New York sends $70 million in security grants to 290 nonprofits at risk of hate crimes
Gov. Kathy Hochul announced the awards on Sept. 8, days before the Jewish High Holidays. Each organization could ask for up to $250,000 for physical and cyber security, and the state does not name the recipients.
New York. New York State is distributing $70 million to 290 nonprofit organizations that face a risk of hate crimes or attacks because of their ideology, beliefs or mission, Gov. Kathy Hochul announced on Sept. 8, days before the start of the Jewish High Holidays.
The grants come from the Securing Communities Against Hate Crimes program, run by the state Division of Criminal Justice Services, and the governor's office called the total a record. The awards complete a round that opened on April 15, with applications due July 8.
The governor's office cited police figures: hate crimes reported in New York City through Aug. 30 rose 16 percent from a year earlier, to 425, and anti-Jewish crimes made up 53.9 percent of confirmed cases.
Who could apply and what the money buys
Houses of worship and other religious organizations, community and civic centers, cultural museums, daycare centers and other nonprofits at risk were eligible. Each could request up to $250,000, the highest cap since the program began in 2017, and had to submit a vulnerability assessment showing the risk and how the project would protect its buildings and the people who use them.
The money pays for work such as lighting, locks, alarms, panic buttons, fencing, barriers, access controls, shatter-resistant glass, blast-resistant film and public address systems, along with cybersecurity projects and security training.
“We should never have to be thinking that these places of worship and places children go to school have to be fortified against hate.”
Where the grants went
Organizations in eight of the state's 10 regions received awards. New York City had 147 grants worth about $35.8 million and the Mid-Hudson region 99 worth about $24.2 million. Long Island received 25, the Capital Region 10, the Finger Lakes three, and Central New York, the Southern Tier and Western New York two each.
The division said it would begin notifying recipients within the week of the announcement. It does not disclose their names, because that would pose a security risk.
Half of the $70 million was in the governor's proposed budget for fiscal 2027, and the other $35 million was already available from the year before, the April announcement said. Since Ms. Hochul took office five years ago, the program has provided more than $201 million for 2,035 projects, her office said.
Separately, the state budget for fiscal 2027 made it a crime to harass people within 50 feet of a house of worship with the intent to harass those attending services.
About this story
501c3.help wrote this story from the sources listed with it, not from material an organization sent. Our editors approved it on Sept. 29, 2026. Stories in The Nonprofit Herald are free, and nothing is asked in return. Editorial rules.
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