Massachusetts' Commonwealth Nonprofit Security Grant Program has awarded $950,000 in security grants this year to 53 faith-based organizations and houses of worship to strengthen on-premise safety and security.

According to Governor Charlie Baker, the 53 grants will help to fund safety enhancements to protect attendees at sites facing potential increased risk of violence.

In 2018, Massachusetts established the Commonwealth Nonprofit Security Grant Program (CNSGP) to allocate state funding to nonprofit organizations selected through a competitive grants process managed by the Office of Grants and Research (OGR) within the Executive Office of Public Safety and Security (EOPSS). The program annually supports target hardening and other physical security enhancements for locations at high risk for terrorist attacks or hate crimes. To date, the program has provided about $3 million in funding to 124 organizations.