Nelson highlights more than $180K in security grants for local organizations

HARRISBURG, March 11 – Acknowledging the unfortunate need for specialized funding, state Rep. Napoleon Nelson, D-Montgomery, highlighted four local nonprofit organizations that will share more than $180,000 in security grants as announced Wednesday by the Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Delinquency.

With more than $5 million in Nonprofit Security Grant Fund Program funding ticketed for statewide churches, synagogues and other nonprofits, Nelson noted local recipients, including Westminster Theological Seminary in Glenside ($62,633), the Jewish Reconstructionist Camping Corporation in Wyncote ($46,992), Young Israel of Elkins Park ($46,451) and Gratz College in Melrose Park ($24,436).

“The funding for these programs and organizations is of particular importance as we continue to protect our places of worship,” Nelson said. “We look forward to the day when such places of peace and love are no longer targets of hate and violence.”

The Nonprofit Security Grant Fund, administered by PCCD, was established in 2019 after the Tree of Life shootings in Pittsburgh in October 2018. The program is in its second year awarding funding to nonprofits across the commonwealth.

The funding is designed to protect the safety and security of organizations via the following:

  • Safety and security planning and training.
  • Purchase of safety and security equipment.
  • Purchase of security-related technology.
  • Threat awareness and response training.
  • Upgrades to existing structures that enhance safety and security.
  • Vulnerability and threat assessments.
  • Specialty-trained canines.