Gottheimer, bipartisan lawmakers urge FEMA to release nonprofit security grant award information
NORTH JERSEY — U.S. Rep. Josh Gottheimer (NJ-5) joined Reps. Nicole Malliotakis (NY-11), Jared Moskowitz (FL-23), and Mike Lawler (NY-17) this week in leading a bipartisan letter pressing the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to release a list of 2025 Nonprofit Security Grant Program (NSGP) awardees to Congress.
According to the lawmakers, FEMA has withheld from congressional offices the list of nonprofits in their districts receiving NSGP funding this year — breaking from a longstanding precedent. The delay comes as organizations face a looming deadline to apply for next year’s funding, leaving many houses of worship and other nonprofits uncertain about their eligibility and unable to plan security upgrades.
The letter calls on the Trump administration to share the June award list “as has been the normal course of business for FEMA” to allow nonprofits to prepare accurate applications. The NSGP provides funding to faith-based and other high-risk nonprofits to bolster physical security and provide training to protect against terrorist threats and hate-fueled violence.
“We ask that you work with Congress and immediately share the list of awardees from June, as has been the normal course of business for FEMA, so that these non-profits at risk of attack can submit an accurate application before the deadline,” the members wrote to Acting FEMA Administrator David Richardson. “The NSGP is one of the most effective and critical programs for protecting all faith-based communities from attack.”
Michael Masters, CEO of the Secure Community Network, thanked Gottheimer and the bipartisan group for “their commitment to protecting Jewish and other faith-based communities amid an unprecedented threat environment,” adding that the compressed timeline for applications makes “timely and transparent communication” critical.
The members stressed that withholding the list undermines efforts to safeguard communities and urged FEMA to return to prior practice to ensure vulnerable organizations have the information they need before the deadline.
