Historically Black churches carry a weight most preservation guides gloss over: many of the buildings most in need of structural help are the ones with the smallest operating budgets and the fewest professional preservation contacts. Preserving Black Churches (PBC), a program of the African American Cultural Heritage Action Fund at the National Trust for Historic Preservation, was built specifically around that gap — and unlike most preservation grants, it doesn't require an active congregation to apply.
The Action Fund itself has raised more than $200 million since its 2017 founding and supported over 400 preservation projects tied to Black history, making it the largest national funding source dedicated to that work. Preserving Black Churches is its flagship program for congregations specifically, backed by a $60 million commitment from Lilly Endowment Inc.
A $60 million grantmaking initiative, funded by Lilly Endowment Inc., providing capital, planning, programming, staff-capacity, and endowment grants of $50,000 to $500,000 to organizations stewarding historically Black church buildings — whether or not the congregation is still active.
What separates PBC from most historic preservation funders isn't just the dollar figure. It's the recognition, built into the eligibility rules, that a historically significant Black church building sometimes outlives the congregation that built it. A closed or deconsecrated church that a denomination, a community nonprofit, or a city preservation office is now trying to save can still apply — something the community-use test that governs most other preservation grants (see our historic church preservation grants guide) generally doesn't accommodate for a building with no occupants at all.
Every criterion below has to be true for the property and the applicant — this isn't a program where a strong story on one point offsets a gap on another.
That non-active-building allowance is worth sitting with. A congregation that merged, relocated, or closed doesn't erase the building's history — and PBC is one of the few national preservation funders built to keep funding the structure even after the pews go quiet, provided a qualified nonprofit or public agency steps in as steward.
| Category | What It Funds | Match Required? |
|---|---|---|
| Capital Projects | Restoration, rehabilitation, and preservation of the historic structure; interior sanctuary features; ADA accessibility improvements | No |
| Project Planning | Building assessments, historic structure reports, preservation plans, accessibility studies, feasibility analyses | No |
| Programming & Interpretation | Development and delivery of interpretive public programming and arts/culture initiatives tied to the building's history | No |
| Organizational Capacity | Salary and benefits for one new senior-level staff position supporting preservation stewardship | No |
| Endowment & Financial Sustainability | Building long-term financial reserves dedicated to the property's ongoing preservation | Yes — 1:1 |
Four of the five categories require no match at all, which is unusual in historic preservation funding — most federal and state preservation dollars, including the Historic Preservation Fund grants administered through your State Historic Preservation Office, carry a standard 50% match requirement. The one exception here is the endowment category, which asks a congregation to bring a dollar of its own for every dollar awarded, in keeping with how endowment-building grants typically work everywhere.
| Category | Typically Eligible | Typically Not Eligible |
|---|---|---|
| Capital Projects | Structural stabilization, roof and masonry restoration, window and door preservation, ADA-compliant ramps and entries | New construction, kitchen modernization, general restroom renovation, parking lot work |
| Project Planning | Conditions assessments, historic structure reports, accessibility studies | Planning unrelated to the historic building itself |
| Organizational Capacity | A newly created senior preservation-stewardship position | Backfilling or subsidizing an existing staff role |
Notice what's excluded from Capital Projects: kitchen modernization and general restroom renovation, two of the most commonly requested repairs at older church buildings, are specifically carved out. That's consistent with the program's preservation focus — work has to protect the historic fabric of the building, not upgrade its modern amenities. A congregation whose real need is a modernized commercial kitchen should look at our church commercial kitchen grants guide instead of trying to frame that need as preservation.
Our free eligibility review looks at your building's age, history, congregation status, and repair needs to point you toward the programs you can realistically apply for.
Check Your Grant Eligibility →Preserving Black Churches runs on an annual cycle managed through an online grant portal. For the most recent cycle, the program's published guidelines listed an application window that opened August 5, 2026 and closed September 11, 2026 at 5:00 PM EST, with status updates to applicants by October 30, 2026, and final award announcements expected in February 2027. No Letter of Intent was required for that cycle — applicants submitted a full application directly.
Because the review period runs several months from deadline to award notification, congregations should treat the application as one track among several rather than a plan to pause other fundraising while waiting. If your repair timeline can't wait for a February award decision, our grants vs. loans for churches guide covers how to responsibly bridge that gap.
Before applying, gather documentation that supports the "historically Black church" designation with specifics — congregation founding date, architect or builder if known, historical events or figures connected to the building, and any prior recognition (local landmark status, state historical marker, National Register listing or determination of eligibility). A vague statement that the building is "historic" carries far less weight than a documented narrative.
If your church doesn't have a specifically Black congregational history, PBC isn't the right fund — that's a conversation for the broader Historic Preservation Fund network through your State Historic Preservation Office, or the ecumenical National Fund for Sacred Places, which is open to historic congregations of any faith tradition but requires an active congregation and demonstrated non-worship community use.
If your building's need is smaller than $50,000, or you're not yet sure the property clears the 50-year age threshold, a state-level SHPO planning grant is usually a faster, lower-barrier starting point — see our full historic church preservation grants guide for how SHPO grants and the National Register process work.
And if a rehabilitation tax credit is also on the table — because your state extends credit value to nonprofits directly or through a taxpaying-partner structure — that funding can sometimes be layered on top of a PBC capital award rather than used instead of it. See our state historic tax credits for churches guide for which states allow that stacking.
Our free eligibility review looks at your building's history, congregation status, and repair needs alongside every other funding category your organization may qualify for.
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