Jewish institutions in America spend about $1.015 billion a year protecting themselves. That is the Jewish Federations of North America's newest estimate, reported by VIN on September 8, 2026. It works out to roughly $225,000 for each of more than 4,500 institutions, and it is up 33% from JFNA's 2024 figure of $765 million.
JFNA's Eric Fingerhut put it plainly: every dollar spent on guards is a dollar not spent on Jewish education.
Washington's Nonprofit Security Grant Program, open to every at-risk nonprofit in the country, had $274.5 million in fiscal 2025 and $300 million in fiscal 2026.
Most applicants get nothing. Jewish Insider reported in July that FEMA approved about 1,600 of roughly 6,000 applications in the 2025 cycle, under 27%. Applications opened in August 2025 and awards came almost a year later. Agudath Israel's Rabbi A.D. Motzen said nearly three quarters of applicants were turned away. An Orthodox Union op-ed put the rate even lower, near 20%.
The new fine print
The fiscal 2026 funding notice, issued June 24, lets FEMA end an award "for convenience" if it no longer serves the national interest. Grantees pay for the work first and are reimbursed later. On August 14, 36 members of Congress, led by Reps. Brad Schneider and Claudia Tenney, asked DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin to drop the clause. We found no public answer.
Put together: a shul can be approved, pay a contractor, and then lose the reimbursement.
The bill
The Jewish American Security Act, from Sens. Jacky Rosen and James Lankford, would authorize $1 billion. Yeshiva World News reported it in May. It has not passed.
How we reported this: based on VIN and Yeshiva World News, with the approval rate from Jewish Insider and the termination clause from Rep. Schneider's office and OU Advocacy. We will ask DHS whether it has answered the 36 lawmakers. Shuls that lost an award can reach us at [email protected].