Delaware nonprofit security grants: a planning checklist for churches

Current status: what we checked

Sources checked November 4, 2026. The federal FY2026 listing is archived; ask DEMA for the current Delaware application window.

DEMA's Preparedness Grants page describes NSGP as a reimbursement-based, competitive program for physical and cybersecurity improvements at nonprofits at risk of terrorist or other extremist attack, and lists eligibility criteria there. FEMA's NSGP hub links the program's funding notices and documents. The FY2026 federal listing on Simpler.Grants.gov shows an archive date of August 23, 2026. That date is about the federal listing; it does not set a Delaware deadline or show that a state round is open.

DEMA publishes preparednessgrants@delaware.gov for NSGP questions. Read the current notice yourself and confirm your organization's eligibility with DEMA; this guide does not determine it.

Who applies and who can commit

• Applicant identity: confirm which legal entity would apply (the congregation, a parent body or a separate school) and that its records match what the current notice requires.
• Authority: record who may sign applications and agreements, and which board or vote approves spending.
• Shared campuses: if a church shares a building with a school or other ministry, settle which entity owns or controls each space before anything is scoped.
• One coordinator: name a person who holds the file, tracks dates and is the only voice to the agency and contractors.

Tie scope to documented need

Competitive programs ask applicants to show need. Start with your mission, how the building is used and the risks the program's current documents ask you to describe; then list items that respond to that need. Window film may or may not be one of them. Keep the itemized scope in neutral terms such as "main entry glazing, group A," and have your leadership decide how detailed risk information is handled and shared, consistent with the program's requirements and your own records obligations.

If glass is included, the church planning guide helps with inventory and phasing, and the bid scope template helps get itemized, comparable quotes. Do not assume film is reimbursable because it is a security product; ask DEMA how proposed items are reviewed.

What to prepare, who owns it, what to confirm

A quote is not permission to buy

Asking an installer for a quote helps estimate a budget. It does not authorize a purchase under a grant. Under a reimbursement program, buying or starting work before the agency's required approvals may make costs ineligible. Confirm with DEMA when obligations may begin, and what procurement method applies, before signing anything.

Write quote requests so they can be reused: same scope, same groups, separate line items for film, attachment, access and preparation. The proposal comparison guide shows how to read what comes back.

Questions for the treasurer or business office

• Can we pay the full cost and wait for reimbursement? What if reimbursement is partial or delayed?
• Which board approvals are needed before signing a contract?
• Do our own purchasing rules require more quotes than the program does?
• How will invoices, proof of payment and completion records be filed and kept?
• Who reconciles grant and non-grant work if a project mixes both?

A real phasing example (not a grant example)

Shore's Eagles Nest Church and Delmarva Christian project page documents two completed phases on a shared faith-based campus in Milton: 152 panes in one phase and 113 in the other, about 2,431 square feet in total. It mixed clear security film with attachment at entry points with solar-control and privacy film in occupied rooms, and lists XPEL products. It is useful here only as an illustration of phasing a shared campus and matching film to each room's purpose. The project page does not say the work was grant funded or used 3M film, and we don't suggest either.

If an award is made

Read the award terms before contracting. Keep the file together: agreement, approvals, procurement record, contract, invoices, proof of payment, product data sheets with revision dates, attachment details per opening group and closeout photos stored privately. Ask DEMA which of these it needs for reimbursement and how long to keep them. The project brief can produce the opening checklist; it stays in your browser.