Key highlights include $5 million in grants to support security enhancements to address hate crimes and $1 million for law enforcement recruitment and training.
On December 13, members of the Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Delinquency (PCCD), led by chairman Lt. Governor Austin Davis, took action to approve $19 million in a wide variety of grants. More than 90 local nonprofits that could be targets for hate crimes will be receiving $5 million in total funding, and 20 law enforcement agencies will receive more than $1 million in recruitment grants.
“The Shapiro-Davis Administration is committed to keeping all Pennsylvanians safe when they are at school or at worship, if they are seeking reproductive health care or social services, and when they are coming together with fellow members of their community,” said PCCD Chair Lt. Gov. Austin Davis. “These grants will provide critical support for safety and security improvements for local nonprofits across the Commonwealth. We also recognize the challenge many communities and organizations are facing with recruiting new law enforcement officers, and the grants approved today will address that challenge.”
Nonprofit Security Grant Program
The Nonprofit Security Grant Program grant funding supports nonprofit organizations – including faith-based institutions (e.g., churches, synagogues, mosques), community centers, and other organizations/facilities – who principally serve individuals, groups, or institutions that are included within a bias motivation category for single bias hate crime incidents, as identified by the FBI’s Hate Crime Statistics publication.
Entities can use funding for a wide variety of eligible security enhancements, including safety and security planning and training; purchase of safety and security equipment and technology; upgrades to existing structures that enhance safety and security; and vulnerability and threat assessments.
This is the sixth cohort of Nonprofit Security Grant Program awards approved by PCCD. The organizations announced today join 488 entities that have received nearly $20 million total in funding since 2020. Based on reported data of the number of people who visit these facilities, is estimated that approximately four million people across the Commonwealth have been impacted by this funding to date.
For this new round of Nonprofit Security Grant Program funding, 93 organizations have been awarded funding. Selected applicants, county served, and award amounts can be found in the table below:
| Organization Name | County | Amount |
| Bhutanese Community Association of Pittsburgh | Allegheny | $25,000 |
| Bnai Emunoh Chabad, Inc. | Allegheny | $75,000 |
| Center of Life | Allegheny | $46,327 |
| Chabad Lubavitch of South Hills, Inc. | Allegheny | $150,000 |
| Community Day School | Allegheny | $25,000 |
| Congregation Kether Torah | Allegheny | $25,000 |
| Congregation Poale Zedeck | Allegheny | $150,000 |
| Filipino American Association of Pittsburgh | Allegheny | $24,000 |
| Hillel Academy of Pittsburgh | Allegheny | $111,500 |
| Lubavitch Center | Allegheny | $25,000 |
| Rodef Shalom Congregation | Allegheny | $25,810 |
| St. Michael’s Orthodox Church | Allegheny | $23,000 |
| Temple Emanuel of South Hills | Allegheny | $20,000 |
| The Jewish Spark | Allegheny | $75,000 |
| Tree of Life, Inc. | Allegheny | $150,000 |
| Yeshivath Achei Tmimim of Pittsburgh | Allegheny | $75,000 |
| Adoption Connection, PA | Beaver | $22,953 |
| Greater Miracle Ministries | Beaver | $25,000 |
| Exeter Community Library | Berks | $25,000 |
| Jewish Federation of Reading | Berks | $25,000 |
| Kesher Zion Synagogue | Berks | $17,900 |
| Reform Congregation Oheb Sholom | Berks | $8,945 |
| Planned Parenthood Keystone | Bucks | $25,000 |
| Saint James Church | Bucks | $25,000 |
| Thompson Memorial Presbyterian Church | Bucks | $45,617 |
| Alianzas de Phoenixville | Chester | $6,130 |
| Beth Chaim Reform Congregation | Chester | $19,525 |
| Berwick Theater and Center for Community Arts | Columbia | $8,500 |
| Allegheny College | Crawford | $150,000 |
| American Islamic Cultural Center | Cumberland | $150,000 |
| Islamic Center of Pennsylvania | Cumberland | $75,000 |
| Unitarian Universalists of the Cumberland Valley | Cumberland | $9,815 |
| Jewish Federation of Greater Harrisburg | Dauphin | $82,567 |
| The Women’s Coalition for Empowerment, Inc. | Dauphin | $25,000 |
| Islamic Center of Delaware County | Delaware | $33,200 |
| Temple Sholom in Broomall | Delaware | $25,000 |
| Greater Erie Economic Development Corporation (GEEDC) | Erie | $55,000 |
| Families Involved in Recovery, Support and Transformation (FIRST) Center | Huntingdon | $25,000 |
| Beth Shalom Congregation | Lackawanna | $23,500 |
| Black Scranton Project | Lackawanna | $20,158 |
| Jewish Community Center of Scranton | Lackawanna | $25,000 |
| Allentown Central Catholic High School | Lehigh | $100,000 |
| Asbury United Methodist Church | Lehigh | $33,348 |
| Bradbury-Sullivan LGBT Community Center | Lehigh | $100,000 |
| Congregation Sons of Israel | Lehigh | $10,685 |
| Hindu Temple Society | Lehigh | $75,000 |
| Jewish Community Center of Allentown, Pennsylvania | Lehigh | $75,000 |
| Jewish Day School of the Lehigh valley | Lehigh | $150,000 |
| Jewish Student Center-Allentown Inc. | Lehigh | $24,116 |
| Promise Neighborhoods of the Lehigh Valley | Lehigh | $25,000 |
| Wyoming Valley Yeshiva | Luzerne | $25,000 |
| Shenango Valley Catholic School System | Mercer | $98,900 |
| Jewish Resource Center of the Poconos, Inc. | Monroe | $23,630 |
| ACLAMO | Montgomery | $149,920 |
| I.S. Kosloff Torah Academy High School for Girls | Montgomery | $25,000 |
| Kaiserman Jewish Community Center | Montgomery | $30,080 |
| Khair, Inc. | Montgomery | $150,000 |
| Kohelet Yeshiva | Montgomery | $150,000 |
| Old York Road Temple-Beth Am | Montgomery | $13,500 |
| Perelman Jewish Day School-Stern | Montgomery | $75,000 |
| St.Michael the Archangel Ukrainian Catholic Church | Montgomery | $40,000 |
| Valley Youth House Committee, Inc. | Northampton | $25,000 |
| Al-Hidaya Islamic Center | Philadelphia | $50,000 |
| Alimah Scouts Inc | Philadelphia | $15,000 |
| Association of Islamic Charitable Projects | Philadelphia | $150,000 |
| Calvary Center For Culture & Community (CCCC) | Philadelphia | $20,000 |
| Chabad Jewish Center for Students of the Arts | Philadelphia | $12,300 |
| Chabad of Penn Wynne | Philadelphia | $25,000 |
| Congregation Rodeph Shalom | Philadelphia | $25,000 |
| Congregations of Shaare Shamayim (CSS) | Philadelphia | $25,000 |
| Discovery Pathways | Philadelphia | $23,138 |
| Federation Day Care Services dba Federation Early Learning Services | Philadelphia | $75,000 |
| FringeArts | Philadelphia | $6,220 |
| Germantown Mosque Academy | Philadelphia | $50,000 |
| Germantown Mosque, Inc | Philadelphia | $150,000 |
| Kiths Integrated and Targeted Human Services | Philadelphia | $9,540 |
| Kol Tzedek Synagogue | Philadelphia | $45,500 |
| Masjid Al-Wasatiyah Wal-Itidaal | Philadelphia | $150,000 |
| Masjidullah, Inc. | Philadelphia | $150,000 |
| Mazzoni Center | Philadelphia | $100,000 |
| Philadelphia Ramadan and Eid Fund | Philadelphia | $33,250 |
| Planned Parenthood Southeastern Pennsylvania | Philadelphia | $78,473 |
| Politz Hebrew academy | Philadelphia | $25,000 |
| Saint John’s Lutheran Church | Philadelphia | $5,000 |
| Ukrainian American Citizens’ Association | Philadelphia | $25,000 |
| United Muslim Masjid | Philadelphia | $33,000 |
| The Upper Delaware GLBT Center, Inc. DBA Triversity | Pike | $10,168 |
| Saint Paul’s United Church of Christ | Union | $18,000 |
| Second Presbyterian Church | Venango | $100,000 |
| Washington County Gay Straight Alliance, Inc. | Washington | $10,000 |
| Tri-City Life Center, Inc. | Westmoreland | $17,500 |
| Jewish Community Centre of York Pennsylvania | York | $150,000 |
| Union Evangelical Lutheran Church | York | $34,285 |
Recruitment Incentives for Law Enforcement
In this first group of selected applications under Recruitment Incentives for Law Enforcement, 20 law enforcement agencies are collectively receiving just over $1 million in grant funding.
Local law enforcement agencies, campus or university police, railroad or street railway police, airport authority police, and county park police remain eligible to apply for this solicitation as it will remain open until the allocated $14 million in funding is committed.
A list of the 20 approved law enforcement agencies from this initial round can be found below:
| Agency | County | Amount |
| Clairton City | Allegheny County | $35,000 |
| Kutztown University | Berks County | $21,000 |
| Reading City | Berks County | $140,000 |
| Northampton Township | Bucks County | $13,142 |
| Yardley Borough | Bucks County | $5,000 |
| Slippery Rock University | Butler County | $21,000 |
| West Goshen Township | Chester County | $5,800 |
| Titusville City | Crawford County | $5,000 |
| Shippensburg University | Cumberland County | $28,000 |
| Steelton Borough | Dauphin County | $21,000 |
| Chester City | Delaware County | $145,000 |
| Millcreek Township | Erie County | $10,000 |
| Huntingdon Borough | Huntingdon County | $56,000 |
| East Hempfield Township | Lancaster County | $15,000 |
| Allentown City | Lehigh County | $200,000 |
| Upper Merion Township | Montgomery County | $15,000 |
| Bethlehem City | Northampton County | $75,000 |
| Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority | Philadelphia County | $200,000 |
| Westmoreland County Commissioners | Westmoreland County | $25,000 |
The goal of this funding is to support Act 120 training and recruitment activities for law enforcement officers. Act 120 is a mandatory training program for municipal police offers in Pennsylvania which is provided through the Municipal Police Officers’ Education and Training Commission (MPOETC).
Supported by funding through the Local Law Enforcement Support (LLES) Grant Program established under Act 54 of 2022, eligible law enforcement agencies that do not cover the costs of Act 120 training can request up to $7,000 per new officer to support costs associated with the training, or, if they currently hire officers that are already Act 120 trained or the agency already covers training costs, apply for up to $5,000 per new officer to support stipends, signing bonuses, or marketing efforts. Priority consideration in awards will go to law enforcement agencies serving areas with high rates of violent crime and who have low clearance rates for violent crimes.
The next batch of applications is being accepted until December 18, 2023. Applicants can find more information on funding requirements and how to apply on PCCD’s active funding announcements webpage.
Additional grant programs and initiatives supported by PCCD at today’s meeting included funding to support children’s advocacy centers, victim service providers, juvenile justice defender training, adult prosecutorial and defense training, youth justice advisory board councils, regional police departments, medical marijuana enforcement, and medically assisted treatment services.
More information about the actions approved at today’s Commission meeting are available on PCCD’s website.