Pennsylvania House panel votes to waive the security grant match for nonprofits with revenue under $250,000
The House Finance Committee voted 26 to 0 on Sept. 30 for House Bill 2639, which would drop the 33 percent match the state's Nonprofit Security Grant Fund requires on grants of $25,001 to $75,000 for smaller organizations. The bill now goes to the full House.
Harrisburg. Smaller nonprofits in Pennsylvania would no longer have to put up a third of the cost of a mid-sized state security grant under a bill the House Finance Committee approved 26 to 0 on Sept. 30.
House Bill 2639, by Rep. Abigail Salisbury, a Democrat from Allegheny County, applies to the state's Nonprofit Security Grant Fund, which the Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Delinquency runs. The fund is open to 501(c)(3) organizations in the state that principally serve people in a category the FBI tracks for hate crimes, such as race, religion, sexual orientation, disability, gender or gender identity.
What the bill changes
Under current law, grants run from $5,000 to $150,000. No match is required for $25,000 or less. A grant of $25,001 to $75,000 requires the applicant to contribute non-state money equal to 33 percent of the request, and one of $75,001 to $150,000 requires 50 percent.
The bill exempts an applicant from the 33 percent match if its annual gross revenue was less than $250,000 in the prior calendar year, and bars the commission from weighing that exemption when it approves or denies an application. The 50 percent match for the largest grants does not change.
The committee also adopted an amendment for organizations that rent their space: an application for work on leased property must include a signed agreement with the landlord stating that the landlord is not responsible for reimbursing the improvements, and either that they stay after the lease ends or that the organization will restore the property if it takes them. The act would take effect 60 days after enactment.
Why the sponsor filed it
Ms. Salisbury pointed to Jesus' Dwelling Place, a church in North Braddock where, she wrote in a June memo, a man with a loaded gun entered in 2024 and tried to shoot people inside; no one was hurt. She said the church needed a year and a half to raise its match and secure a line of credit for a $75,000 grant paid by reimbursement.
“The size of a group's operating budget should never determine its ability to protect members.”
The bill had its first consideration on the House floor the same day and was laid on the table, according to the General Assembly's record. The commission says the administration of Gov. Josh Shapiro has secured $35 million for the program since 2023, including $10 million in the 2026-27 budget.
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 Oct. 1, 2026. Stories in The Nonprofit Herald are free, and nothing is asked in return. Editorial rules.
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