Reading − January 15, 2020 − The Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Delinquency (PCCD) today opened the application window for a new Non-Profit Security Grant program, which stemmed from language sponsored by State Sen. Judy Schwank (D-11) to address security needs and confront violence and intolerance against organizations with diverse membership.
The program was established in 2019 by House Bill 859 (or Act 83 of 2019) and will award grants to non-profit organizations who principally serve individuals, groups or institutions that are included within a bias motivation category for a single bias hate crime incident identified by the FBI’s 2017 Hate Crime Statistics publication. Those incident categories include: race/ethnicity/ancestry, religion, sexual orientation, disability, gender and gender identity.
“Hate crimes are an alarming reality in our Commonwealth, and we need to address safety issues in places of refuge or worship,” Schwank said. “I am hopeful that organizations in Berks County who fit the criteria are able to access these funds.”
Applicants are eligible for security enhancements designed to protect the safety and security of the users of a facility located in the Commonwealth that is owned or operated by the nonprofit organization.
Eligible projects are:
- Safety and security planning
- Adquisición de material de seguridad
- Purchase of security-related technology, which may include, but is not limited to:
Metal detectors; protective lighting; surveillance equipment; special emergency communications equipment; electronic locksets; deadbolts; trauma kits; and theft control devices
- Safety and security training
- Formación sobre concienciación y respuesta ante amenazas
- Modernización de las estructuras existentes para mejorar la seguridad
- Evaluación de vulnerabilidades y amenazas
- Specialty-trained canines
- Cualquier otro proyecto relacionado con la seguridad que mejore la seguridad de la organización sin ánimo de lucro.
For more information on the grant program, visit https://www.pccd.pa.gov/schoolsafety/Pages/Non-Profit-Security-Grant-Fund.aspx.
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