Security grants in New York: NSGP through DHSES, and state and city programs

Status on October 14, 2026

DHSES is New York's State Administrative Agency (SAA) for NSGP and sends FEMA one package for all New York applicants (DHSES Getting Started Guide). Other state agencies run the state-funded programs, and New York City reimburses some nonpublic school security costs under city law.

FY2026 left little time. FEMA published its NOFO on June 24, 2026, and DHSES released its RFA on July 1 with applications due July 10 (RFA, section VI). FEMA's Information Bulletin 579 moved FEMA's deadline for SAAs to July 31, but it came out July 17, after New York's date had passed. Other states are on the NSGP deadlines page.

New York City urban area or state stream

NSGP-UA (Urban Area) covers sites inside a designated high-risk urban area, and NSGP-S (State) covers the rest. New York's one FY2026 urban area, as the DHSES RFA defines it, is the five boroughs of New York City plus Nassau, Suffolk, and Westchester counties.

The RFA quotes the amounts for nonprofit projects. The total column, from Appendices B and C of the FY2026 NOFO, adds the 5% DHSES may keep for its own management and administration (M&A). The state lookup table uses the totals.

Check each address against the current year's list. Under the FY2026 list, a site in Rockland, Putnam, or Orange County applies to NSGP-S, and every site in Nassau or Suffolk applies to NSGP-UA. FEMA staff verify each site's stream in the federal review (RFA, section V.C). Per-site and per-organization limits are in the NSGP program guide.

For FY2025, the Governor's office announced more than $32 million for 157 organizations on August 11, 2026: $28.4 million in the New York City metro area and $3.6 million in the rest of the state (announcement). It gave no application count, so it doesn't support a New York selection rate.

Before the next application window

DHSES's Getting Started Guide lists steps to finish before the next NOFO. DHSES set no separate registration deadline in FY2026. Each step had to be done by the time the organization submitted, and prequalification alone can outlast a nine-day window.

Houses of worship should check one more thing early. DHSES's FY2026 FAQ says churches, mosques, and synagogues need no IRS recognition letter for NSGP, but the state's prequalification document list includes an IRS 501(c) determination letter and a Form 990. If your congregation has neither, ask the Grants Management office (grantsgateway@its.ny.gov, per the RFA) what it accepts in their place before the next RFA appears. The church and mosque guides explain the federal IRS-letter rule. The same FAQ says a 501(c)(5) organization doesn't qualify.

How DHSES takes applications

Each site needs its own E-Grants application, Investment Justification (IJ), and vulnerability assessment. The FAQ defines a site by "a separate and distinct street address," and buildings sharing an address must be named apart, such as Building A and Building B. Only one nonprofit may apply per building or address; when two do, DHSES deems every request from that address ineligible.

What each site's application contains

• The E-Grants application: at least two contacts, a workplan in the wording of DHSES's E-Grants Tutorial, the budget, and the certification accepting the assurances
• The current year's IJ in FEMA's original fillable PDF, with every field and drop-down still active. DHSES doesn't consider an IJ in another format or on a prior year's template.
• The site's vulnerability assessment
• The SFS "Grants Information" report showing prequalified status
• The organization's mission statement

Leave out quotes and vendor proposals. The FAQ says cost estimates are enough and that quotes shouldn't be sought before the organization has an executed contract with DHSES. Don't upload password-protected files. By October 14, 2026, the DHSES NSGP page no longer linked the FY2026 IJ template, equipment list, or E-Grants Tutorial, though the tutorial and equipment list were still posted at their own addresses. We found no FY2026 webinar. Use the versions the next RFA links.

DHSES application rules

Review and scoring

DHSES first screens each application against eleven yes-or-no questions, among them the deadline, completeness, SFS status, 501(c)(3) recognition, the IJ's format, one assessment per site, and whether every project matches the assessment and is allowable. A "No" can disqualify the application without further review. The New York City Urban Area Working Group, other review panel participants, or both then score need and impact with DHSES, up to 40 points, before FEMA's federal review (RFA, section V). The program guide explains FEMA's multipliers and first-time bonus, and the application guide covers the general process.

New York cost rules

The RFA lists the Authorized Equipment List (AEL) items DHSES accepts and adds limits of its own. The allowable costs guide covers the federal rules.

After an award: the DHSES contract

A FEMA selection leads to a standard cost-reimbursement contract that DHSES negotiates from the application (RFA, section VIII). The post-award guide covers the federal requirements; the RFA adds these New York steps.

New York State programs

Two state-funded programs pay for security directly. They serve different applicants, and neither runs through DHSES. The table sets them beside federal NSGP and the city's guard program.

Securing Communities Against Hate Crimes

DCJS describes SCAHC as "capital security grants" for nonprofits at risk of hate crimes or attacks because of their ideology, beliefs, or missions (DCJS). The April 15, 2026 announcement made up to $70 million available, $35 million enacted for FY26 and $35 million proposed for FY27, and required applicants to provide vulnerability assessments showing their risk. New applicants and past recipients could both apply.

The September 8 award announcement names houses of worship, community and civic centers, cultural museums, and daycare centers among eligible groups, and its examples of fundable work include locks, alarms, access controls, shatter-resistant glass, and public address systems. Of the 290 grants, 147 went to New York City organizations and 99 to the Mid-Hudson region. For Jewish communal organizations that use SCAHC alongside NSGP, see synagogue security grants.

Nonpublic School Safety Equipment grant

NPSE reimburses religious and independent schools for certain safety and health costs. For Years 11 to 13, the state put $185 million ($45 million, $70 million, and $70 million) into a non-competitive formula: NYSED divides each appropriation by statewide nonpublic K–12 enrollment, multiplies by each school's enrollment, and rolls over money a school left unclaimed in Years 1 to 10 (NYSED Y11–13 guidance). Each school's figure is on NYSED's combined allocations list.

Requests to pre-approve an item that isn't on the eligibility list, and pooling forms for projects shared among related schools, are due December 1, 2026. Items and services must be paid and cleared by December 31, 2026. NYSED must receive the complete claim in its Business Portal by midnight January 14, 2027, and the school's CEO grants staff access through NYSED's SEDDAS system.

NYSED accepts one application per BEDS code per cycle and sends at most one request for clarification, with 10 business days to answer. Every invoice must match the school's record in NYSED's SEDREF database; a mismatch drops the item from the cycle. Payment goes to the SEDREF payee, which needs an OSC Vendor ID and an SFS profile. Questions go to NPSE-ORISS@nysed.gov, and the private and religious school guide covers how NPSE fits with federal programs.

Where NSGP and NPSE treat the same item differently

A school still can't claim one cost from both programs. NYSED's guidance says applications that are "duplicative in their entirety or are found to have overlap will not be reviewed."

New York City programs (local)

These city programs cover nonprofit nonpublic schools in the five boroughs, not houses of worship or other nonprofits. A search found no county-run security grant in Nassau, Suffolk, or Westchester, but this page doesn't survey county, municipal, or private funding.

Security guard reimbursement

Under Administrative Code section 10-172, added by Local Law 2 of 2016, DCAS reimburses qualifying nonpublic schools for unarmed security guards. Local Law 4 of 2025 lowered the minimum enrollment from 300 to 150 students and raised the citywide cap from $19.8 million to $35 million per school year, effective July 1, 2025. A school with 150 to 499 students is reimbursed for one guard, 500 to 999 for two, and one more for each additional 500 students (DCAS FAQ).

A school completes the HHS Accelerator prequalification in the city's PASSPort system, then applies there (DCAS, new schools). An accepted school signs a three-year memorandum of understanding (MOU) that must be registered with the NYC Comptroller before any reimbursement. It picks a guard company from DCAS's qualified provider list, pays the company, checks that the guards received the prevailing wage, and invoices DCAS quarterly with certified payroll, signed paper sign-in sheets, and proof of payment (DCAS, accepted schools).

Camera reimbursement, not yet running

Local Law 87 of 2026 lets the Mayor authorize DCAS, the program's administering agency, to reimburse qualifying nonpublic schools for buying and installing video surveillance cameras that cover 15 feet outside each entrance and exit. The Council passed it on April 16, 2026, the Mayor returned it unsigned on May 18, and it takes effect July 1, 2027. Reimbursement is capped at $10,000 for 150 to 499 students, $15,000 for 500 to 999, and $20,000 above 999, once every six years. Cameras bought before the law takes effect don't qualify, and DCAS must write rules first; as of October 14, 2026, it had posted none. The security camera guide covers NSGP's camera rules.

Using more than one program

A few New York sources address overlap directly:

• NPSE and any other grant. NYSED bars funding the same cost from more than one federal, state, or local source and names the NYC guard program as one to watch (NPSE guidance).
• NSGP after SCAHC or a pending NSGP application. DHSES's FAQ, answering organizations still waiting on SCAHC or FY2025 NSGP results, doesn't bar a new application.
• NSGP guards and existing guard budgets. DHSES won't fund security personnel already budgeted before the award, which it treats as supplanting (RFA).

We found no SCAHC overlap rule in the pages we could open. Where no rule speaks, you should still keep each cost on one award, with separate quotes, contracts, invoices, and payment records, and ask the agency in writing before splitting a purchase between programs.

Official documents to read first

If an agency issues a newer version, the newer document controls.

Last checked and change log

Last checked: October 14, 2026, against the DHSES, DCJS, NYSED, Grants Management, and DCAS pages and documents listed under Sources, the Governor's office announcements of April 15, August 11, and September 8, 2026, New York City Local Laws 4 of 2025 and 87 of 2026, and FEMA's NSGP page and FY2026 NOFO.

• October 2026: Page published. FY2026 NSGP closed (DHSES deadline July 10, 2026); FEMA announced FY2026 awards September 28, 2026; no New York FY2026 list posted; SCAHC closed with no next round announced; NPSE claims open until January 14, 2027.