Tennessee houses of worship can apply for state funding to hire security personnel but must do so on or before July 12, the Tennessee Department of Safety and Homeland Security announced.
The 2024-25 Houses of Worship Security Grant is a competitive grant with a 12-month period, disbursed through a Tennessee cost reimbursement grant contract, the agency said in a news release Friday.
“Unfortunately, houses of worship can often be soft targets,” Greg Mays, an agency official, said in a statement. “By their nature, these locations are easily accessible to large numbers of people and have limited security measures in place, which can make them vulnerable to an attack. With the Houses of Worship Security Grant, eligible organizations can hire trained security professionals who, in an emergency, can mitigate or prevent a tragedy.”
The grant is open to eligible 501(c)(3) organizations that serve as houses of worship, including churches, synagogues, temples and mosques.
Organizations that want to apply must submit the required documents by 11:59 p.m. July 12, the news release said. The documents are available online at bit.ly/SecurityFund.
Tennessee has offered its Houses of Worship Security Grant for at least a few years. The state also said it offers different security grants for other types of entities, like local law enforcement seeking to fund a school resource officer.
— Compiled by Andrew Schwartz