Churches and faith based organizations have many grant opportunities because of the large amount of programs and services they offer to their communities. To be eligible for most, if not all, church grants, they must have or obtain a 501(c)(3) tax exempt status from the federal government. Church grants are available through many outlets and one of the first stops may be through your churches own denomination.
While there are exceptions, a majority of church grants are geared towards helping support and continue to run the programs churches offer to their community. These may include soup kitchens, food pantries, homeless shelters, and many more. The demand for these services are rapidly increasing and many churches are not financially able to keep up with the demand. Since they have set budgets, church grants are a great way for them continue to keep the programs running and have a positive impact on the community.
Attention is in the details, so when you are researching church grants make sure to note what they are allocating the money for. Most church grants are for programs and services, but others are available to churches looking to make repairs and expansions. If you are awarded a grant to continue to run community programs but use it for church repairs, you will most likely be required to repay the awarded grant money.
If you are awarded a church grant, the grantor may look for you to update them on how the money has been used. They may also look for what has been successful and what you will need to improve to properly work. If you have successfully used the awarded grant money, some grantors look to work with previous grant winners and award them more money to keep growing.Church grants not only benefit your church to maintain financial stability but it also benefits the community members that rely on the programs and services they offer.