Jewish Federations thank the Senate for restoring Nonprofit Security Grant Program funding to $305 million, but urge Congress that the figure still falls short of the need.

“Reversing last year’s cut to annual NSGP funding is an important step, but unfortunately this level of funding is not keeping pace with horrific and unprecedented wave of antisemitic threats  our community is facing,” said Karen Paikin Barall, VP Government Relations for Jewish Federations of North America. “It’s not too late to fully fund this life-saving program and protect all houses of worship.”

Hate crimes against Jews have spiked alarmingly since the October 7th attacks last year, with synagogues, Jewish schools, Federations, and other Jewish communal institutions seeing a significant increase in attacks.

NSGP has been a critical part of the effort to secure the Jewish community, which has made strides in upgrading security infrastructure.

Last year, the appropriation for NSGP was cut by 10% to $274.5 million, but received an additional $180 million (out of a $400 million multi-year supplemental appropriation), resulting in a record $454.5 million of Nonprofit Security Grants being awarded. But despite the record investment, fewer than half of all applicants were able to receive funding, a result of skyrocketing antisemitic incidents and other attacks on houses of worship and nonprofit institutions.