Security Window Film Grants for Schools, Churches and Nonprofits

Can grants pay for security window film?

Yes, and some programs name it directly. FEMA’s Nonprofit Security Grant Program, which funds churches, synagogues, mosques, private schools and other nonprofits, lists “breakage/shatter resistant glass, window wraps/films/velums” on its Authorized Equipment List. The U.S. Department of Justice’s School Violence Prevention Program, which funds public school districts, lists “window film/tint” as an allowable cost.

The catch is timing and paperwork, not eligibility. Most of these programs open for only a few weeks, require a site vulnerability assessment and a specific scope, and will not pay for work done before the award. Applicants who have the assessment and a contractor quote in hand before the funding notice is published are in the best position.

Key points

• FEMA’s FY2026 Nonprofit Security Grant Program (NSGP) provided $300 million nationally, $150 million for urban areas and $150 million statewide, with up to $200,000 per site.
• Window film falls under FEMA Authorized Equipment List item 14EX-00-BSIR.
• In Illinois, FY2026 NSGP applications were due to the state on July 6, 2026, twelve days after FEMA released the funding notice on June 24.
• Illinois has also run its own state-funded Not-for-Profit Security Grant Program, with $20 million rounds and up to $150,000 per site.
• The DOJ COPS Office’s FY2026 School Violence Prevention Program offered up to $500,000 per award to public school districts and other public agencies, with a 25 percent cash match, and lists window film as allowable.
• Private schools cannot apply to that DOJ program directly, but nonprofit private schools can apply to NSGP.
• Neither NSGP nor the DOJ program pays for work started before the award.

Which grant fits your organization?

Organizations whose primary purpose is medical or mental health services are excluded from Illinois’s state nonprofit program. Every program has its own definitions, so check the current notice for your exact situation.

How does the Nonprofit Security Grant Program work?

FEMA funds the program each year and awards it to each state’s administering agency, which runs the application process. In Illinois that agency is the Illinois Emergency Management Agency and Office of Homeland Security (IEMA-OHS). There are two streams:

• NSGP Urban Area (NSGP-UA): in Illinois, for nonprofits in Cook County and the City of Chicago.
• NSGP State (NSGP-S): for nonprofits elsewhere in Illinois.

For FY2026, FEMA’s notice set the program at $300 million, split evenly between the two streams, with up to $200,000 per site. An organization could apply for up to three sites in each stream, up to $600,000 per state. FEMA’s application deadline for states was July 24, 2026, but IEMA-OHS required complete applications from nonprofits by 5:00 p.m. on July 6, 2026.

To be eligible, an organization must be a 501(c)(3) nonprofit at high risk of a terrorist or other extremist attack. FEMA notes that churches and some other organizations are treated as tax-exempt without having to apply to the IRS for recognition. Subapplicants that have never received an NSGP award get 15 points added to their score.

IEMA-OHS’s FY2026 application package had six parts: an Investment Justification for each site, listing equipment by its Authorized Equipment List number; a vulnerability or risk assessment for the site; a mission statement on letterhead; a contact form; an IRS Form W-9; and a tax-exempt statement. The requested equipment has to tie back to the risks the vulnerability assessment identifies.

Is security window film eligible under the Nonprofit Security Grant Program?

Yes. FEMA’s Authorized Equipment List item 14EX-00-BSIR covers “breakage/shatter resistant glass, window wraps/films/velums,” and the Department of Homeland Security lists shatter-resistant window film under that number. In an Investment Justification, the film is listed by that code and tied to the glass the vulnerability assessment identifies, such as entrance doors and sidelights.

A listed equipment category makes film eligible; it does not guarantee that a particular project will be funded or reimbursed. Confirm each program’s current eligibility rules, deadlines and approval requirements in the current notice before you commit to a scope.

Two details are worth settling with IEMA-OHS before you apply. First, how the attachment is treated. Security film that delays forced entry is normally attached to the frame with structural silicone, and program rules treat some equipment installation as construction or renovation, which needs FEMA’s prior written approval and is capped. Second, whether the building needs an environmental and historic preservation (EHP) review before work begins, which applies to modifications of existing buildings and is more likely on older and historic buildings.

What about Illinois’s own nonprofit security grant?

Illinois has funded a separate Not-for-Profit Security Grant Program (NSGP-IL) from state general revenue, also run by IEMA-OHS. The state fiscal year 2025 round made $20 million available, with up to $150,000 per site for up to three sites, a maximum of $450,000 per organization, and a 36 month period of performance. Equipment was limited to the Authorized Equipment List, so window film qualifies the same way it does under the federal program.

New rounds depend on the General Assembly appropriating the money. As of October 12, 2026, IEMA-OHS’s program page still showed the 2025 round, and bills filed in 2026 to appropriate $18 million for the program (HB4310 and SB2848) were in committee. Watch IEMA-OHS for the next notice.

How can public school districts pay for security film?

Public school districts are not 501(c)(3) nonprofits, so they look to other programs:

• DOJ COPS School Violence Prevention Program (SVPP). The FY2026 notice offered up to $73 million for about 200 awards of up to $500,000 each, over 36 months beginning October 1, 2026. States, local governments, tribes and their public agencies, including school districts, can apply; private schools, including private charter schools, cannot apply as primary applicants. A cash match of at least 25 percent is required unless waived, and recipients must conduct school safety assessments during the award. The program’s resource guide lists “window film/tint” among allowable equipment, and excludes construction and renovation except fencing. FY2026 applications closed in August 2026.
• U.S. Department of Education School Safety Enhancement program. A new FY2026 competition of an estimated $93 million for state education agencies, with awards of $500,000 to $5 million. It funds physical security such as secure entry systems, perimeter controls and visitor screening, but bars construction, renovation or repair, and its notice does not name window film. Whether Illinois districts see this money depends on whether the Illinois State Board of Education wins an award and makes subgrants.
• Illinois School Maintenance Project Grant. A dollar-for-dollar state matching grant of up to $50,000 for maintenance and upkeep of school buildings. Security projects fall under its Health/Life Safety priority, with a secure entrance or vestibule as the example given. Check the Illinois State Board of Education for the current round.
• County and local programs. In 2026, Will County awarded more than $129,000 in School Safety Grants, funded with cannabis sales tax revenue, to 33 middle and K-8 schools for main entrance reinforcements and visitor and attendance management systems. Programs like this are small but fast, and worth asking your regional office of education about.

Illinois law also authorizes State Board of Education school safety and security grants to school districts, with priority for Tier 1 and Tier 2 districts, subject to appropriation (105 ILCS 5/2-3.180).

What makes a window film request fundable?

These programs ask applicants to tie each item to an identified risk and a specific cost. For security film, that means:

• Tie the film to the assessment. Name the openings the vulnerability assessment flags, usually entrance doors, sidelights and ground floor glass, and say what the film is meant to do there.
• Specify the system, not just “film”. Name the product, its thickness and the attachment. We explain why the attachment matters in Security Film Attachment Systems Explained.
• Use the right equipment code. For NSGP and NSGP-IL, list the film under AEL 14EX-00-BSIR.
• Get a written quote and data sheets. Most applications need a detailed cost, and some programs specify a film thickness.
• Do not start the work early. Subrecipients cannot claim pre-award costs under NSGP, and the DOJ program will not reimburse purchases made before its period of performance.

Be realistic about what film does. Security film holds broken glass together and, attached to the frame, delays forced entry; it does not make glass bulletproof. We explain the limits in What Security Window Film Can and Cannot Do, and compare film with laminated glass and polycarbonate in Security Film, Laminated Glass or Polycarbonate for School Entrances.

When should you start?

Before the notice comes out. In 2026, FEMA released the NSGP notice on June 24 and Illinois nonprofits had until July 6 to submit, so there was no time to commission a vulnerability assessment and get a contractor quote after the notice appeared. The DOJ program’s FY2026 applications were due in August, and the Department of Education’s in July.

A practical order of work: get the site’s vulnerability assessment done, have the entrances and glass surveyed, get a written quote and the film data sheets, and keep them ready for the next round. For typical project ranges and what moves the price, see What Commercial Window Film Costs.

What should you ask a contractor before applying?

Ask for a written quote that lists each opening, the film product and thickness, the attachment system, and the total square footage; the manufacturer’s data sheets; a scope letter you can attach to the application; and a W-9. Ask whether the contractor can work within the program’s schedule and reimbursement terms. AAA Glass Tint provides all of these for grant applications from public schools, private schools, churches and nonprofits. Request a free assessment.