Tennessee Houses of Worship State Security Grant Program

Administered by the Tennessee Department of Safety & Homeland Security, Office of Homeland Security. A competitive grant funded by a non-recurring state appropriation — $1,250,000 in each of the last two state budgets (2025-26 and 2026-27); the first year, 2024-25, was $750,000 — open only to 501(c)(3) organizations operating as houses of worship (churches, synagogues, temples, mosques and similar) in Tennessee that can demonstrate a threat or vulnerability. It pays solely for the actual hours worked by contracted security personnel — POST-certified extra-duty law-enforcement officers or licensed guards from a state-licensed contract security company. Awards are 12-month grant contracts aligned to the state fiscal year and work on a reimbursement basis — you pay the guard or officer invoices first and the state pays you back for the hours actually worked. The 2025-26 instructions capped awards at $70,000 per grant contract; the 2026-27 (SFY2027) instructions do not state a cap.

To apply for the TN Houses of Worship Security Grant, your organization generally needs to be:

• ✓A registered 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization
• ✓Located and/or incorporated in Tennessee
• ✓Houses of worship only — the state describes eligible applicants as '501(c)(3) organizations which serve as houses of worship including churches, synagogues, temples, and mosques'; other nonprofits should confirm eligibility with ohs.grants@tn.gov before applying
• ✓Not already receiving federal NSGP funds for contracted security personnel
• ✓Able to document a risk of terrorism / violent attacks and hate crimes

• 501(c)(3) status from the IRS

  Federal tax-exempt status. Required for almost every security grant. If you don't have it yet, the IRS Form 1023 process can take several months.

• Actual hours worked by contracted security personnel only: POST-certified extra-duty law-enforcement officers (T.C.A. 38-8-104/106/107) or licensed guards employed by a state-licensed contract security company (T.C.A. 62-35-101 et seq.)

• •Houses of worship only — churches, synagogues, temples, mosques and similar 501(c)(3) congregations. The instructions themselves say only 'eligible 501(c)(3) organizations', so a nonprofit that is not a congregation should confirm with ohs.grants@tn.gov before applying.
• •Guard / officer hours only — no equipment, cameras, uniforms, travel, planning or training.
• •If you already receive federal NSGP funds for contracted security personnel, you are ineligible for this grant.
• •One application per physical address and one award per organization per state fiscal year; 12-month grant contract paid as reimbursement; competitive scoring; competitive procurement of guard services required where practical.
• •Required attachments (2026-27 instructions): a completed IRS Form W-9, plus a recent invoice from your current contracted security provider or, if you do not yet use one, a written quote from a qualifying provider (a POST-certified extra-duty officer program or state-licensed contract security company). Incomplete applications are not processed and revised applications are not accepted.
• •Funding is a non-recurring line item that must be re-approved in each year's state budget, so every round depends on the next budget passing with the money in it.
• •Applications go through the OHS grants portal linked from the TDOSHS grants page (2026-27 used a Plumsail form; 2025-26 used tn-ohs.fluxx.io). Questions to ohs.grants@tn.gov.

Applications for the TN Houses of Worship Security Grant are administered by Tennessee Department of Safety & Homeland Security — Office of Homeland Security. Confirm the current deadline and submission details on the official program page before you apply.