Security grants in Minnesota: federal NSGP through HSEM and the state supplemental grants

Status on October 16, 2026

The Minnesota Department of Public Safety's Homeland Security and Emergency Management division (HSEM) is the State Administrative Agency (SAA) for FEMA's Nonprofit Security Grant Program (NSGP). It takes Minnesota applications for both NSGP streams and forwards the ranked list to FEMA. HSEM publishes no shared NSGP inbox. Use the NSGP contact listed on the HSEM grants page, and ask whether a program inbox exists.

Federal NSGP through HSEM

HSEM's FY2026 deadline was 11:59 p.m. on July 19, 2026, and its page adds, "Applications after this date/time will not be accepted." The page gives no time zone. FEMA set its own deadline for SAAs at July 24 in the FY2026 NOFO and later moved it to 5 p.m. ET on July 31, 2026 (Information Bulletin 579). That gave HSEM more time to submit to FEMA. We found no HSEM notice moving the nonprofit deadline. NSGP deadlines compares Minnesota's date with other states'.

How HSEM took FY2026 applications

Applicants emailed the full package to HSEM's NSGP administrator. The HSEM FY2026 overview says the application goes "via email." The state's IGX grants portal is for other Department of Public Safety funding, and the HSEM page doesn't list NSGP there.

The overview lists three required documents and one optional item:

1. A mission statement on the organization's letterhead.
2. A vulnerability assessment for each site.
3. An Investment Justification (IJ) for each site.
4. Optional: police or insurance reports.

The overview warns, "Incomplete applications will not be reviewed, scored, or forwarded to FEMA." It requires FEMA's fillable PDF IJ, although one slide calls the IJ a "Microsoft Excel Form." Follow the PDF instruction and ask HSEM if a later notice repeats the conflict.

The FY2026 NOFO also says subapplicants "must submit short bios and resumes" for leaders and board members. HSEM's overview list doesn't name them. Before the next window, ask HSEM whether bios and resumes belong in the package. The how-to-apply guide covers the federal document list.

Registrations to finish early

HSEM's page says applicants for federally funded grants must hold an active SAM.gov registration. The overview requires a current Unique Entity ID (UEI): "Applicants with pending UEI numbers will not be accepted." SAM.gov registration is free.

HSEM also says every grantee must register in SWIFT, Minnesota's vendor system, to receive payments. The vendor profile must be approved before the grant agreement.

Minnesota-only eligibility and scoring rules

The HSEM overview adds rules to the federal text:

• The facility must be in Minnesota, and it must be the facility the organization occupies when it applies. Future sites and sites under construction are not eligible.
• HSEM scores every complete application with FEMA's scoring worksheet and ranks the results before forwarding them.
• HSEM cannot approve changes to scope or budget after award. FEMA must approve them, which adds time. Budget and scope changes explains the federal approval route.

Which stream a site uses

Minnesota has one FY2026 urban area, the Twin Cities Area (FY2026 NOFO, Appendix B). The HSEM IJ asks the applicant to pick "Twin Cities Area" or "Not within a UASI-designated urban area." Neither the HSEM page nor the overview lists the counties or cities inside the Twin Cities footprint.

These are total federal allocations from the NOFO. Each includes up to 5% that HSEM may keep for management and administration (M&A), so the amounts for nonprofit projects are $1,119,687 for the Twin Cities Area and $2,280,000 for NSGP-S. The HSEM overview slides show different figures ($1,060,000 for the urban area and a $2,250,000 "Target Allocation"). Neither matches the NOFO, so we use the NOFO. The state lookup table uses the same total-allocation basis.

In FY2026 an organization could request up to $200,000 per site and up to three sites per stream, with a $600,000 combined limit in Minnesota (NOFO). The NSGP program guide explains eligibility and scoring nationally.

After the window

The HSEM overview says FEMA would give HSEM the list of selected subrecipients "by September 1, 2026." FEMA announced FY2026 awards on September 28, 2026 (FEMA). On October 16, HSEM's page still said awards would come "in the fall of 2026." The overview projects a period of performance from September 1, 2026 to August 31, 2029. We found no HSEM statement on how it pays NSGP subawards, so ask before planning cash flow.

A selected organization should not sign contracts or start work before its own subaward is signed and environmental review is cleared; see after the award. HSEM's page still carries FY2025 versions of its FAQ, quick start and fact sheet beside the FY2026 overview, so check each document's year before relying on it.

Minnesota's Supplemental Nonprofit Security Grants

The Legislature created a state top-up to NSGP in Laws 2025, chapter 35 (H.F. 2432), Article 2, Section 3, Subdivision 2(a). The Governor approved it on May 23, 2025 (bill history). It gives the commissioner of public safety $125,000 in each of state fiscal years 2026 and 2027 for "Supplemental Nonprofit Security Grants." The law calls it a "onetime appropriation," and the department may use up to 1% for administration.

Who receives it and how much

The law ties the state grant to the federal application. It goes to nonprofit organizations whose FEMA NSGP application HSEM approved, and it says, "No additional application shall be required." Two limits follow from the text:

• A state grant is up to $75,000, and the combined federal and state total for an organization may not exceed $75,000.
• Awards follow the federal NSGP ranking. No state grant may be awarded until FEMA announces its recipients and amounts. If FEMA doesn't rank, the commissioner ranks. If FEMA makes no grants, the commissioner must tell applicants the timing. If FEMA ends the program or stops taking applications, the commissioner must create another application and ranking process.

The combined cap decides who can benefit. For example, a $50,000 federal award leaves no more than $25,000 under the state cap. A federal award of $75,000 or more leaves no room. The annual pool is $125,000, less any administration share.

What we could not confirm

The law says "approved by" HSEM, not "funded by" FEMA. We could not confirm whether HSEM reads it to include applications FEMA did not select. Several other points are open:

• Whether HSEM has awarded, or will award, any supplemental grant from the FY2026 round. HSEM's NSGP page doesn't mention the program.
• What the grants may pay for. The law says only "grants."
• Whether there is a match, and whether the state pays by reimbursement or advance.

An organization whose FY2026 federal application HSEM approved should ask HSEM in writing which reading it uses and when it expects to decide. A state grant and an NSGP award can sit side by side under the cap, so keep each cost on one funding source and never claim a cost twice; see reimbursement requests.

Schools and local programs

We found no enacted Minnesota security grant for nonpublic schools. H.F. 5160, introduced May 17, 2026, included a proposed one-time nonpublic school safety grant. The Revisor's page shows no action after the bill's referral to committee. A nonprofit private or religious school with its own 501(c)(3) entity may fit NSGP; see private and religious school security grants.

A limited search found no county or city nonprofit security grant for Minneapolis, St. Paul, Hennepin County or Ramsey County. This page doesn't cover every local or private source. Congregations will find their federal options in the church, synagogue and mosque guides.

Programs compared

Official documents

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

Last checked and change log

Last checked: October 16, 2026, against the HSEM grants page and FY2026 NSGP overview; Laws 2025, chapter 35 and the H.F. 2432 history; the H.F. 5160 status page; and FEMA's FY2026 NOFO, Information Bulletin 579 and September 28, 2026 announcement.

• October 2026: Page published. FY2026 NSGP closed in Minnesota on July 19, 2026; HSEM expects awards in fall 2026; no Minnesota award list found. Supplemental Nonprofit Security Grants funded at $125,000 a year with a $75,000 combined cap; award status unconfirmed. No enacted nonpublic school security grant found.