Commission on Crime and Delinquency Approves Over $19 Million in Grant Funding to Make Pennsylvania Communities Safer

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 NameCountyAmount
Bhutanese Community Association of PittsburghAllegheny$25,000
Bnai Emunoh Chabad, Inc.Allegheny$75,000
Center of LifeAllegheny$46,327
Chabad Lubavitch of South Hills, Inc.Allegheny$150,000
Community Day SchoolAllegheny$25,000
Congregation Kether TorahAllegheny$25,000
Congregation Poale ZedeckAllegheny$150,000
Filipino American Association of PittsburghAllegheny$24,000
Hillel Academy of PittsburghAllegheny$111,500
Lubavitch CenterAllegheny$25,000
Rodef Shalom CongregationAllegheny$25,810
St. Michael’s Orthodox ChurchAllegheny$23,000
Temple Emanuel of South HillsAllegheny$20,000
The Jewish SparkAllegheny$75,000
Tree of Life, Inc.Allegheny$150,000
Yeshivath Achei Tmimim of PittsburghAllegheny$75,000
Adoption Connection, PABeaver$22,953
Greater Miracle MinistriesBeaver$25,000
Exeter Community LibraryBerks$25,000
Jewish Federation of ReadingBerks$25,000
Kesher Zion SynagogueBerks$17,900
Reform Congregation Oheb SholomBerks$8,945
Planned Parenthood KeystoneBucks$25,000
Saint James ChurchBucks$25,000
Thompson Memorial Presbyterian ChurchBucks$45,617
Alianzas de PhoenixvilleChester$6,130
Beth Chaim Reform CongregationChester$19,525
Berwick Theater and Center for Community ArtsColumbia$8,500
Allegheny CollegeCrawford$150,000
American Islamic Cultural CenterCumberland$150,000
Islamic Center of PennsylvaniaCumberland$75,000
Unitarian Universalists of the Cumberland ValleyCumberland$9,815
Jewish Federation of Greater HarrisburgDauphin$82,567
The Women’s Coalition for Empowerment, Inc.Dauphin$25,000
Islamic Center of Delaware CountyDelaware$33,200
Temple Sholom in BroomallDelaware$25,000
Greater Erie Economic Development Corporation (GEEDC)Erie$55,000
Families Involved in Recovery, Support and Transformation (FIRST) CenterHuntingdon$25,000
Beth Shalom CongregationLackawanna$23,500
Black Scranton ProjectLackawanna$20,158
Jewish Community Center of ScrantonLackawanna$25,000
Allentown Central Catholic High SchoolLehigh$100,000
Asbury United Methodist ChurchLehigh$33,348
Bradbury-Sullivan LGBT Community CenterLehigh$100,000
Congregation Sons of IsraelLehigh$10,685
Hindu Temple SocietyLehigh$75,000
Jewish Community Center of Allentown, PennsylvaniaLehigh$75,000
Jewish Day School of the Lehigh valleyLehigh$150,000
Jewish Student Center-Allentown Inc.Lehigh$24,116
Promise Neighborhoods of the Lehigh ValleyLehigh$25,000
Wyoming Valley YeshivaLuzerne$25,000
Shenango Valley Catholic School SystemMercer$98,900
Jewish Resource Center of the Poconos, Inc.Monroe$23,630
ACLAMOMontgomery$149,920
I.S. Kosloff Torah Academy High School for GirlsMontgomery$25,000
Kaiserman Jewish Community CenterMontgomery$30,080
Khair, Inc.Montgomery$150,000
Kohelet YeshivaMontgomery$150,000
Old York Road Temple-Beth AmMontgomery$13,500
Perelman Jewish Day School-SternMontgomery$75,000
St.Michael the Archangel Ukrainian Catholic ChurchMontgomery$40,000
Valley Youth House Committee, Inc.Northampton$25,000
Al-Hidaya Islamic CenterPhiladelphia$50,000
Alimah Scouts IncPhiladelphia$15,000
Association of Islamic Charitable ProjectsPhiladelphia$150,000
Calvary Center For Culture & Community (CCCC)Philadelphia$20,000
Chabad Jewish Center for Students of the ArtsPhiladelphia$12,300
Chabad of Penn WynnePhiladelphia$25,000
Congregation Rodeph ShalomPhiladelphia$25,000
Congregations of Shaare Shamayim (CSS)Philadelphia$25,000
Discovery PathwaysPhiladelphia$23,138
Federation Day Care Services dba Federation Early Learning ServicesPhiladelphia$75,000
FringeArtsPhiladelphia$6,220
Germantown Mosque AcademyPhiladelphia$50,000
Germantown Mosque, IncPhiladelphia$150,000
Kiths Integrated and Targeted Human ServicesPhiladelphia$9,540
Kol Tzedek SynagoguePhiladelphia$45,500
Masjid Al-Wasatiyah Wal-ItidaalPhiladelphia$150,000
Masjidullah, Inc.Philadelphia$150,000
Mazzoni CenterPhiladelphia$100,000
Philadelphia Ramadan and Eid FundPhiladelphia$33,250
Planned Parenthood Southeastern PennsylvaniaPhiladelphia$78,473
Politz Hebrew academyPhiladelphia$25,000
Saint John’s Lutheran ChurchPhiladelphia$5,000
Ukrainian American Citizens’ AssociationPhiladelphia$25,000
United Muslim MasjidPhiladelphia$33,000
The Upper Delaware GLBT Center, Inc. DBA TriversityPike$10,168
Saint Paul’s United Church of ChristUnion$18,000
Second Presbyterian ChurchVenango$100,000
Washington County Gay Straight Alliance, Inc.Washington$10,000
Tri-City Life Center, Inc.Westmoreland$17,500
Jewish Community Centre of York PennsylvaniaYork$150,000
Union Evangelical Lutheran ChurchYork$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:

AgencyCountyAmount
Clairton CityAllegheny County$35,000
Kutztown UniversityBerks County$21,000
Reading CityBerks County$140,000
Northampton TownshipBucks County$13,142
Yardley BoroughBucks County$5,000
Slippery Rock UniversityButler County$21,000
West Goshen TownshipChester County$5,800
Titusville CityCrawford County$5,000
Shippensburg UniversityCumberland County$28,000
Steelton BoroughDauphin County$21,000
Chester CityDelaware County$145,000
Millcreek TownshipErie County$10,000
Huntingdon BoroughHuntingdon County$56,000
East Hempfield TownshipLancaster County$15,000
Allentown CityLehigh County$200,000
Upper Merion TownshipMontgomery County$15,000
Bethlehem CityNorthampton County$75,000
Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation AuthorityPhiladelphia County$200,000
Westmoreland County CommissionersWestmoreland 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