DHS’s Anti-Terrorism Grants Are Here. Why You Should Apply

Budget is a serious consideration when organizations are planning their physical security strategy. This is especially true for smaller organizations, particularly nonprofits, whose budgets most often are allocated toward their missions.

However, budget or no budget, tragedy can strike a nonprofit. Charities, colleges, and houses of worship may find themselves in the crosshairs of domestic terrorism groups simply because of their missions. To help protect these groups, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) awards Targeted Violence and Terrorism Prevention (TVTP) grants every year. That grant is now accepting applications.

What is the TVTP grant?

FEMA’s Targeted Violence and Terrorism Prevention (TVTP) Grant Program, which was started after the September 11 attacks, provides funding for state, local, tribal, and territorial governments; nonprofits, as well as institutions of higher education, to establish or improve programs that prevent targeted violence and terrorism.

Past awardees have created a range of violence prevention programs, from education to threat assessment initiatives. To maintain their funding, grantees must adhere to strict terms and conditions, and provide quarterly and annual reports documenting their progress and results. The awards are substantial; organizations can receive between $1,200,000 and $50,000 for their project.

This year’s grant is currently accepting applications until May 2. DHS offers plenty of support to applicants, providing instructional videos and other resources that help applicants apply.

Getting started with grant applications

If you are planning to apply for a TVTP grant, the first step is to read all the materials on the DHS site to know if you qualify.

The next step is to conduct an assessment of your organization's risk, including the costs of everything your organization needs to remediate safety issues. By submitting those findings, you can show the grantor proof of your security needs as well as a breakdown of what you would use grant funds for and the amount needed.

Grants like this are an incredible benefit to organizations that aren’t able to fund necessary security countermeasures. It’s important to know that this money is available to you. It’s also important to understand that this money will be taken by another organization if you don’t apply. Only about 30 grants are awarded annually, so for businesses that need the grant, it’s critical to apply and take full advantage of these resources.

To discuss assessing your security quickly and easily, contact Circadian Risk to talk to an expert.

About the Author

Daniel Young

Founder & Chief Innovation Officer

Daniel has been a security and risk advisor for more than 10 years, and is passionate about helping companies to better understand their risks to undesirable events on a daily basis. Dan previously served as the Regional Bioterrorism Coordinator for District 1 in Michigan, where he was instrumental in preparing communities for catastrophic incidents. He has also acted as the Private Security Liaison for the City of Lansing’s Critical Infrastructure Team, which identified and documented deficiencies in the city’s critical infrastructure.

He is a Co-Founder of the CSO Risk Council, a think tank of seasoned security professionals and thought leaders with extensive experience in managing the physical security and risks of large enterprises consisting of multiple sites and whose mission is to create a better process to develop and share innovative solutions and pertinent information with organizations to improve safety and security risk by providing a forum to discuss best practices and recommendations for specific risk scenarios and to network with other enterprise security professionals.