Exciting news! We are proud to share that we received additional grant funding for the John Wesley Community Church Restoration project from the Preserving Black Churches grant program of the African American Cultural Heritage Action Fund presented by the National Trust for Historic Preservation! These funds will be used to support interior restoration work in the sanctuary: including plaster work, restoration and protection of original woodwork, and work to secure the interior envelope.
You can learn more about this year’s grantees of the Preserving Black Churches fund linked here (including a story map of churches receiving funds across the country!), and learn more about the African American Cultural Heritage Action Fund below!
About the African American Cultural Heritage Action Fund
The African American Cultural Heritage Action Fund, a division of the National Trust for Historic Preservation, seeks to make an important and lasting contribution to our nation’s cultural landscape by elevating the stories and places of Black resilience, activism, and achievement. Supported by investments from the Ford Foundation, Mellon Foundation, Freedom Together Foundation, Lilly Endowment Inc. and other partners, it has raised over $200 million and supported over 400 preservation projects to date.
Preserving Black Churches Program Overview:
Preserving Black Churches (PBC) is a cornerstone initiative of the African American Cultural Heritage Action Fund, which is dedicated to the preservation of historic African American sites across the United States. The PBC program, backed by generous philanthropic support from Lilly Endowment Inc., is a $60 million initiative designed to uplift and preserve these historic places and the communities they serve. Since its launch in 2023, the program has supported historically Black churches in addressing preservation challenges, safeguarding their spiritual and cultural legacies, and providing vital social services.
PBC grants range from $50,000 to $500,000, and are awarded to support capital projects, programming and interpretation, endowments and financial sustainability, project planning, and organizational capacity building.