Church Grants and Funding
What Are Church Grants?
A grant is an amount of money that is set aside through a charitable organization or the government. When a grant is awarded to a group, such as a church, it does not have to be paid back, ever. Think of it as a one-time donation, but on a larger scale. Typically a church grant is only awarded to a church when there is a specific need, and the grant money must be used to fill that need.
How Do Non-Profit Grants Work?
When a church is in need – say, they need grants for church repair, or church grants for adding or building on to their space – they write a grant application. The type of application varies depending on the organization they are applying to. The application will let the organization with the grant know what the church needs the money for. Then the organization will deliberate. In some cases, your church may be applying for the same money as many other churches, so a decision must be made on who needs the grant the most. When the organization decides to award your church the grant, you’ll receive money and you’ll often have to prove that the money was used for the project(s) listed in your application.
Who is Eligible for a Church Grant?
Faith based grants for churches typically are available for any church. Specific organizations may have their own guidelines – for example, an organization may say that they only offer grants to churches in urban areas. Others may say that they only offer grants to churches with a membership of under 300 people. In both of these cases, these grants are offered to churches where the collection plate may not be able to bring in enough money to cover expensive building repairs.
Searching for a grant that works for your church may take time, but the best way to start is to search for grants for the specific need your church has. Some grants are specifically created as non-profit grants for building repairs after natural disasters. Others may be specifically created for building on to historic churches. By searching for your specific needs, you’ll find it easier to find a church grant that works for your congregation.
There is one important thing that applies to every church seeking a grant. You must ensure that your church has a 501(c)(3) IRS ruling. This establishes your church as a non-profit organization. You cannot receive grants from either the government or a private foundation if your organization is not a 501(c)(3). Take the time to establish this as you work towards finding the right church grant.
About Gordon Burgess
As an Agile thought leader and an expert in the field product management and customer-centricity. Gordon works with the senior leadership team of large organizations to assist in defining, designing, and implementing their transformation to a product/customer focused environment. His works has included developing and conducting organizational wide training, creating transformation operating models, defining organizational roadmaps, coaching staff and teams and leading transformation hands on.
Earlier in his career, Gordon spent 12 years in the program and project management space leading $50mm plus large-scale initiatives for companies such as JP Morgan Chase, Credit Suisse, MetLife, BMW NA, and KPMG.
Gordon lives in Columbia, South Carolina with his wife, young adult children (2 boys/2 girls).
