First African Baptist Church in Savannah Receives Preservation Grant as Part of $13.5 Million Program for Black Churches
The First African Baptist Church in Savannah, Georgia, is among 33 churches receiving funding through the African American Cultural Heritage Action Fund's 2026 Preserving Black Churches program. The fund has awarded $13.5 million in total this year to support historically Black religious sites.
The First African Baptist Church in Savannah, Georgia, one of the oldest Black churches in the United States, is among 33 congregations receiving preservation funding in 2026 through the African American Cultural Heritage Action Fund.
The fund, a division of the National Trust for Historic Preservation, has awarded $13.5 million this year through its Preserving Black Churches program. The grants cover capital projects, structural stabilization, endowment building, organizational capacity, and interpretive programming.
The $8.5 million round, announced in February 2026, followed an initial $5 million awarded on Martin Luther King Jr. Day to five churches. The Sixteenth Street Baptist Church in Birmingham, Alabama, another landmark site, also received funding in the program.
Grants are structured to address different needs. Some churches received capital project funding for structural repairs. Others received support for creating preservation endowments. A number of sites received programming grants, including funding for oral history tours and artist-in-residency programs.
The program is designed to keep these buildings functioning as community anchors, not just historical monuments. Many of the recipient churches have served their neighborhoods for more than a century and continue to provide social services alongside worship.
The National Trust has described the 2026 program as its largest single-year investment in Black church preservation. Organizers say the goal is to ensure these sites remain viable for the communities that built them.
