Three St. Louis Jewish institutions – Bais Abraham Congregation, Taharath Israel of St. Louis (the Mikvah) and Friends of Chabad on Campus Inc. – have received a total of $205,500 in U.S. Homeland Security Nonprofit Security Grants Program (NSGP) due, in part, to Jewish Federation guidance and advocacy.

Since its inception, nationally $118 million in NSGP grants has been distributed to help fund video surveillance, blast-proof windows and promote security-related preparedness for non-profits. NSGP, which has been in place since 2005, announced $19 million in new grants, 80 percent of which ($15 million) has been awarded to Jewish communal organizations and institutions. The Jewish Federations of North America (JFNA), which helped secure money for the NSGP program, passed down the information to Federations across the country.

“Jewish Federation is pleased that we were able to help assist our agencies with this process through guidance and representation in Jefferson City,” said Barry Rosenberg, Federation president and CEO.  “This is an excellent example of community collaboration that reflects our vision of a vibrant Jewish community – Thriving. Together.”

Rabbi Zvi Zuravin, executive director of the Vaad Hoeir, also commented about the assistance he received to increase security at the Mikvah. “We found out that this grant was available and we felt it would be good to help us fund the increase in the level of security so our women feel safe. We got help from Jewish Federation in filling out the forms and describing our security issue. It’s a clear display of Jewish Federation really caring about our needs – understanding the sensitivity of the potential danger and supporting it.”

Last year, Jewish Federation of St. Louis received $64,000 in Federal funds to upgrade the security systems for the Jewish Federation Kopolow building and surrounding area.  The recent announcement of the grants marked the sixth installment of the NSGP grants. JFNA remains the driving force sustaining the program and touted the announcement of grant awardees.