I talk with people all the time who ask me about churches and grants. Funding for projects, for a mission or religious organizations are always needed.
There’s great news when it comes to churches and grants. While churches are not your typical 501(c)3 organization, they are a not-for-profit and do qualify for grant funding.
Most people are unaware of this. As always, I don’t recommend any organization rely on grants as their main funding stream. That said, if your church has capital needs or specific projects, grants might be just the thing you need.
Grant research is not the easiest task to undertake. There’s a reason we offer Grant Research as a service that people are happy to pay for! Research require a bit of skill, practice, and patience. While it isn’t brain surgery, research can be time consuming and at times frustrating.
As we focus on churches and grants, you should know that there some good options. There are many foundations that exist specifically to advance the mission of specific churches, denominations, religious beliefs, schools of theology, sabbaticals for clergy and faith-based nonprofits.
How can you locate these funds? This type of research is the same as all the rest, you just have to know where to look.
There are funds for building, renovation, education, programs, projects and community services that churches and missions provide. One specific example is The Duke Endowment. One of their priority areas is Rural Methodist Churches. That is a super-specific type of funding that they provide in NC.
Don’t assume that you can always find funding for your church need. As with all churches and grants, the organizational need(s) and the foundation priorities must be a match before success can happen.
Initially, all grant research involves realistically determining your research criteria (your needs, your area of impact, your area of service, etc.). Then you begin searching for the foundations that want to support those specific things. Finally, you will want to ask questions and build a relationship with the foundation staff. This leads to a thoughtfully composed quality proposal submitted in a timely manner.
Here are some resources for beginners looking for foundations to support churches and grants:
Resource 1 – Top Jewish Foundations
Resource 2 – Society for Nonprofits
If you are ready to give grant research a shot, check out our video blog below on The First Thing To Do Before Beginning Grant Research or our video on Finding Specific Funding Needs.
Grants for Faith-Based Organizations
Grants and Your Fundraising Plan
Keep Growing for Good!
