If your congregation worships in a historically Black church building — or your nonprofit stewards one — you have until 5 p.m. Eastern on September 11, 2026, to apply for a grant of $50,000 to $500,000 to help save it.
The money comes from the Preserving Black Churches program, run by the African American Cultural Heritage Action Fund at the National Trust for Historic Preservation. It is a $60 million initiative supported by Lilly Endowment Inc., and it funds far more than roof repairs: eligible uses include capital projects, endowments and financial sustainability, organizational capacity, programming and interpretation, and preservation project planning.
This is not a new or untested fund. Earlier this year the program awarded $13.5 million — $8.5 million to 33 churches announced February 24, 2026, following $5 million awarded to five churches on Martin Luther King Jr. Day. Recipients in that round included Sixteenth Street Baptist Church in Birmingham and Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta. In California, past support has reached University AME Zion Church, founded in 1918 and described as the oldest continuously operating historically Black church in the state’s Silicon Valley, and Los Angeles congregations including Founders Church of Religious Science, designed by Black architect Paul R. Williams. In all, the Action Fund reports supporting more than 170 historically Black churches to date.
Who can apply, in plain terms: historically Black churches with active or non-active congregations; 501(c)(3) nonprofits that steward a historic Black church, with or without an active congregation; and public agencies. A few requirements worth knowing before you start: applicants must own the historic property or have documented permission from the owner, and must be able to serve as the grant’s fiscal agent or identify one. Historic cemeteries owned by a historically Black church are eligible only under project planning grants. Buildings generally must be at least 50 years old, though younger structures of extraordinary historical or cultural importance may be considered.
How to apply: start at the program’s guidelines page at savingplaces.org/preserving-black-churches-guidelines, which links to the National Trust’s online grant application system, where applicants create an organization profile. Late submissions will not be accepted. Applicants will receive a status update by October 30, 2026, and final award notifications in February 2027. Questions can be sent to actionfundgrants@savingplaces.org.
For congregations weighing a leaking roof, a settling foundation, or simply the question of how a historic sanctuary survives another generation, the window is open now — and it closes September 11.
Drafted by News Observed Editorial AI, human reviewed and published.