National Trust Awards 13.5 Million Dollars to Preserve Historically Black Churches

The African American Cultural Heritage Action Fund, a program of the National Trust for Historic Preservation, awarded 13.5 million dollars in grants to historically Black churches in 2026. The funding came in two rounds: 5 million dollars announced on Martin Luther King Jr. Day and an additional 8.5 million dollars distributed to 33 churches through the fourth annual Preserving Black Churches grant program.

Grant recipients span 17 states and include some of the oldest and most historically significant Black churches in the country. First African Baptist Church in Savannah, Georgia, founded in 1773, received funding for stained-glass window restoration. Bethel Baptist Institutional Church in Jacksonville, Florida, which co-produced "Lift Every Voice and Sing," received funds to repair hurricane-damaged windows.

Sixteenth Street Baptist Church in Birmingham, Alabama, a landmark of the Civil Rights Movement, received support to hire a Director of Development and build a preservation endowment. Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta, Martin Luther King Jr.'s childhood church, received funding for a graduate fellow to design an oral history tour.

New Jerusalem Baptist Church in Tulsa, Oklahoma, founded by survivors of the 1921 Race Massacre, received a 200,000-dollar grant to create a preservation endowment. Pastor Sean Jarrett said the funding would help the church stop choosing between community programs and building maintenance.

The grants cover capital projects, organizational capacity building, programming, and preservation planning. The Action Fund has now supported more than 170 historically Black churches since its founding.

"These churches are not just religious spaces," said a National Trust spokesperson. "They are anchors of Black history, culture, and community life."

Applications for the next grant round are expected to open later in 2026.