49 Maryland houses of worship, schools and community centers receive $8.6 million in federal security grants
The Department of Homeland Security chose the recipients under its Nonprofit Security Grant Program, Maryland's congressional delegation said on Sept. 24. The list names every recipient but not what each one receives.
Washington. Forty-nine houses of worship, religious schools and community organizations across Maryland will share $8,627,091 in federal security grants, the state's two senators and eight representatives announced on Sept. 24.
The money comes from the Nonprofit Security Grant Program of the Department of Homeland Security, which selected the recipients, the delegation said. The program pays for physical and cyber security at the buildings of nonprofits at risk of terrorist or other extremist attacks. The announcement does not say how much each recipient receives, or which year's round of the program the awards come from.
Who is on the list
The delegation's list places 19 recipients in the Baltimore area, 19 in Montgomery and Prince George's Counties, eight in Western Maryland and two in Southern Maryland. The only one on the Eastern Shore is Lighthouse Christian Academy.
Most are churches, synagogues and religious schools. The list also names The Sierra Leone Muslim Jamaat and the Guru Gobind Singh Foundation Trust, two camps, a Greek Orthodox cemetery, a therapy clinic and a transit corporation. Some organizations appear more than once, because each application covers a single site: Broadfording Bible Brethren Church in Washington County has three entries, one for the church and two for the campuses of its Global Vision Christian School.
How the program works
The Federal Emergency Management Agency runs the program, and nonprofits cannot apply to it directly. They apply through the Maryland Department of Emergency Management, or, in Montgomery and Prince George's Counties, through the District of Columbia's homeland security agency, which handles the National Capital Region.
Under FEMA's notice for the 2026 round, an organization may ask for up to $200,000 for each site, for up to three sites in each of the program's two funding streams and no more than $600,000 in a state. FEMA multiplies the scores of religious and other ideology-based organizations by three and adds 15 points for any organization that has never received an award. In fiscal 2025, the notice says, nonprofits requested and received the most money for video security systems, impact-resistant doors and gates, access control systems, barriers and fixed lighting.
Congress provided $300 million for the program in fiscal 2026, up from $274.5 million in fiscal 2025, the delegation said. Maryland's agency took applications for the 2026 round until July 15, and FEMA planned to choose recipients by Sept. 30. The notice for that round requires short biographies and resumes of each applicant's leaders and board members, with their names and addresses. It says applicants "should not include foreign nationals or noncitizens," and that any who are included must be properly vetted.
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