National Trust Awards 13.5 Million to Preserve Historically Black Churches

The National Trust for Historic Preservation awarded $13.5 million to 33 historically Black churches in February 2026 through its Preserving Black Churches program. The grants, announced on February 24, followed an initial $5 million awarded on Martin Luther King Jr. Day earlier that month.

The program is part of a $60 million initiative backed by the Lilly Endowment Inc. Since its launch in 2022, it has distributed nearly $34 million to more than 170 churches across the country, including sites in Puerto Rico.

Grant recipients in the 2026 cohort include the Sixteenth Street Baptist Church in Birmingham, Alabama, which received funding for a Director of Development position to support long-term sustainability. The church, bombed in 1963 during the civil rights movement, remains one of the most historically significant Black churches in the country.

Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta, Georgia, received support for a graduate fellowship to develop oral history programming. The church, where the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. once served as co-pastor, will use the funds to document and share its history with future generations.

Other recipients include Iglesia San Mateo de Cangrejos in San Juan, Puerto Rico, which is restoring damage from Hurricane Maria, and University AME Zion Church in Palo Alto, California, which is preserving its mid-century modern campus.

Grants range from $50,000 to $500,000 depending on project type. Eligible uses include capital repairs, endowment development, organizational capacity building, and interpretive programming. The application cycle for 2027 grants opens August 5, 2026.