Freeman: $25,000 grant awarded to Northampton County church
Rep. Robert L. Freeman March 12, 2021 | 1:24 PM
EASTON, March 12 -- State Rep. Robert Freeman, D-Northampton, announced that New Creation UCC was one of 130 churches, synagogues, and other nonprofit organizations serving diverse communities throughout the Commonwealth to receive a grant for security enhancement upgrades.
“Although the pandemic has temporarily shifted New Creation’s services online, when in-person worship begins again, this grant will aid the church in ensuring the safety of attendees,” Freeman said.
According to Freeman, the $25,000 grant was awarded under the Nonprofit Security Grant Fund Program to protect potential hate-crime targets, and is administered by the Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Delinquency.
He said the funding may be used for a broad range of resources, including:
- Safety and security planning and training.
- Threat assessments.
- Security upgrades.
- The purchase of metal detectors, electronic locksets, surveillance equipment and other technology.
The grants are part of a larger package of more than $5 million awarded under the Nonprofit Security Grant Fund Program, which provides funding to nonprofit organizations serving people or groups the FBI has identified as potential hate-crime targets. Now in its second year, the program was established by Act 83 of 2019, largely in response to the Tree of Life shootings in Pittsburgh.
Because of the large number of applications and limited funding, priority was given to applicants whose organization or membership was the victim of a hate crime and had clearly justified a credible hate-crime threat.
More about the grants is available here.