The grants will be used to fund essential security enhancements at synagogues, schools, and other Jewish facilities
The Jewish Federation of St. Louis announced today that more than $1.5 million in federal funding has been awarded to Jewish organizations across St. Louis, outstate Missouri, and Southern Illinois through the Nonprofit Security Grant Program – National Security Supplemental (NSGP-NSS) 2024.
These competitive grants, administered by FEMA, are designed to help nonprofit institutions at heightened risk of terrorist or extremist threats improve their physical security and emergency preparedness.
Jewish Federation’s Community Security Team, led by Scott Biondo, played an integral role in the grant process by conducting required security assessments at every location, writing grant applications on behalf of each recipient, and ensuring all compliance measures were met. The following organizations will receive funding as part this funding cycle:
- St. Louis Region: U City Shul, Central Reform Congregation (CRC), Crown Center, National Council of Jewish Women (NCJW), Epstein Hebrew Academy, Torah Prep Girls School, MaTovu
- Outstate Missouri: Congregation Beth Shalom (Columbia), Temple Israel (Rogersville), United Hebrew (Joplin)
- Illinois: Camp Ben Frankel (Jewish Federation of Southern Illinois)
“Security is one of the most pressing concerns facing our Jewish community today,” said Danny Cohn, President & CEO of the Jewish Federation of St. Louis. “By working alongside our synagogues, schools, camps, and partner agencies to ensure they have the needed safety resources, we help ensure Jews can safely gather to pray, learn, celebrate, and embrace all that it means to be Jewish.”
The grants will fund essential security enhancements including: fencing and protective barriers, video surveillance systems, reinforced doors and windows, blast protection or bullet-resistant glass laminates, enhanced lighting, magnetometers, emergency notification systems, and panic devices.
“The necessity of these grants are an unfortunate reality of what it means to live Jewishly in today’s society, but they are also an important example of what we can accomplish when we work together as a community,” said Todd Siwak, Board Chair of the Jewish Federation of St. Louis. “By leveraging federal resources and Federation expertise, we are strengthening not only individual institutions but also the safety and resilience of our entire Jewish community.”
Although these awards are being announced and implemented in 2025, they are officially designated as 2024 NSGP-NSS grants because the funding was authorized by Congress and FEMA in the federal government’s Fiscal Year 2024 budget cycle. This timing is standard across all federal grant programs.
Federation will now assist each recipient in completing Environmental and Historical Preservation (EHP) reports, required by FEMA, before work can begin. Once approved, each organization will use Federation’s vetted vendor list, with Federation providing ongoing project management support throughout implementation.