Yes â congregations with historically significant or architecturally notable buildings may qualify for preservation grants through the National Park Service Historic Preservation Fund, State Historic Preservation Offices (SHPOs), the National Trust for Historic Preservation, and private foundations. Eligible work typically includes structural stabilization, roof repair, masonry restoration, window preservation, and accessibility improvements. Historic designation or eligibility for listing is often â but not always â required. Community use of the facility is a major factor in funder decisions.
Key Takeaways
- National Register listing or eligibility significantly strengthens preservation grant applications.
- Community use of the facility â not just worship â is a primary eligibility factor for most funders.
- Most preservation grants require a 50% matching contribution from the applicant.
- Historically Black churches have access to targeted preservation programs.
- Work must follow the Secretary of the Interior's Standards for Rehabilitation for federal grants.
- Private foundations offer more flexible access for buildings without formal historic designation.
Can Churches Get Grants for Building Restoration?
Yes. Historic religious buildings are among the most common recipients of preservation funding in the United States. Churches, synagogues, mosques, and temples have been central civic landmarks in their communities for generations, and funders at both the federal and private level recognize their cultural, architectural, and community importance.
The primary federal pathway is the Historic Preservation Fund (HPF), administered by the National Park Service and distributed through each state's State Historic Preservation Office (SHPO). The National Trust for Historic Preservation and dozens of private foundations also provide building restoration grants, often with more flexible eligibility criteria. See our full grant programs overview â and for exactly how HPF dollars split between local Certified Local Government subgrants and a state's own development grant round, see our SHPO grants for churches guide.
One private program worth knowing separately: the National Fund for Sacred Places, run jointly by Partners for Sacred Places and the National Trust Community Investment Corporation, pairs $50,000â$500,000 matching capital grants with required fundraising training and individualized technical assistance for historic congregations. See our National Fund for Sacred Places guide for full eligibility rules and how the program works.
âšī¸ Key Distinction
Historic preservation grants fund work that protects a building's architectural and historical integrity â not general maintenance or purely worship-use improvements. The more a building serves the broader community, and the more closely proposed work follows preservation standards, the stronger the application. Note this requires an existing historic structure â these programs restore what's already standing, not fund land purchase or new construction. See our church land purchase and new construction grants guide if that's what you're actually trying to fund.
What Repairs May Be Eligible
| Repair Type | Typically Eligible | Typically Not Eligible |
|---|---|---|
| Roof | Restoration using historically appropriate materials; structural roof framing repair | Replacement with non-period materials that alter historic appearance |
| Masonry & Facade | Repointing mortar with compatible material, cleaning, stabilizing stonework | Painting over historic masonry, applying inappropriate sealants |
| Windows & Doors | Restoring historic wood windows, repairing stained glass, preserving original doors | Replacing historic windows with aluminum or vinyl without documented deterioration |
| Structural | Foundation stabilization, structural member repair, addressing active deterioration | New additions that alter the historic footprint |
| Accessibility | Ramps, accessible entries, lifts designed to minimize visual impact on historic fabric | Accessibility modifications that irreversibly damage significant historic features |
| Planning | Historic structure reports, conditions assessments, preservation plans | General feasibility studies unrelated to preservation goals |
Note what's missing from that table: cemetery and burial-ground conservation runs through a different set of funders than the building itself, with its own age thresholds and documentation standards. If your property includes a historic churchyard or burial ground with deteriorating headstones or fencing, see our dedicated church cemetery preservation grants guide â it covers the state, national, and lineage-society programs that fund that work specifically.
Why Community Use Matters to Preservation Funders
The most frequently asked question in historic church preservation grant applications is: Who else uses this building?
Because many federal and state programs face constitutional questions about funding exclusively religious facilities, buildings that host community services â food pantries, AA meetings, after-school programs, polling places, cultural events â are significantly stronger grant candidates than those used solely for worship.
Examples of community use that strengthen applications:
- Weekly food pantry or community meal program open to all
- After-school tutoring or youth program
- AA, NA, or other recovery support meetings
- Polling location used during local, state, or federal elections
- Concerts, cultural performances, or public community gatherings
- Partnerships with local government or social service agencies using the space
Does Your Building Qualify for Preservation Grants?
Start a free eligibility review to identify preservation and capital improvement funding that may be available for your facility.
Check Your Grant Eligibility âDocumentation and Photos to Prepare
â Preservation Grant Documentation Checklist
- Proof of National Register listing or eligibility determination (from your SHPO)
- Historic structure report or existing conditions assessment (if available)
- Dated photographs documenting all areas of deterioration proposed for repair
- Architectural drawings or site plans of the building
- 2â3 contractor or preservation architect estimates
- Statement of significance: architectural description, construction date, historical narrative
- Documentation of community use (program descriptions, schedules, partner letters)
- IRS 501(c)(3) determination letter
- Most recent Form 990 or audited financial statements
- Board resolution committing to match requirements
- Evidence of matching funds (bank statements, pledge letters, other awarded grants)
Matching Funds and Planning Requirements
Historic preservation grants almost universally require matching contributions. The standard federal HPF match is 50% of total project cost â a $100,000 restoration project requires $50,000 from the applicant. Some state programs reduce this for rural or low-income applicants.
Acceptable Match Sources
- Congregation's own cash reserves
- Other grants already awarded to the same project
- Documented in-kind contributions (skilled volunteer labor at prevailing wage rates)
- Third-party cash donations specifically pledged to the project
Many preservation funders require â or strongly favor â a historic structure report (HSR) before construction begins. Some offer planning-phase grants specifically to fund the HSR before awarding construction funds. This is often the best first step for congregations new to preservation funding.
Congregations that can't raise the full match from cash reserves and pledges sometimes bridge the gap with a loan against future giving or a denominational capital fund. If you're weighing that option, our grants vs. loans for churches guide breaks down when borrowing to cover a match makes sense and when it's better to wait or phase the project.
A grant and a state historic tax credit can sometimes be layered on the same designated building â see our state historic tax credits for churches guide for which states extend usable credit value to nonprofits and how that differs from grant funding.
When Your Building Doesn't Qualify for Historic Preservation Funding
Not every congregation with a repair need has a historic building â and preservation grants are the wrong tool for that work regardless of how urgent it feels. If your facility lacks historic designation or plausible eligibility, two other paths are usually more productive. Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) funding, administered by your city or county, can fund repairs to a secular-use portion of your building â a food pantry room or community hall, for example â in a low- or moderate-income service area. See our community development grants for churches guide for how that program works. For a full side-by-side comparison of every realistic funding path for a building project, including USDA Rural Development and private foundations, see our church building repair grants comparison.
Damage from a hurricane, tornado, flood, or fire is a different situation entirely, even for a historic sanctuary â that's disaster recovery, not routine preservation maintenance, and it runs through a different program. Since 2018, houses of worship are eligible for FEMA Public Assistance after a federally declared disaster on the same terms as other private nonprofits. See our FEMA disaster grants for churches guide for how that process works and how it interacts with insurance and historic building requirements.
The two paths are also frequently combined: a historic sanctuary can pursue HPF or SHPO funding for the worship space while the attached fellowship hall, used for a food pantry or community program, pursues CDBG funding separately. Treating them as separate projects with separate funding strategies, rather than one combined ask, is usually the more successful approach.
Learn how FaithGrants helps match your organization to preservation funding at How It Works.