Security grants in Washington State: federal NSGP and the Commerce security grant

Status on October 15, 2026

The Washington Military Department's Emergency Management Division (EMD) is the State Administrative Agency (SAA) for FEMA's Nonprofit Security Grant Program (NSGP). Nonprofits apply to EMD, which scores the applications and sends one state application to FEMA. The state-funded Religious and Nonprofit Security Grant is a separate program run by the Washington State Department of Commerce.

EMD's own timeline listed July 24, 2026, for its submission to FEMA. FEMA later moved the SAA deadline to 5 p.m. ET on July 31, 2026 (Information Bulletin 579), but that change did not reopen Washington's window for nonprofits. Other states' dates are on NSGP deadlines.

Which NSGP stream a Washington site uses

NSGP has two streams. NSGP-UA (Urban Area) funds nonprofits inside a designated high-risk urban area, and NSGP-S (State) funds everyone else; the NSGP program guide explains both. Washington has one FY2026 urban area, the Seattle Area. EMD's FY2026 application webinar tells applicants to answer "Yes" to the urban-area question if the facility's address is "anywhere within King, Pierce or Snohomish counties" and then select "Seattle Area" (EMD webinar slides).

These are total federal allocations from the FY2026 NOFO. Each includes the share of up to 5% that EMD may keep for management and administration (M&A), so the amount available for nonprofit projects is smaller. The state lookup table uses the same basis. The "competes against" column comes from EMD's program overview slides.

The NOFO disqualifies an application filed in the wrong stream. A site near a county line, or with a mailing address in a different county from the building, should get EMD's stream decision in writing before anyone drafts the Investment Justification (IJ).

EMD's slides set the request limits: $200,000 per application, one application per physical address, and three sites per stream. An organization with sites in both streams may apply for up to six sites, but its combined requests cannot exceed $600,000.

How EMD took FY2026 applications

EMD opened the FY2026 window on June 24, 2026, the day FEMA published the notice. It also required a state pre-application step, a Notice of Intent (NOI). The NSGP page says applicants "Must complete a Notice of Intent form to have their application considered for funding." The sequence was:

1. Submit the Notice of Intent by June 30.The NOI closed at 11:59 p.m. on Tuesday, June 30, 2026, a week before applications were due. EMD's webinar lists a missing NOI among the reasons an application is "administratively ineligible."
2. Download the current forms.EMD posted the FY2026 forms as a single ZIP file on its NSGP page. The page says "Forms for prior year NSGP funding opportunities cannot be accepted."
3. Submit the complete application by July 7.Applications were due at 11:59 p.m. on Tuesday, July 7, 2026. The page doesn't identify a time zone.

The page now shows its submit buttons as disabled and no longer describes the submission channel. Ask EMD at preparedness.grants@mil.wa.gov how the next round will take files. EMD also offers technical assistance meetings through a booking link on the same page.

What the application contained

• Investment Justification. The current year's FEMA form, one per physical address.
• Vulnerability assessment. Completed within the three years before the application and specific to the site on the IJ. EMD accepts an in-person assessment by local law enforcement, if the agency offers one, or CISA's Houses of Worship Security Self-Assessment. A private security firm may do the assessment, but EMD's slides say its fee "cannot be included in the application."
• Certification of Nonprofit Eligibility. EMD's slides label this form an "Additional Washington state requirement."
• Mission statement. The NSGP page says letterhead is "preferred." EMD's slides add that most mission statements run one or two paragraphs.

EMD's slides also say not to attach the cost estimates you gathered to price the projects; the numbers belong in the IJ. The NOFO separately requires short bios and resumes for the organization's leadership and board, with names and addresses. EMD's page doesn't list them, so ask EMD how to send them.

A Unique Entity ID (UEI) from SAM.gov is needed before EMD can issue a subaward. EMD's FY2026 webinar says the UEI "is not required at the time of application, but must be obtained to receive a NSGP pass-through agreement," though another slide calls a registered UEI a requirement. Start the free registration well before the window opens; the how-to-apply guide covers SAM.gov and the federal forms.

EMD's eligibility sheet repeats the federal test: an organization described under section 501(c)(3) and tax-exempt under 501(a), at high risk of terrorist or other extremist attack. Churches, mosques and synagogues need no IRS recognition letter. The sheet lists public schools, government-chartered nonprofits, nonprofits that operate government-owned buildings, and foundations of public universities as ineligible. Faith-specific guidance is on the church, synagogue and mosque pages.

How EMD scores applications, and the award period

EMD first checks each application for completeness, eligibility and allowable costs. A State Scoring Review Committee of six to ten reviewers from state and local agencies then scores and ranks the IJs, and each reviewer can award up to 40 points. EMD's webinar gives the point split: Background 5, Risk 15, Facility Hardening 9, Milestones 5, Project Management 2 and Impact 4. FEMA then adds its own bonus points, including 15 for organizations that have never received an NSGP award, and the NOFO's score multipliers by organization type. The Secretary of Homeland Security makes final award decisions.

EMD's slides say every project must appear as a finding in the vulnerability assessment and must be allowable under FEMA's Authorized Equipment List. Its examples of fundable projects include contracted security guards, cameras, access control, fencing and barriers, cybersecurity for security systems, planning and active-shooter training. For item-level rules, see allowable costs, security cameras and security guards.

For FY2026, EMD told applicants that selected projects would receive a standard three-year award running September 1, 2026, to August 31, 2029. Milestones had to use the full three years and include environmental and historic preservation (EHP) review by January 31, 2027. EMD's timeline says it drafts pass-through agreements 45 days after FEMA's announcement. Its page doesn't state whether it pays by reimbursement or advance. The post-award guide and EHP review cover the federal steps.

The Religious and Nonprofit Security Grant (Department of Commerce)

Commerce's grant is funded by the Legislature and runs on its own schedule, separate from NSGP. The ZoomGrants listing for the last round cites "FY26-27 Leg Proviso (17)" as its guidance but names no bill or section. Commerce's program page says the Legislature "updated this program and added funding in the winter of 2024."

Commerce reports that the 2025 round distributed $200,000 among nine organizations after receiving 62 applications requesting $936,480. The round's ZoomGrants listing set a $20,000 application cap.

How the last round worked

The last round, RFA 26-33718-001, took applications only through ZoomGrants and closed July 31, 2025, after a virtual applicants' conference on June 26, 2025. These are its terms; a new round can change any of them.

• Cap. "The cap is $20,000. Any application requesting more than $20,000 will be disqualified."
• Payment. "This is a reimbursement grant." The award was reimbursed 50% in state fiscal year 2026 and 50% in 2027, with no more than $10,000 used in each year. The organization pays first and submits receipts.
• Deadline to finish. "Services must be completed and items received by close of business day June 30, 2027."
• Who could apply. Nonprofits, including religious nonprofits, "by and for" organizations and cultural community centers, licensed to do business in Washington or able to become licensed within 30 calendar days of selection.
• Risk. Recipients "must substantiate that they have been targeted or are at risk," with mandatory backup documents for each highest-severity incident, such as police reports, insurance claims or crime logs.
• The building. The form asks whether the facility is owned or leased and, if leased, whether the owner has approved the enhancements.
• Uses. Physical security improvements and repairs, cybersecurity, construction or renovation, security personnel, target hardening, preparedness planning and training. Commerce's page gives doors, fences, lighting, security systems and concrete barriers as examples.

The ZoomGrants listing shows "-none-" under restrictions and says nothing about a match. The screening form asks applicants to check boxes such as a rural location or never having received state grant funding, but it doesn't say whether those boxes affect scoring. Before the next round, ask Commerce which costs are excluded and how it ranks applications.

Schools and local programs

We found no Washington state security grant for nonpublic schools. A nonprofit private or religious school may still fit NSGP, and possibly the Commerce grant, depending on its legal entity; see private and religious school security grants. Public schools are ineligible for NSGP under EMD's eligibility sheet.

We also found no King County or City of Seattle security grant for nonprofits or houses of worship. This page doesn't cover every county, city or private source.

Programs compared

Applying to both programs

We found nothing in either agency's published materials that bars an organization from holding both awards. Commerce's application asks whether the organization "received federal or state nonprofit security funding in the past" and, if so, the years, amounts and projects. We found no Commerce rule on paying for the same project from both sources, and EMD's page doesn't mention the state grant.

Both programs can pay for security personnel, so the overlap risk is real at a site with guards. The FY2026 NOFO lets an NSGP subrecipient spend up to 100% of its award on contracted security. An organization with both awards should assign every invoice, shift and payment to one program, disclose the other award in each application, and ask Commerce in writing how it treats a project that NSGP also funds.

Official documents

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

Last checked and change log

Last checked: October 15, 2026, against EMD's NSGP page, eligibility sheet and two FY2026 webinar decks; the Commerce program page and ZoomGrants listing; and FEMA's FY2026 NOFO, Information Bulletin 579 and September 28, 2026 announcement.

• October 2026: Page published. FY2026 NSGP closed in Washington (NOI June 30, applications July 7, 2026); no Washington award list found. Commerce grant closed with grants through June 2027 distributed; no new round posted.