The California State Nonprofit Security Grant Program (CSNSGP) provides funding for target hardening and other physical security improvements for nonprofit organizations that are at high risk of violent attacks or hate crimes because of their ideology, beliefs, or mission.

The program started in 2021 and awards funding through a competitive grant process. It's an admirable effort, and I wanted an organized way to look at how all this money was actually distributed. That's what this post is for. I have visualized the 2025 grant awards by county, religion, and amount awarded.

One thing that's worth noting is that this is a state-funded program, separate from FEMA's federal Nonprofit Security Grant Program. Since the funding comes from California, it's much less vulnerable to changes in priorities from whoever happens to be president.

California put together something with a lot of potential here. Now it's up to citizens to make sure the results actually match that potential. Transparency is part of accountability, and good data makes it easier to have that conversation.

2025 Data Visualizations

Here are the 2025 allocations: https://www.caloes.ca.gov/wp-content/uploads/Grants/Documents/FY-2025-CSNSGP-Allocations.pdf

Total amount granted for 2025: $76,000,000

The following visual breaks down the grant allocations by county.

Here it is broken down by religious org, since many of the recipients have a religious affiliation and a part of the motivation of this bill is to shore up security for nonprofits that may face religious violence:

Here is an overall understanding of what amounts were awarded. The vast majority of projects applied for and received the max 250,000 amount. One organization had two projects so the organization overall received twice the maximum amount per project. Some jitter is applied to keep the dots visually distinct but mousing over them provides the accurate amount.

Looking through the data, a few things stood out to me. First, a striking number of organizations received the maximum award amount. That suggests there's plenty of demand for this program and that many nonprofits have security projects large enough to make full use of the available funding.

It's also hard not to notice that many of the recipients have names that immediately make sense in the context of the program. Synagogues, mosques, gurdwaras, churches, cultural organizations, LGBTQ+ centers, and community organizations all appear throughout the list. Without digging into each application individually, it's clear that many recipients serve communities that have unfortunately been the targets of violence or hate crimes.

Finally, while Los Angeles County receives by far the largest share of funding, the grants are distributed across dozens of counties and many different kinds of organizations. That's encouraging. The need for security improvements isn't limited to one region or one community, and neither is the support.

California has built a program that reaches a wide range of organizations across the state. Hopefully these visualizations make it a little easier to understand where that investment is going, and to have informed conversations about how the program continues to evolve.