Security Grants for Nonprofits Boosted 30% in Budget Deal

The $1.1-trillion budget agreement approved by Congress last week includes $13-million in Department of Homeland Security grants for nonprofit groups to safeguard their facilities, a 30 percent increase from 2013, reports the Jewish Telegraphic Agency.

The increase comes two years after the federal agency nearly halved funding for the Nonprofit Security Grant Program to $10-million.

The program, inaugurated in the mid-2000s to assist nonprofit groups considered potential terrorist targets, has primarily benefited Jewish institutions, which have used the money to add barriers, cameras, and other security measures. The Jewish Federations of North America and Orthodox organizations have lobbied Congress to maintain the grants.