Dear Nonprofit Security Friends:
Charlie Kirk was a political activist who founded a nonprofit organization that advocates for conservative politics on high school, college, and university campuses. Kirk was a well-known media personality, and his mass rallies drew tens of thousands of young voters. Kirk’s assassination on September 10, 2025, has sparked/revealed bipartisan concerns for many members of Congress for their own safety and the safety of the public sector.
Republican leaders in Congress are now seeking to include in the pending Continuing Resolution (to keep the federal government open) nearly $60 million in additional funding for executive branch and Supreme Court security; another $30 million for Capitol Police arrangements with local law enforcement to protect members; and to double to $10 thousand a month funding through a pilot program to provide members with hired private security. A competing alternative CR proposal offered by the Democrats includes adding an extra $170 million for member security as well as the $30 million for the Capitol Police.
Just as we have seen an uptick in threats within the nonprofit sector, which the killing of Charlie Kirk should be included, we have seen an increase in political violence as well.
The former Minnesota House Speaker and her husband, Mark Hortman were killed, and the Minnesota State Senator John Hoffman and his wife were shot, in separate but connected incidents in June 2025; Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro’s residence was set on fire in an arson attack while he and his family was inside in April 2025; and then-presidential candidate Donald Trump narrowly missed an assignation attack in July 2024.
According to a February 2025 report released by the US Capitol Police’s Threat Assessment Section, the TAS investigated 9,474 concerning statements and direct threats against the Members of Congress, including their families and staff. It has since been further reported that the USCP “are on track to work through roughly 14,000 Threat Assessment Cases by the end of 2025.”
For years, the top targets of extremists have been and continue to be government, military, and faith-based institutions.
Recent US threat bulletins identify government, military, and faith-based institutions as top terrorist targets, primarily from lone offenders and small domestic violent extremist groups. Foreign terrorist organizations also continue to inspire and call for attacks against the US. The Department of Homeland Security and the Office of the Director of National Intelligence released reports and alerts in 2025 detailing the current threat environment. By illustration, in one finding within the Department of Homeland Security, Office of Intelligence and Analysis’s 2025 Homeland Theat Assessment, it was reported:
“Over the last year, [Domestic Violent Extremist] efforts have focused on a range of targets, including ethnic and religious minorities, government officials, and ideological opponents, while [Homegrown Violent Extremists] have mostly targeted faith-based organizations. Some of these incidents focused on less secure targets, like houses of worship, a store, and a university. DVEs motivated by various ideologies have also used online messaging to increasingly promote the swatting and doxxing of ideological opponents, including public and private officials at their residences. Other DVE-related violent threats have targeted court officers associated with divisive sociopolitical cases; migrants and government officials linked to immigration grievances; and Jewish, Muslim, and Arab communities, partly in response to the Israel-HAMAS conflict.”
Congressional Republicans are presently attempting to proceed with their CR draft without the Democratic party’s support, and the success of this strategy is far from guaranteed. The Democrats are tying their support for the Republican CR to securing a future commitment to deal with the year-end expiration of expanded subsidies (tax-credits) for purchasing health insurance on government-run exchanges. The parties have about two weeks to work out a compromise, pass the CR on a party-line vote, or result in a partial government shutdown.
The CR is a temporary measure. Whatever the outcome, Congress will still need to address year-long funding for FY 2025.
As the process continues, I believe there is a new dynamic to security. The parallel lines between public sector and nonprofit sector threat concerns are closer and relatable. Their mutual needs intersect. It can be argued there is an imperative for Congress to boost security funding for its members, staff and family (and other parts of the Public Sector) AND also boost the security funding for faith communities and the nonprofit sector, which employ and serve millions of clergies, professionals, congregants, and programs and services beneficiaries and recipients.
With greater consciousness and sensitivity to the issues, I hope that Congress will bolster security funding for both the Public and Nonprofit Sectors.
Best,
Rob Goldberg
Principal
Goldberg & Associates, LLC
In Partnership with Sphere State