logo
    • Magazine
    • Membership
    • Donate
  • Racial Justice
  • Economic Justice
    • Collections
  • Climate Justice
  • Health Justice
  • Leadership
  • CONTENT TYPES
  • Subscribe
  • Webinars
    • Upcoming Webinars
    • Complimentary Webinars
    • Premium On-Demand Webinars
  • Membership
  • Submissions

Funding for Security vs. Keeping Church & State Separate in NJ

Martin Levine
March 29, 2017
Share
Tweet
Share
Email
Print

March 27, 2017; The Record

Since 2003, the federal government has acknowledged that the risk of terrorist attack does not fall only on public institutions. Through the Nonprofit Security Grant Program administered by FEMA, state-level security organizations have funneled millions of dollars to nonprofits both secular and religious for facility improvements and security training. The recent wave of bomb threats to Jewish community centers has led to a renewed level of concern and, at least in New Jersey, controversy over where the greatest risk exists.

Last week, New Jersey’s Governor Chris Christie announced a new round of security funding for his state’s nonprofits that expanded the parts of the state seen as vulnerable. The governor said in his statement:

As incidents in the past few weeks have shown, every area of New Jersey is vulnerable to threats and possible attacks, making these additional resources crucial in our efforts to enhance security in certain parts of the state that had not previously received federal security grant funding. During these trying times, my administration remains committed to ensuring that nonprofits across our entire state have the resources they need to ensure our citizens may gather freely and securely.

Sign up for our free newsletters

Subscribe to NPQ's newsletters to have our top stories delivered directly to your inbox.

By signing up, you agree to our privacy policy and terms of use, and to receive messages from NPQ and our partners.

Security officials aren’t sure if the number of hate crimes has actually increased, but they agree that many people feel more vulnerable and threatened. New Jersey Homeland Security Director Chris Rodriguez told the Record of Bergen County, “Acts of terrorism both here and abroad reflect a dramatic shift in our threat and risk landscape, one in which the risks are becoming much more decentralized and diffuse than they’ve ever been. […] In cases of homegrown violent extremism…small security enhancements can act as a deterrent for people to conduct attacks.”

Making more organizations eligible to apply for security funds in response to the increased level of fear and concern was good news for those entities able to seek state help for the first time. But it came at a cost to other parts of the nonprofit community: The governor dropped $7.5 million in funding for security grants for nonprofit schools from his 2018 budget.

Avi Schnall, New Jersey director of Agudath Israel of America, spoke for many in the parochial school community when he told a state senate committee, “To say that we are stunned and disappointed would be an understatement. At a time of rising anti-Semitic attacks and threats nationwide, this is a time to increase private school security.”

To resolve this dilemma, the New Jersey state legislature is debating ways to increase the funding pull so no one has to get less for others to get the help they need. While the legislature does its work and two parts of N.J.’s nonprofit community struggle over how best to cut up the funding pie, a larger and very uncomfortable question needs to be raised. New Jersey legislator Assemblyman Gary Schaer clearly made a case for the need for increased security: “Let’s understand that children’s lives are at risk here. That’s literally what it comes down to.” But is the security of private, albeit nonprofit, organizations and those they serve a matter of public responsibility? And, does it make a difference when these organizations are religious in nature and thus ineligible for many other forms of government funding? Does terror trump the separation of church and state?—Martin Levine

Share
Tweet
Share
Email
Print
About the author
Martin Levine

Martin Levine is a Principal at Levine Partners LLP, a consulting group focusing on organizational change and improvement, realigning service systems to allow them to be more responsive and effective. Before that, he served as the CEO of JCC Chicago, where he was responsible for the development of new facilities in response to the changing demography of the Metropolitan Jewish Community. In addition to his JCC responsibilities, Mr. Levine served as a consultant on organizational change and improvement to school districts and community organizations. Mr. Levine has published several articles on change and has presented at numerous conferences on this subject. A native of New York City, Mr. Levine is a graduate of City College of New York (BS in Biology) and Columbia University (MSW). He has trained with the Future Search and the Deming Institute.

More about: Nonprofit NewsPolicyReligious/Faith-Based

Become a member

Support independent journalism and knowledge creation for civil society. Become a member of Nonprofit Quarterly.

Members receive unlimited access to our archived and upcoming digital content. NPQ is the leading journal in the nonprofit sector written by social change experts. Gain access to our exclusive library of online courses led by thought leaders and educators providing contextualized information to help nonprofit practitioners make sense of changing conditions and improve infra-structure in their organizations.

Join Today
logo logo logo logo logo
See comments

Spring-2023-sidebar-subscribe
You might also like
Cancelling Student Debt Is Necessary for Racial Justice
Kitana Ananda
To Save Legal Aid, Expand Public Service Loan Forgiveness
Zoë Polk
No Justice, No Peace of Mind and Body: The Health Impacts of Housing Insecurity for Black Women
Jhumpa Bhattacharya, Maile Chand and Andrea Flynn
The Human Impact of the Global Refugee Crisis Must Be Understood—And Acted Upon
Anmol Irfan
Black Americans Need Reparations: The Fight for the CTC Highlights the Roadblocks
Jhumpa Bhattacharya and Trevor Smith
Edgar Cahn’s Second Act: Time Banking and the Return of Mutual Aid
Steve Dubb

NPQ Webinars

April 27th, 2 pm ET

Liberatory Decision-Making

How to Facilitate and Engage in Healthy Decision-making Processes

Register Now
You might also like
Cancelling Student Debt Is Necessary for Racial Justice
Kitana Ananda
To Save Legal Aid, Expand Public Service Loan Forgiveness
Zoë Polk
No Justice, No Peace of Mind and Body: The Health Impacts of...
Jhumpa Bhattacharya, Maile Chand and Andrea Flynn

Like what you see?

Subscribe to the NPQ newsletter to have our top stories delivered directly to your inbox.

See our newsletters

By signing up, you agree to our privacy policy and terms of use, and to receive messages from NPQ and our partners.

NPQ-Spring-2023-cover

Independent & in your mailbox.

Subscribe today and get a full year of NPQ for just $59.

subscribe
  • About
  • Contact
  • Advertise
  • Copyright
  • Careers

We are using cookies to give you the best experience on our website.

 

Non Profit News | Nonprofit Quarterly
Powered by  GDPR Cookie Compliance
Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies so that we can provide you with the best user experience possible. Cookie information is stored in your browser and performs functions such as recognising you when you return to our website and helping our team to understand which sections of the website you find most interesting and useful.

Strictly Necessary Cookies

Strictly Necessary Cookie should be enabled at all times so that we can save your preferences for cookie settings.

If you disable this cookie, we will not be able to save your preferences. This means that every time you visit this website you will need to enable or disable cookies again.