State and Local Cybersecurity
Grant Program
About The Montana SLCGP
The mission of the State of Montana SLCGP is to strengthen cybersecurity across the state; especially for resource-constrained small and rural local governments.
The program funds key services in four areas: Security Awareness Training for your entire workforce, professional development for the IT workforce and organization leadership, endpoint detection & response, and network monitoring.
We partner with top providers like CyberMontana, KnowBe4, SANS Institute, CompTIA, ISC2, SentinelOne, and CIS to deliver training, certifications, and cybersecurity tools—all through existing state contracts and legislative initiatives to maximize statewide program alignment and stakeholder collaboration.
Montana will receive a funding allocation as determined by the statutory formula. Eighty percent of total state allocations must support local governments, while 25% of the total state allocations must support rural areas/jurisdictions; these amounts may overlap. Montana Disaster and Emergency Services (DES) is the State Administrative Agency (SAA) and serves as the fiscal agent and authorizing official of the SLCGP federal funds, submitted the SLCGP application to FEMA, and administers the grants.
The Montana Cybersecurity Planning Committee
The State of Montana has established a Cybersecurity Planning Committee made up of representatives from rural, suburban, and urban cities, towns, and counties, public education, public health and public safety. Under the leadership of the State of Montana CIO and CISO, the committee is responsible for developing, approving, implementing, and revising The Montana Cybersecurity Plan.
The Five Focus Areas of the Grant
The Montana Cybersecurity Planning Committee designated five specific project focus areas that SLCGP will fund:
- Security Awareness Training for Workforce
- Professional Development Training for Technical Workforce
- Endpoint Detection and Response
- Network Traffic Monitoring
- Multi-Factor Authentication
The five focus areas provide an opportunity for targeted investment in to close an eligible applicant’s cybersecurity gaps. Applicants have the flexibility to apply for a combination of services in the five focus areas based on the needs (cybersecurity gaps) of their organization.
Detailed Info on Available Services
Eligibility Requirements for Local Applicants
Eligible applicants for competitive awards include local governments. Local government means a city, town, county, consolidated city-county, special district, school district or subdivision of these entities. Nonprofit, for-profit, and other entities not deemed as a local government are not eligible to receive SLCGP funds.
Awardees are not required to match (share) costs for the FY 2022 and 2023 SLCGP. Awardees will have to match costs for FY 2024 and FY 2025 awards. Match amounts for future award years are 30% for FY 2024 and 40% for FY 2025. Match may be in-kind (soft) from eligible activities. The current application window will award funds from FY22 and FY23 SLCGP.
How to Apply for the State and Local Cybersecurity Grant Program (SLCGP):
FY22 SLCGP applications is closed at this time.
The application and information about the application process can be found here.:
If you have any questions, please contact:
State Local Cybersecurity Grant Program (SLCGP) Coordinator
406.243.7858
joseph.hodgson@mso.umt.edu
Grant Reimbursement Process
The State & Local Cybersecurity Grant Program (SLCGP) is a reimbursement grant. The awardee will receive grant funds as a reimbursement payment by submitting for reimbursement after the purchase is made and the invoice is paid.
