30 congregations win more than $9 million for historic properties

Thirty congregations have received more than $9 million in capital grants for historic religious properties, the largest total in any grant round in the National Fund for Sacred Places’ 11-year history. The fund announced the awards on October 20, 2026.

The recipients were chosen from 466 applicants. Dividing 30 awards by 466 applications gives a selection share of about 6.4%, or roughly one recipient for every 16 applicants. That calculation describes this year’s cohort; it does not mean every applicant had the same chance of selection.

Grant limits and what recipients receive i

Each grant can be as large as $500,000. The more-than-$9-million total works out to an average above $300,000 per congregation, but that is a calculation from the overall total and cohort size, not a standard award amount. Partners for Sacred Places has not published the individual grants, so the total does not show how much any one congregation received.

The grants support capital preservation projects at historic religious properties. Recipients will also receive tailored technical assistance for planning, community engagement and fundraising. The support therefore combines project funding with assistance on preparation and fundraising, rather than being limited to a cash award.

The published roster includes First Christian Church of Fayetteville, the program’s first Arkansas grantee. Other listed recipients are in Chicago, Philadelphia, Washington, D.C., and New York. Religion Unplugged reported that the cohort includes one Jewish congregation as well as Christian congregations.

A growing national program i

The fund says it has awarded or pledged more than $42 million to 197 community-serving congregations across 46 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico. Those congregations represent 29 denominations and faith traditions. The figures describe the program’s cumulative history, not just this year’s awards.

Partners for Sacred Places runs the fund in collaboration with the National Trust for Historic Preservation, with support from Lilly Endowment Inc. The fund also reports that participating congregations have raised nearly $5 in additional project funding for each dollar it invested. That is the program’s reported fundraising measure, not a per-congregation guarantee or a measure of this cohort’s results.