Action Fund’s Preserving Black Churches Program Awards $13.5 Million in Preservation Funding

The African American Cultural Heritage Action Fund, a division of the National Trust for Historic Preservation, has awarded $8.5 million in grants to 33 historically Black churches through its fourth annual Preserving Black Churches (PBC) program grant round. This latest investment follows $5 million in grants awarded on Martin Luther King Jr. Day to five churches, underscoring the Action Fund’s sustained commitment to protecting sacred places that anchor Black faith, culture, democracy, and community.

Together, the MLK Day awards and this latest round of PBC grants represent a total investment of $13.5 million to date in 2026 for the preservation, stewardship, and long-term sustainability of historically Black churches—one of the most significant commitments in the program’s history. The initiative highlights the enduring role of these churches as centers of spiritual life, social justice, and community resilience.

Rev. Kaloma Smith University AME Zion Church in Palo Alto, California, is the oldest continuously operating historically Black church in California’s Silicon Valley. Founded in 1918, it became a haven and spiritual refuge for Black families migrating to the area during the Great Migration. The grant will support urgent structural and architectural preservation of the church’s 1965 mid-century modern campus and its 1920s-era Little House.

In Denver, Colorado, CPRD Shorter AME Church, founded in 1868 as Colorado’s first Black Methodist church, has served as a place of worship and a safe space for Denver’s Black residents to organize mutual aid, education efforts, and early civil rights advocacy. The church was rebuilt several times due to a growing community and an arson attack, widely believed to have been by the Ku Klux Klan, in 1925. Funding will support restoring the historic sanctuary and addressing other urgent preservation needs.

Aidan Migani Dixwell Avenue Congregational United Church of Christ in New Haven, Connecticut, founded in 1820, is the oldest formally recognized African American Congregational Church in the world. It is also one of the first Black churches established in the United States, reflecting the early efforts of African Americans to build independent religious institutions.

These grants underscore the vital role historically Black churches play in preserving cultural heritage and community identity. As Proverbs 18:17 reminds us, “The first to present his case seems right, until another comes forward and questions him.” The preservation of these spaces ensures that the stories and struggles of Black communities continue to be honored and remembered.

The Action Fund’s interactive StoryMap provides a comprehensive overview of over 170 historically Black churches supported by the initiative, showcasing their significance across architecture, civil rights, descendant communities, and more. This effort aligns with the call to seek justice, mercy, and love for neighbors, as emphasized in Micah 6:8.

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