Montgomery County details nonprofit security grant changes and $1.2M FY budget

Montgomery County briefed the Public Safety Committee on Oct. 27 about the Nonprofit Security Grant Program, describing recent refinements intended to speed awards and broaden outreach to at‑risk nonprofit and faith‑based organizations.

OEMHS and Grants Management staff said the local program grew from earlier federal funding and was formally established at the county level in FY21. Staff noted the program's origins trace to the 2018 Tree of Life attack and the availability of federal nonprofit security funding beginning in FY19; the county program provides a more accessible, local alternative for smaller organizations.

Nicole Markowski, deputy director of OEMHS, said applicants may request up to $15,000 per facility (reduced from a prior cap of $20,000) and that organizations may apply separately for multiple sites. The award can be used for security personnel, security assessments, training, drills, cameras, and (as of FY25) a FUSUS Core device.

Staff summarized application and review stages (OGM administrative review, programmatic eligibility review, and subject‑matter expert review) and described recent operational improvements: co‑administration with the Office of Grants Management, a grants platform to collect and score applications, and iterative changes over three cycles to streamline processing.

Officials said FY25 funding was budgeted at $900,000 and an added $300,000 appropriation brought the total to $1.2 million; the same $1.2 million figure is carried into FY26. Staff said approximately 36% of awards went to security personnel and about 27% to cameras; council staff noted 27 FY25 recipients were first‑time awardees.

OGM and OEMHS staff said they try to be flexible around minor application errors (typically allowing a two‑business‑day cure window for clerical issues) but will not accept fixes for fundamental eligibility failings (for example, an organization that is not a 501(c)(3)). Staff described outreach and coaching for applicants that do not regularly apply for grants.

A council member asked whether grantee cameras are subsequently integrated into the county's MOCO Connect camera‑sharing program. Staff said they will reconcile awardee lists with MOCO Connect feeds and report back with counts to measure program value and outreach effectiveness.

Officials said co‑administration with OGM and the grants platform have shortened review cycles and improved capacity to get funds out quickly; they plan further refinements for the FY26 cycle.

The committee received the briefing and asked staff to return with any requested reconciliations and further program metrics.