The Nonprofit Security Grant Program is federal FEMA money passed through NYS DHSES to nonprofits at high risk of terrorist attack, for physical security and target hardening. Applications run through E-Grants; claims are a fixed packet of DHSES forms e-mailed to the fiscal mailbox — the Fiscal Cost Report, the State Aid Voucher and a Detailed Itemization Form per category (Personnel, Fringe and the seven non-personnel forms), all downloadable from the template library. This guide covers the program rules the forms sit on top of.
Claim forms are in the template library — this page is the rules
Upload a completed budget or voucher and we'll flag unallowable costs, fringe above the ceiling, allocations that don't total 100%, and totals that don't reconcile — against NYS DHSES's own rules.
Who this applies to
Nonprofit organizations awarded FY2026 NSGP-UA or NSGP-S funding through DHSES — each funded site is its own application, Investment Justification and award.
Key requirements
Funder
New York State Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Services — Nonprofit Security Grant Program (NSGP)
Jurisdiction
New York State
Fringe
Not a fringe-driven grant — NSGP pays for equipment, planning, training, exercises, contracted security and construction/renovation, and hiring of public safety personnel is unallowable; the only administrative charge the RFA names is Management and Administration, capped at 5%
Indirect cost basis
The FY2026 NSGP RFA is silent on indirect cost rates — it caps Management and Administration at five percent (5%) of the NSGP funds awarded, on actual expenses rather than a simple percentage, and requires 2 CFR Part 200 compliance; confirm any indirect charge with DHSES against your contract's Appendix B budget before budgeting a rate
Allowable OTPS categories
The categories NYS DHSES recognizes on a budget. Wording outside this list is a routine cause of returned submissions.
Equipment (Authorized Equipment List items only)
Planning
Training
Exercises
Contracted Security Personnel
Construction and Renovation
Maintenance and Sustainment (warranties, licenses, user fees)
Management and Administration (≤5%)
Unallowable costs
Organization costs and operational overtime
Hiring of public safety personnel
General-use expenditures
Overtime and backfill
Organizational operating expenses
Reimbursement of pre-award security expenses
Cameras for license plate readers or facial recognition software
Weapons or weapons-related training
Knox boxes
Equipment purchased for contracted security
Training overtime, backfill or travel
Rules worth knowing
FY2026 applications were due July 10, 2026 by 5:00 P.M. through E-Grants, with an anticipated period of performance of September 1, 2026 – August 31, 2029; up to $200,000 per site, three NSGP-UA plus three NSGP-S sites, $600,000 per organization
Awards are standard cost reimbursement contracts with the AG/OSC-approved standard clauses — Appendix A standard clauses, Appendix A-1 agency clauses, Appendix B Budget, Appendix C Payment and Reporting Schedule, Appendix D Workplan; a reimbursement request is the signed State Aid Voucher (AC 1171), the Fiscal Cost Report and a Detailed Itemization Form for every budget category claimed, with itemized invoices and proof of payment (and the Consultant Agreement when consultant costs are claimed), e-mailed to the DHSES fiscal mailbox with the organization name and contract number in the subject line — electronic or ink signatures only, no photographs of documents (Appendix C VER 08/2024; DHSES Quarterly Progress and Fiscal Reporting, 11/2025)
Fiscal Cost Reports are due on calendar quarters — January–March by April 30, April–June by July 30, July–September by October 30, October–December by January 30 — and a $0 FCR is filed for a quarter with no costs; FCR numbers run sequentially including the $0 ones, column A must match the executed E-Grants budget and column B repeats the previous FCR's column D
Every voucher is due within 30 calendar days after the end of the period claimed; obligations must be incurred before the contract end date, and the final claim on a federally funded contract has 60 calendar days after the end date — the State may withhold up to 15% of the contract as security, a 15-business-day inspection period precedes payment, and overdue progress reports make a voucher ineligible for prompt payment
Management and Administration is capped at five percent (5%) of the NSGP funds awarded and must be based on actual expenses or known contractual costs — requests that are simple percentages of the award without justification are not allowed
Equipment is limited to select Authorized Equipment List (AEL) items; installation may trigger Environmental Planning and Historic Preservation (EHP) review, and construction or renovation needs FEMA's prior written approval, SF-424C/SF-424D, EHP review, and may not exceed the greater of $1 million or 15% of the award
Training is limited to attendance fees, materials, supplies and equipment — overtime, backfill and travel are not allowable; contracted security personnel are allowed but NSGP funds may not buy their equipment
Compliance stack: 2 CFR Part 200 including Subpart D procurement (§§200.317–.327) plus General Municipal Law 5A, an organization-wide Single Audit when $1,000,000 or more in federal funds is expended in a fiscal year, and a 30% MWBE participation goal (15% MBE, 15% WBE)
Maintenance contracts, warranties, repair or replacement costs, upgrades, licenses and user fees are allowable and may run past the period of performance when bought incidental to the original equipment purchase
Free voucher checker: upload a completed voucher and it flags unallowable costs, fringe above the ceiling, allocations that don't total 100% and totals that don't reconcile before you file. No signup; the file never leaves your browser.
Why vouchers get returned: the six checks behind most returned vouchers, and what each one looks like in a real file.
One budget, every funder
Prove It Financials tracks NYS DHSES contracts alongside every other funder you hold — allocation, fringe and indirect validated against each one's own rules as you enter them, with monthly vouchers generated in each funder's own format.