FY2026 applications

IEMA-OHS received FEMA's FY2026 notice on June 24, 2026, and set its deadline 12 days later: 5:00 p.m. CDT on Monday, July 6, for both streams. FEMA later moved its own deadline for SAAs to 5 p.m. ET on July 31 (Information Bulletin 579), and we found no IEMA-OHS notice moving the July 6 date. NSGP deadlines puts Illinois's date beside other states'.

There was no portal. Each application went by email to EMA.ITTF.grants@illinois.gov, one complete application per email, with each required item as a separate, labeled attachment. The subject line was "FY2026_NSGP_S_IL_" or "FY2026_NSGP_UA_IL_" followed by the organization's name. Both IEMA-OHS pages listed six items:

1. The FFY26 Investment Justification (IJ), as a completed fillable file, not a scan, with Authorized Equipment List (AEL) numbers in the target-hardening section. The file name follows the stream: "FY2026_NSGP-S_IL_" or "FY2026_NSGP_UA_IL_" plus the organization's name.
2. A vulnerability or risk assessment for the site, in any format.
3. The mission statement on the organization's letterhead.
4. FFY26 Attachment A1, Grantee Contact Information, with the full ZIP+4.
5. IRS Form W-9.
6. A Tax Exempt Organization statement.

The IEMA-OHS statement form addresses congregations that are automatically tax exempt without an IRS determination letter. The Illinois pages don't explain what an organization with a determination letter should put in that attachment or how to submit the short biographies and resumes required by the federal NOFO. Ask IEMA-OHS when the next instructions appear.

GATA pre-qualification

Illinois adds a state registration step. Both IEMA-OHS pages say potential grantees "are required to register and pre-qualify per the Grants Accountability and Transparency Act (GATA)" to be considered for an award. That means creating an Illinois.gov account, validating the organization's information in the GATA Grantee Portal, and completing the Internal Control Questionnaire. The pages also ask organizations to keep their Federal Employer Identification Number (FEIN), Unique Entity ID (UEI) and SAM.gov registration current.

IEMA-OHS set no separate GATA deadline. Complete pre-qualification before the next notice because the FY2026 Illinois window lasted only 12 days. Keep SAM.gov current too. See how to apply for NSGP.

What IEMA-OHS lists as fundable

The FY2026 pages limit target-hardening equipment on owned or leased property to AEL category 14 (physical security enhancement equipment), category 15 (inspection and screening systems), handheld radios (06CP-01-PORT), public warning systems (03OE-03-MEGA) and cybersecurity enhancements. Hourly costs for contracted security personnel are allowed, but equipment for those guards is not. Planning, training, exercises and M&A are allowed only as the NOFO describes. Projects must be finished within the 36-month period of performance. The allowable costs guide has the full federal rules.

Review and awards

A review panel scores and ranks sites before IEMA-OHS sends the list to FEMA. Illinois considers documented threats, symbolic value, the organization's disaster role, fit between the assessment and proposed work, coordination with broader preparedness, site-specific information, and funding history. FEMA makes the final selections.

FEMA announced FY2026 awards on September 28, 2026, but IEMA-OHS had posted no Illinois subaward list by October 15. Its application pages also don't state the payment method for federal subawards. The executed subaward controls. See the post-award guide.

The Illinois Not-for-Profit Security Grant Program (NSGP-IL)

IEMA-OHS awards NSGP-IL under 20 ILCS 3305/5(g-5), 20 ILCS 3305/17.8, and 29 Illinois Administrative Code Part 120. The program uses state money and has different limits and payment rules from federal NSGP.

Funding and the next round

The SFY2025 round offered $20 million (IEMA-OHS release and NOFO). The $150,000 figure on the program summary is the per-site ceiling, not the announcement total. The modified notice closed at 5:00 p.m. CDT on August 1, 2025, and set a 36-month performance period from October 1, 2025, through September 30, 2028.

The Governor's FY2027 Budget Highlights list $5 million for another round. Enrolled HB 111, section 175, also directs $5 million to the program's fund. The bill later received an item/reduction veto, and we could not verify whether that action changed section 175. No new notice or date was posted on October 15, 2026.

Subject to appropriation, the statute requires the first application cycle of a fiscal year to remain open at least 45 days. IEMA-OHS may shorten it to avoid a conflict with the federal NSGP cycle.

Who can apply

Applicants must be 501(c)(3) organizations that IEMA-OHS finds "at a high risk of being subject to threats, attacks, or acts of terrorism based on the organization's profile, ideology, mission, or beliefs" (20 ILCS 3305/5(g-5)). IEMA-OHS makes that call with other state partners, using the application and its own homeland security information. The application rule accepts documentation that the organization is exempt under section 501(c)(3) "or exempt from the requirements of Section 501(c)(3)" (29 Ill. Adm. Code 120.30), which covers congregations without an IRS letter.

Limits, costs and the site

The SFY2025 notice allowed up to $150,000 per site, three sites, and $450,000 per organization, with no minimum and no match. Each site required its own application and assessment. Management and administration could use up to 5% of actual spending, within the award. Indirect costs were also allowed within the award.

The SFY2025 round paid for target-hardening equipment from the program's AEL list on owned or leased property, contracted security personnel (not their equipment), and three kinds of training: active shooter, evacuation, and security training for employees. The rule lets the Director add other upgrades, with cybersecurity enhancements and public warning systems as examples, but they must be named in the notice (29 Ill. Adm. Code 120.20). We couldn't confirm that the SFY2025 round allowed either one.

NSGP-IL adds its own site and document rules:

• The project must stay in Illinois for at least five years after the performance period ends. Moving funded equipment needs IEMA-OHS approval first and a new assessment, and the rule allows a move only when the grantee is leaving the premises, the award's conditions haven't changed, and the new site is in Illinois. Without approval, IEMA-OHS can deny reimbursement and recover funds.
• For leased property, the application needs a lease running at least five years from the application date, or a written commitment to stay that long.
• The assessment must come from experienced security, law enforcement or military personnel, or an agency-approved or federal NSGP self-assessment tool, and be completed within the last three years and, if the site had security improvements in that time, after them. The NSGP-IL page says a chart of proposed items doesn't count.
• Projects that could affect historic property may need review under the Illinois State Agency Historic Resources Preservation Act.
• Organizations on the Illinois Stop Payment List or federal exclusions list must clear the issue before signing an agreement. Purchases follow 2 CFR 200.317 through 200.327. See procurement rules.

How the SFY2025 round worked

Applications went by email to the same IEMA-OHS inbox, one package per email. The six attachments were the NSGP-IL application with AEL numbers, the assessment, the mission statement on letterhead, the contact-information attachment with ZIP+4, a W-9, and the tax-exempt statement. The Uniform Grant Application's signature page had to be printed, signed, and scanned.

The rule says risk of threats, attacks, or terrorism "will be weighed most heavily" (29 Ill. Adm. Code 120.40). It also considers the assessment, effect on safety, coordination with state and local preparedness, sustainability, ability to finish, service to a disadvantaged community, and prior federal or state funding.

Payment options

29 Ill. Adm. Code 120.50(d) permits advance payment, reimbursement, or a working capital advance. The statute caps working capital at 25% of the award for start-up costs and up to two months of expenses; IEMA-OHS reimburses the balance. An applicant that needs working capital must show that need in the application.

Payments require documents showing the exact cost. Work cannot begin until IEMA-OHS and the grantee sign the agreement. Grantees report quarterly and return unspent funds.

Programs compared

Applying to both programs

Illinois answers the double-funding question in its statute and rule. An NSGP-IL project may not duplicate, "in part or in whole," a project in an awarded federal grant or a pending federal application (29 Ill. Adm. Code 120.20(c)). An applicant may still request state money in the same AEL category as a federal application, if the state money supplements the federal request and the application gives "specific distinguishable information" about the state project. Reviewers also consider whether the applicant has received federal or state funding before.

Assign each item and site to one program. The state application must make clear where any federal project ends. See reimbursement requests for keeping costs separate after an award.

Nonprofit private and religious schools may use either program if they meet its rules. See private and religious school security grants for the federal scoring distinction.

Official documents

If IEMA-OHS sends a newer notice or form 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 IEMA-OHS's statewide, Cook County, and NSGP-IL pages; the FY2026 forms; the SFY2025 NSGP-IL notice and March 31, 2025 release; 20 ILCS 3305/5 and 17.8; 29 Ill. Adm. Code 120.20 through 120.50; the GATA listing; the FY2027 Budget Highlights; enrolled HB 111; and FEMA's NSGP page, Information Bulletin 579, and FY2026 NOFO.

• October 2026: Page published. FY2026 NSGP closed in Illinois on July 6, 2026; FEMA announced awards September 28, 2026; no IEMA-OHS award list found. NSGP-IL's SFY2025 round closed August 1, 2025; the FY2027 budget lists $5 million, with no notice or date posted.