Philadelphia – March 11, 2020 – State Senator Art Haywood (D-Montgomery/Philadelphia) announced today that the Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Delinquency released over $240,000 in grant awards to religious institutions in both Montgomery and Philadelphia counties for improvements to physical security:
“Safety and security in sacred places are necessary. I am glad to announce these awards to the district.” said Senator Haywood.
The organizations who received awards from the Non-Profit Security Grant Program are: Reform Congregation Keneseth Israel, Congregation Adath Jeshurun, Beth Sholom Congregation, Beth Tikvah B’nai Jeshurun, Cheltenham Presbyterian Church, and the Germantown Jewish Centre.
The funding comes from Act 83 of 2019, which established a new program at the Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Delinquency (PCCD). Act 83 directs PCCD to administer grants to Pennsylvania-based 501(c)(3) nonprofit organizations who principally serve individuals, groups or institutions that are included within a bias motivation category for single bias hate crime incidents as identified by the FBI’s 2017 Hate Crime Statistics publication. The categories include race/ethnicity/ancestry; religion; sexual orientation; disability; gender; and gender identity.
Applicants were eligible for security enhancements designed to protect the safety and security of the users of a facility located in the Commonwealth that are owned or operated by the nonprofit organization.
In January of this year, PCCD released a $5 million solicitation for the grant program. 805 total applications requesting approximately $27 million were submitted and reviewed.
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