Coming
To all members of Har Shalom,
Thank you for making Har Shalom such a welcoming space. While recruiting and supporting volunteers who make our Purim and Passover events happen, we are also preparing for Rabbi Gruenwald’s visit next weekend, and looking ahead to the Annual Meeting and 50th Anniversary events beginning in the spring. The year seems to be moving both very slowly and at an incredibly fast pace. Through all the activity, Har Shalom staff’s primary goal is to create a safe and welcoming space for Jews to gather.
The Background
For five of the last six years, Har Shalom has applied for and received Nonprofit Security Grant Program (NSGP) grants from the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) distributed by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). These grants have been a gift, allowing us to implement security measures throughout the Har Shalom campus, including covering the cost of $90,000 per year for our professional security team.
The Nonprofit Security Grant Program is now in jeopardy. Funds for projects that have already been started and are under contract are frozen. Funding to thousands of places of worship, community centers, and religious schools rely on this life-saving program, including Har Shalom. This support includes funding for security cameras, guards, and emergency preparedness training, and it allows nonprofits to spend their limited funds on community programs rather than security measures.
Our Ask
Please support Har Shalom and other nonprofit institutions by contacting your Federal Congressional and Senate representatives directly. Ask them to release nonprofit security funding already allocated by Congress.
- Sign this Anti-Defamation League petition going directly to the White House: https://action.adl.org/a/white-house-nsgp
- Call the Capitol Hill switchboard at (202) 224-3121 or contact your representatives directly:
| Senator Michael Bennet - 970-224-2200 | Representative Joe Neguse 2nd District - (970) 372-3971 |
| Senator John Hickenloper - 303-244-1628 | Representative Lauren Boebert 4th District - (970) 702-2136 |
| Representative Gabe Evans 8th District -(970) 324-25 |
Plan B
Thanks to the generosity of two Har Shalom member families’ donations to the 2024 Annual Fund via the 5C program, we have a bridge to continue security through the current school year if our grant funding is discontinued. If you want to hear more about how this impacts Har Shalom directly, please reply to this email.
As we always do, we will find our way through these difficult times. We are thankful for the support of this wonderful community and all the people who make it possible.
With gratitude,
Tara Morton
Executive Director