Security grants in Tennessee: the Houses of Worship guard grant and federal NSGP

Status on October 15, 2026

The Tennessee Department of Safety and Homeland Security, through its Office of Homeland Security (OHS), is the State Administrative Agency (SAA) for FEMA's Nonprofit Security Grant Program (NSGP). The same office runs the state-funded Houses of Worship Security Grant; both are posted on the department's grants page, with questions to OHS.Grants@tn.gov. School programs sit with the Department of Education.

The Houses of Worship Security Grant

The department's 2026-2027 instructions call this the Houses of Worship Contracted Security Personnel Grant Program. It pays only for guards and off-duty officers through a state reimbursement contract of up to 12 months.

Who can apply

Section B of the instructions accepts registered 501(c)(3) nonprofits, or organizations described in section 501(c)(3) and tax-exempt under section 501(a) that can show their threat and vulnerability and how the grant would close security gaps. The grants page is narrower: it describes the grant as being for 501(c)(3) organizations "which serve as houses of worship." A school, camp or social service nonprofit that is not a house of worship should ask OHS in writing before it applies.

Three site rules shape every application:

• Only one applicant may apply per building, facility, physical structure or address.
• The department makes no more than one award to an organization in a single state fiscal year.
• An organization with several locations files a separate application for each one.

For federal options, see the church, synagogue and mosque guides.

What it pays for

Section D.2 defines "Contracted Security Personnel" in two ways. The first is a law enforcement officer certified by the Tennessee Peace Officer Standards and Training (POST) Commission whose employing agency authorizes extra-duty security work. The second is a Tennessee-licensed security guard employed by a contract security company that the state licenses to provide private protective services. The organization must verify licensure itself.

The grant reimburses actual hours those personnel work at the physical address named in the application. Travel, equipment, uniforms, security planning, training and other expenses are not reimbursable. The organization must incur the cost itself; the department reimburses the organization only, not a third party paying on its behalf. For how guard hours are planned and documented under the federal program, see security guard grants.

Award size and payment

The 2026-2027 instructions don't state a maximum award, a total for the round or a match requirement, and we could not read the online form's text. The 2024-2025 application capped awards at $100,000 and said larger requests "will not be considered." Ask OHS for the current limit.

The organization pays the guard company or police agency first, then submits the documentation required by its contract. The instructions say missing the contract's claim deadlines "will result in non-reimbursement."

How the 2026-2027 round worked

Applicants used an online form linked from the grants page. Section H of the instructions sets the filing rules:

• The legal entity name must exactly match the name on the organization's IRS Form W-9, with no added location words. The application may use the site's physical address while the W-9 shows a business address.
• A completed W-9 (Rev. March 2024) is required.
• An organization that already uses contracted security must attach a recent invoice. One that doesn't must attach a quote from personnel who meet the section D.2 definition.
• Optional supporting documents must be PDFs, not document images, and the narrative should refer to each attachment.
• Incomplete applications are not processed, and revised applications are not accepted.

The department awards contracts "based on scores and funding availability," not first come, first served. It notifies every applicant, but gives no date for those notices.

Procurement

Under section D.2.d, guard services must be bought competitively, including competitive bidding "where practical." The organization keeps documentation of the basis for each procurement. If competition isn't practical, the reimbursement request must include a written justification for the non-competitive choice.

Federal NSGP through the Office of Homeland Security

OHS took FY2026 NSGP applications until midnight CT on July 13, 2026. The grants page says applications received after that "will not be processed for funding," and explains that DHS/FEMA gave states 30 days to complete all applications. FEMA later moved its own deadline for SAAs to 5 p.m. ET on July 31, 2026 (Information Bulletin 579), but the Tennessee page still showed July 13 when we checked. The state's FY2026 Instructions and FAQs explain that the NOFO date binds the state; the nonprofit's date is the one on the department's site. See NSGP deadlines for other states.

How Tennessee takes applications

Tennessee uses email, not a portal. The package goes to the shared inbox, OHS.Grants@tn.gov, not to individual contacts. The FAQ also says:

• A UEI is required, and the state "cannot help you with this." The organization must obtain it itself, following the NOFO's instructions.
• The organization does not need to register with Grants.gov, though the Investment Justification (IJ) form can be downloaded there.
• "Once you submit your application, it is final."

Three required documents

OHS reviews an IJ and forwards it to FEMA only if all three required items arrive, each as a separate attachment. "If one or more of the items is missing, your IJ will not be reviewed or forwarded to DHS/FEMA."

• Mission statement on organizational letterhead. OHS uses it to check the IJ and to categorize the facility (ideology-based, educational, medical and so on), which affects the federal score multiplier. It should state who the organization is, what it does and why.
• The entire vulnerability assessment. Not a cover sheet or summary. The free CISA Houses of Worship Security Self-Assessment is recommended but not required, and the FAQ notes it may be used even if the site isn't a house of worship. If you use another method, the assessment must identify the site's threats, vulnerabilities and consequences and include action items, not just deficiencies.
• The completed IJ. The fillable PDF, with every required field answered.

Supplemental documents such as photos and police reports are optional. OHS uses them only to check the assessment during its initial review, and they are not sent to FEMA. The how-to-apply guide covers SAM.gov and the federal forms in detail.

Tennessee's rules for the Investment Justification

The state FAQ adds its own rules for the IJ, and breaking several of them ends an application:

• Changing the IJ's format "is an automatic disqualifier." The form must remain a fillable PDF.
• Writing "see attached" or "see below," or leaving a required field blank, makes the IJ incomplete.
• IJ answers must line up with the vulnerability assessment, and requested equipment should link directly to the threats, vulnerabilities and consequences it identifies.
• Equipment and services come only from the IJ's drop-down lists for the current year.
• The narrative should describe the "here and now" risk to the site. Past events may add context, but the FAQ says narratives built on events in other states, other countries or past years don't address current risk.

The FAQ also speaks to outside help. If a grant writer "who is not intimately associated with your organization" drafts the IJ, the organization should review the work, because generic or boilerplate answers reduce its chances.

Which stream a site uses

Tennessee has one FY2026 urban area, the Nashville Area (FY2026 NOFO, Appendix B). A site inside its footprint applies under NSGP-UA; every other Tennessee site applies under NSGP-S. Neither the grants page nor the FAQ lists the counties in the Nashville footprint. The NOFO tells nonprofits to get the footprint from the SAA and disqualifies applications filed in the wrong stream, so confirm a site's stream with OHS in writing before drafting.

These are total federal allocations, which include the SAA's 5% for management and administration, so they exceed what is available for nonprofit subawards. The state lookup table uses the same basis. Under the FY2026 NOFO, an organization may request up to $200,000 per site and up to three sites per stream, with a combined limit of $600,000 in Tennessee. National eligibility and scoring are in the NSGP program guide.

If OHS forwards an application and FEMA selects it

The FAQ says the state contacts each applicant, funded or not, once funding decisions are final and the state receives its federal award. FEMA announced FY2026 awards on September 28, 2026 (FEMA), but we found no Tennessee subaward list by October 15. Tennessee then sets conditions of its own:

• Purchasing policy. The organization must have an established purchasing policy and provide a copy if it receives an award.
• Fixed contract wording. The organization may not change the contract's language.
• Title VI. Every subrecipient of federal funds the SAA administers must submit a new Title VI Self-Survey each year. The FAQ gives a contact for the forms.
• Environmental review. Selected organizations receive instructions on environmental planning and historic preservation (EHP) review.

Neither the grants page nor the FAQ says whether OHS pays NSGP subawards by reimbursement or advance; ask, and follow the executed contract. Subrecipients cannot claim pre-award costs under the NOFO, so no orders or installation should start until the contract is signed and EHP is cleared. See after the award.

School programs

The Department of Education runs both state school grants that reach private schools. For federal NSGP, see private and religious school security grants.

Non-Public School Security Grant (closed, one-time)

The General Assembly appropriated a one-time $14 million for non-public school security in 2023. The January 12, 2026 report to the General Assembly says 349 schools completed applications, all funds were allocated, and 93% had been reimbursed by the reporting period. We found no new round.

School Safety Alert Grant Fund (FY27)

Tenn. Code Ann. § 49-1-225, enacted in 2024, created a small recurring fund for mobile panic alert systems described in § 49-6-804(a). The FY27 application package (August 2026) opens it to public school districts, public charter schools, church-related schools, and non-public schools recognized under State Board of Education Rule 0520-07-02. Key terms:

• $8,000 per school, $48,000 a year in total, no match. Items outside § 49-6-804(a) are not eligible.
• Six awards, first come, first served, with two going to each of the state's three grand divisions (West, Middle and East).
• Applications in ePlan, the department's grants system, from 9:00 a.m. CT on September 9, 2026. The department planned to begin award notices September 14, 2026.
• A school needs three ePlan user roles, and one person cannot be both its fiscal and authorized representative.
• Payment by reimbursement in ePlan, with proof of payment. Final expenditure reports are due October 1, 2027.

With six awards and a first-come rule, the FY27 money may already be committed, but the department had posted no results by October 15. A school should confirm with the department before it starts an application.

Programs compared

Holding the state guard grant and NSGP

Section D.2.a of the Houses of Worship instructions is direct: "Organizations receiving federal NSGP funds for contracted security personnel are not eligible for this Tennessee grant." The department grounds the rule in NSGP's bar on using federal money to replace funds appropriated for the same purpose. The 2024-2025 application carried the same rule.

The sentence names NSGP money for contracted security, not NSGP money for cameras, doors or other equipment. On our reading, an organization with an equipment-only NSGP award is not excluded by that sentence, but the instructions don't say so expressly; confirm with OHS before you apply. The security guard grants guide compares guard funding across states.

Official documents

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

Last checked and change log

Last checked: October 15, 2026, against every document in the table above, the Department of Education's Safe Schools Act page, and FEMA's Information Bulletin 579 and September 28, 2026 announcement.

• October 2026: Page published. Houses of Worship 2026-2027 round closed August 3, 2026, and under review. FY2026 NSGP closed in Tennessee July 13, 2026; no Tennessee award list found. School Safety Alert Grant FY27 opened September 9, 2026; results not posted.