Pennsylvania’s Nonprofit Security Grant Program distributed $10.7 million to synagogues, churches and other institutions in its 2026 round.

Now, it is fully funded as part of the state’s 2026-27 budget and open for applications for another year.

The Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Delinquency manages the process.

“Protecting public safety is our mission every day at PCCD, and this program truly exemplifies that,” said Kirsten Kenyon, the executive director of the PCCD, in a news release on pa.gov. “By once again investing $10 million in the Nonprofit Security Grant Fund Program in this year’s budget, we’re continuing to support critical security enhancements to help ensure that community members can safely gather, worship, and access services without fear. I strongly encourage eligible nonprofits to apply and take advantage of this funding.”

The program has deep ties to the state’s Jewish community.

It was launched in 2019 in the wake of the Tree of Life synagogue complex shooting in Pittsburgh’s Squirrel Hill neighborhood, the deadliest antisemitic attack in U.S. history. In 2024, it was expanded from $5 million per year to $10 million under a Jewish governor, Josh Shapiro, who had been elected two years earlier.

In its seven years of existence, the Nonprofit Security Grant Program has distributed $45 million to synagogues and other nonprofit organizations. In year one of the initiative, 67% of grants went to Jewish institutions. By year four in 2023, that percentage had dropped below 50, in part because so many Jewish organizations benefited initially.

Synagogues, day schools and other Jewish institutions in the five-county Philadelphia area have received grants over the years as part of the program.

On March 13, the PCCD announced the recipients of this year’s Nonprofit Security Grant Program. More than 30 Jewish Philadelphia organizations in the five-county area were awarded grants between $15,000 and $150,000. More than 20 of those were synagogues.

In 2024, some Philadelphia-area synagogues that received funds included Bucks County Jewish Congregation, Chabad Lubavitch of Doylestown, Kol Emet Yardley Reconstructionist Congregation, Beth Israel Congregation of Chester County, Kesher Israel Congregation, Congregation Ahavas Torah, Mishkan Shalom, Temple Beth Zion-Beth Israel, Beth Sholom Congregation, Lower Merion Synagogue, Lubavitch of Montgomery County, Temple Beth Hillel-Beth El and South Philadelphia Shtiebel.

That same year, several local Jewish day schools that received funding included Yeshiva Ketana of Philadelphia, Abrams Hebrew Academy, Caskey Torah Academy, I.S. Kosloff Torah Academy High School for Girls, The Mesivta High School of Greater Philadelphia and the Politz Hebrew Academy.

Two years before that, 30 Jewish organizations in the five-county Philadelphia area received grants. Most were synagogues, but the Weitzman National Museum of American Jewish History, the Kaiserman JCC and Reconstructing Judaism also got money.

“Given the rise in hate and the rise in issues, the need for funding to secure institutions is important for a community’s safety,” Andrew Goretsky, the senior regional director of Anti-Defamation League Philadelphia, said in 2024 after Shapiro’s budget address that year in which the governor called for an increase to the program.

Most synagogues of a certain size in the Philadelphia area have security setups at their front doors and around their premises. It’s not uncommon to be greeted by a security guard before a staff member, rabbi or congregant when you visit a synagogue these days.

Since the Tree of Life shooting on Oct. 27, 2018, the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas attack on Israel took place. Since 2015, there has been a steady increase in antisemitic incidents throughout the state and nation, as tracked by the Anti-Defamation League. In 2025 alone, incidents included the arson attack targeting Shapiro at the Pennsylvania governor’s residence, the Capital Jewish Museum shooting in Washington, D.C., and the Run for Their Lives attack in Boulder, Colorado.

Earlier this year, a man rammed a truck into a synagogue, Temple Israel, in the suburbs of Detroit. He then opened fire, though no one was seriously injured or killed.

Synagogue and community leaders credited their security setup, personnel and training for that outcome, saying they had been preparing for years in preparation for an attack like that.

“People used to pay dues for the rabbi, the administration, the building, to take care of Torahs,” said Jerel Wohl, the president of Temple Judea of Bucks County, after that attack. “Now we have these extra costs for security, and it makes it hard.”

jsaffren@midatlanticmedia.com