Utah Department of Public Safety

The NSGP is a competitive grant program appropriated annually through the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and administered by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). It is intended to help nonprofit organizations increase their physical security posture against acts of terrorism as defined by law.

Who can apply?
Eligible organizations are registered 501(c)(3) nonprofits or otherwise are organizations as described under 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code (IRC) and tax-exempt under section 501(a). Find more information on tax-exempt organizations at IRS.gov.

What is needed to apply?
Potential applicants must have a Unique Entity Identifier (UEI), which is obtained through SAM.gov. A UEI is not required at the time of application, but it is required to receive a subaward. Nonprofit organizations must only register in SAM.gov to obtain the UEI but are not required to maintain an active registration in SAM.gov. Guidance on obtaining a UEI in SAM.gov can be found at GSA UEI Update.

Potential applicants must also complete a vulnerability assessment used to identify and validate physical security deficiencies. The vulnerability assessment is the foundation of an NSGP application. Vulnerability assessments can be provided in the form of a Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) Self-Assessment (Facility Security Self-Assessment | CISA), state or local law enforcement assessment, contractor assessment, or other valid method of assessment. DEM does not require a specific format/type of vulnerability assessment. Projects and activities requested through the NSGP should align to mitigate items identified in the vulnerability assessment. For assistance with this process, please contact Matt Beaudry (matthew.beaudry@cisa.dhs.gov).

To apply for NSGP funds, interested nonprofit organizations must fill out an Investment Justification and email it to the identified grant manager within their State Administrative Agency (SAA), in this case the Utah Division of Emergency Management (DEM). The State of Utah does not require any additional forms or documentation than what is identified on FEMA’s NSGP Website.

What is the application/award timeline?
FEMA will open the application period by releasing the Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) in the Spring. DEM will set a submission deadline before the official deadline to give us time to compile and score the applications before the federal deadline. Once the applications are submitted, we wait for FEMA to notify us of which were awarded and provide us with an award letter. Once the award is accepted by the state, you will be notified within 45-days if your nonprofit organization received an award from the relevant grant year. This typically happens sometime in late Sept-early Oct. Nonprofit organizations will then have three years to carry out their projects.

When do we receive the money?
NSGP through DEM is a reimbursement-based grant program. Meaning as your organization incurs costs for carrying out its approved projects, it will submit for reimbursement via DEM’s reimbursement request document (85-21 form).

Where can we find more information?
FEMA’s NSGP website has many useful links for learning more about this program. These are updated each year, so be sure to check in on this website for the most up-to-date guidance. Be sure to read the NSGP portion of the “Preparedness Grants Manual” found on this website as it is the best guide for participating in this program.