California State Nonprofit Security Grant Program

Nonprofits facing risks of violent or hate-motivated attacks can use state grant funding for event security as well as physical-site protections.

What the law does ​

• Makes high-risk nonprofit events eligible for the California State Nonprofit Security Grant Program.
• Authorizes grants for onsite and offsite event security, including guards, temporary infrastructure, surveillance, screening, access controls, and emergency-response coordination.
• Allows nonprofits without a physical site to receive funding for eligible high-risk offsite events.
• Caps offsite-event security at $25,000 per grant, construction and renovation at $100,000, grant administration at 5%, and total awards at $500,000.
• Bars the Office of Emergency Services from imposing additional dollar or percentage caps on individual eligible security enhancements.
• Requires the program to disregard an applicant's prior security-grant funding when evaluating applications and to consider hate-motivated violence risk.
• Requires ongoing technical assistance on free vulnerability-assessment resources and federal threat-assessment applications.

Who it affects ​

• Nonprofit organizations and nonprofit-hosted events at high risk of violent attacks or hate crimes because of their ideology, beliefs, or mission.
• Nonprofit schools, clinics, community centers, houses of worship, and organizations supporting other high-risk nonprofits.
• The Office of Emergency Services, which administers grants and provides technical assistance.

Context ​

The program operates only if funding is appropriated in the annual state budget.