Congressional leaders posted the text of Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2018 (aka the Omnibus Bill)) last night. Its passage will keep the government operating for the remainder of the fiscal year. Included in the bill (besides the Taylor Force Act) is an allocation of $50 million (up from $25M) for the Nonprofit Security Grants Program (NSGP) and $10 million for nonprofits outside of the designated UASI regions (Good news for upstate and Connecticut institutions).
We won’t know when the application package will be available or the deadline for submission until the U.S. Department of Homeland Security releases its guidance. People always complain that they aren’t given enough time to complete their applications so we advise you to click to www.jcrcny.org/securitygrants and follow the instructions to get started now.
The projected increase in the grant allocation would not be possible without our Congressional champions. A major push for the $50 million came in a bipartisan “Dear Colleague” letter to the leadership of the House Appropriations Committee (including the Ranking Member, our own Rep. Nita Lowey) circulated by Representatives Bill Pascrell, Jr. and our own Dan Donovan, Jr. Our New York delegation figured prominently among the signers, including: Representatives Yvette Clarke, Joseph Crowley, Eliot Engel, Adriano Espaillat, John Faso, Hakeem Jeffries, John Katko, Peter King, Carolyn Maloney, Gregory Meeks, Jerrold Nadler, Thomas Suozzi, Kathleen Rice, Claudia Tenney and Nydia Velázquez. Of course, Senator Kirsten Gillibrand and Democratic Leader Charles Schumer were helpful in the Senate. Please contact their offices to let them know that you appreciate their leadership.
JCRC-NY and UJA-Federation are key members of the dynamic coalition that pushes for this legislation year-after-year. The linchpin of this effort is Rob Goldberg of the Washington, DC office of the Jewish Federations of North America. Our friend, William Daroff, the senior vice president for public policy and director of the Washington office of The Jewish Federations of North America, plays an important role.