Several houses of worship in the U.S. Virgin Islands are recipients of FEMA’s Nonprofit Security Grant Program this year. In total, about $900,000 was awarded to various houses of worship and nonprofit organizations through a competitive application process. These grants will fund structural enhancements to protect these vital community institutions from security-related concerns.
Working with the Virgin Islands Territorial Emergency Management Agency (VITEMA) and the U.S. Virgin Islands Voluntary Organizations Active in Disaster (VI VOAD), the FEMA Integration Team Lead, Aaron VanDoren, and FEMA’s Race Hodges, faith-based preparedness coordinator, supported both organizations with growing their faith-sector network by conducting over 20-plus in-person trainings and workshops for communities of faith across the U.S. Virgin Islands beginning in early 2022.
Relevant workshops in which this grant was promoted included multiple offerings of FEMA’s Organizations Preparing for Emergency Needs (OPEN) training, and FEMA’s Grant Writing and Organizational Preparedness workshop.
VITEMA provided critical stewardship to prospective applicants in this process. The collaborative partnership of VITEMA, the USVI VOAD and FEMA supported the revitalization of this grant funding opportunity in the territory, leading to an important funding award for critical community organizations in the USVI. If any nonprofit organization is interested in pursuing upcoming offerings of this grant program, visit https://www.fema.gov/grants/preparedness/nonprofit-security to learn more.
