Pittsburgh, PA- April 5, 2023: Today, Senator Jay Costa and Representative Dan Frankel are pleased to announce an allocation of $269,708 in funding through the Nonprofit Security Grant Program, administered by the Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Delinquency (PCCD). Senator Costa and Representative Frankel championed the creation of this grant in the wake of the 2018 deadly massacre in Pittsburgh, where an armed gunman killed eleven Jewish worshippers at Tree of Life Synagogue. His trial is set to begin this spring.
“All of us deserve to feel safe in our places of community, no matter how we look, who we love, or how we pray,” said Senator Costa. “I am so proud to be delivering on this crucial value and securing funds to keep our community spaces protected from bad actors who seek to inflict pain. It’s up to us to make sure we can pray without fear, fellowship without danger, and create community in peace.”
Signed into law in 2019, Act 83 directs PCCD to administer grants to nonprofit organizations who principally serve individuals, groups or institutions that are included within a bias motivation category for single bias hate crime incidents as identified by the FBI’s Hate Crime Statistics publication.
“We are deeply proud of our vibrant, diverse community in Pittsburgh,” said Representative Dan Frankel. “These grants will allow organization that serve vulnerable populations here to do so in ways that makes people feel safe and free to be themselves.”
The recipients of the Nonprofit Security Grant Program funding include:
- Afro American Music Institute: $75,000
- Big Brothers Big Sisters of Greater Pittsburgh: $7,708
- Congregation Dor Hadash: $12,000
- Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh: $150,000
- SisTers PGH: $25,000
More information about the Nonprofit Security Grant Fund is accessible on the PCCD’s website.