Increased Funding Detailed in Long-Awaited, Newly Released NYS Hate Crimes Grant Application

by M.C. Millman

The application for the New York State 2023-2024 Securing Communities Against Hate Crimes (SCAHC) grant was released by New York State yesterday for shuls, yeshivas, and other religious non-profits.

In addition to this year's $25 million funding allocation, additional funding is also expected to become available, pending approval from the state and subject to appropriation amounts in the 2024-2025 enacted budget. The anticipated $10 million increase in funding could bring the FY24 and FY25 SCAHC funding to $60 million in total.

Organizations will be able to apply for up to $200,000 in security funding in a single application, four times the amount that was allowed last year for a single application. 

Launched in 2017, the SCAHC grant was historically allocated to help secure religious institutions, including yeshivas, shuls, community centers, day camps, sleep-over camps, and daycare centers against the threat of hate crimes, with nearly $200 million in funding earmarked for distribution since 2017. 

Grantees can request target hardening funding for exterior or interior security improvements, including lighting locks, alarms, panic buttons, fencing, barriers, access control, man-traps, shatter-resistant glass, blast-resistant film, and public address systems. Funds can also go towards improving the organization's cybersecurity - a new addition since last year.