Bay Area Jewish Nonprofits Say Trump FEMA Cuts Have Left Them Without Security

Bay Area Jewish nonprofits say millions in grant funding for necessary security enhancements is stuck in limbo after a funding freeze by the Trump administration. 

The 30-day pause on funding through the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s Nonprofit Security Grant Program has left many Jewish groups without the tools needed to combat what some have called a nationwide surge in antisemitic incidents.

“There is a lot of uncertainty across the board for people who have received these grants, especially with the Jewish community and the rise in antisemitism in these spaces,” said Molly Jozer, a community security adviser for the Bay Area Jewish Community Federation. “A lot of people are really concerned, rightfully so.”

Summer camps, community centers and several synagogues did not receive their disbursements. Jozer said that funding — which is at least $5 million in Northern California — would have supported the installation of fencing or security cameras.

“Not getting reimbursed is financially devastating to these groups,” she said. “It’s just further stalling the progression of these projects being completed and building that safer community for themselves and the people they serve in that capacity.”

Jozer first received notification of the freeze around March 13 and expects funding to resume by mid-April, but has yet to receive confirmation and said communication with FEMA has been limited. FEMA did not respond to a request for comment.

Deborah Gottlieb, the director of grants management at the Secure Community Network, which advises synagogues on safety, said at that meeting of leaders from the Jewish Federation of North America that she believes nonprofits will be reimbursed at some point.

“There is a contractual obligation that you signed in your grant agreement,” she said, according to Jewish Insider. But Gottlieb was unsure of when that reimbursement might happen.

Until then, Jozer said the Bay Area Community Federation has been telling nonprofits to ensure paperwork for their grants is submitted.

“We’re standing by just to stand by and white-knuckling it through to see whether that funding freeze will be lifted or not,” she said.

The Trump administration’s cuts to FEMA and layoffs of hundreds of staffers have degraded the agency’s ability to respond to natural disasters and threats.

In 2024, more than $450 million in funding was available for nonprofit organizations “at high risk of a terrorist attack,” according to the agency.

Part of the funding was also allocated by Congress by the National Security Act of 2024, which provided more than $95 billion in funding for Israel, Ukraine and Taiwan.

Jozer said getting through the freeze includes advocating for Jewish organizations, some of which are too small to do on their own.

“We’ve been doing the best on our side, as well as nationally across multitudes of Jewish organizations, to advocate on behalf of the nonprofits affected, both within our space and across the United States,” she added. “We’re really hoping the administration hears this and can make quick decisions to end this funding freeze.”