African American Cultural Heritage Action Fund Awards $13.5 Million to Preserve Historic Black Churches in 2026
The African American Cultural Heritage Action Fund, a division of the National Trust for Historic Preservation, awarded $13.5 million in grants in 2026 to support the preservation of historically Black churches across the United States. The funding supports capital projects, endowment building, and organizational capacity for 38 churches, including Sixteenth Street Baptist Church in Birmingham and Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta. The National Black Church Initiative is also launching new health and educational programs for its 27.7 million members.
The African American Cultural Heritage Action Fund, a division of the National Trust for Historic Preservation, has awarded $13.5 million in grants through its Preserving Black Churches (PBC) program in 2026, marking one of the largest single-year investments in the preservation of historically Black churches in American history.
The funding includes $8.5 million to 33 churches and an additional $5 million to five churches announced on Martin Luther King Jr. Day. The grants support a wide range of needs, including capital projects for structural and architectural preservation, restoration of historic elements like stained-glass windows, and addressing critical issues such as water infiltration and foundation stabilization.
Among the recipients are some of the most historically significant Black churches in America. The Sixteenth Street Baptist Church in Birmingham, Alabama, site of the 1963 bombing that killed four young girls and became a turning point in the civil rights movement, received funding for organizational capacity building, including hiring development staff and implementing fundraising campaigns. Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta, Georgia, where Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Served as co-pastor, received grants for educational tours and interpretive programs.
Other recipients include University AME Zion Church in Palo Alto, California; Shorter AME Church in Denver, Colorado; Dixwell Avenue Congregational United Church of Christ in New Haven, Connecticut; First African Baptist Church in Savannah, Georgia; and New Jerusalem Baptist Church in Tulsa, Oklahoma, which received funding to establish a preservation endowment for long-term maintenance.
The National Black Church Initiative (NBCI), a coalition of 150,000 African-American churches representing 27.7 million members, is also expanding its programs in 2026. New initiatives include a Parkinson Disease educational program in Houston and St. Louis, a Heart First Program pilot in Miami and Charlotte, and a "Black Beautiful Babies Campaign" to address the Black maternal health crisis.
The AME Church's 2025-2028 Quadrennial Theme, "Revive Us Again," focuses on "Reviving our Connection to Jesus Christ," with a Global Development Council meeting held in Mozambique in February 2026.
