How to Find Foundation Grants and Funding Opportunities for Faith-Based Organizations

Grant Advance can help you find church and faith based grants

If your organization is a church or ministry, searching for “faith-based funding” is probably too broad to describe all your funding needs.

You may need funding for:

Food pantry expansion
Roof repair of your community hall
Ministry youth program
Recovery ministry
Shelter
International mission project
And many other activities
Those are different funding requests.

And the difference is important, because the foundation willing to fund your church isn’t necessarily searching for a church but a solution to a problem in the community.

There are foundations that give grants directly to churches and ministries. There are other foundations that give grants to charitable projects of faith-based organizations.

Knowledge of both of these foundations can substantially increase your fundraising options.

Search Foundations That Give to Faith-Based Organizations

Churches May Have More Than One Funding Category

grant funding for different faith based projects like roof repairs

Imagine a fictional church that conducts the following programs:

Sunday worship service
Food bank
After-school youth program
Winter shelter

From the perspective of grant research, this organization is not only a religious organization.

It may also be described as:

Food Security
Children & Youth
Human Services
Housing & Homelessness
Community Development

This church has not changed.

But its description has.

And this difference may substantially change the list of the foundations that appear in your research.

This is why the research for “church grants” may seriously restrict your funding options.

Yes, there are foundations that give grants to churches and religious organizations. However, if your church solves any issues in the community, research them as well.

Search Foundations by Funding Interest

So, Can Churches Actually Get Grants from Foundations?

Yes.

Private foundations, family foundations, community foundations and other charitable funders give grants to churches, ministries, religious nonprofits and faith-based programs.

What can be funded is highly variable and depends on the funder.

Some foundations may support church buildings.

Others may give grants to religious schools.

One may fund church food pantry but not religious program.

Other foundations may specifically fund ministries, missions or religious education.

And there are foundations that may specifically exclude religious organizations.

And this is why this statement:

“This foundation funds churches.”

is not sufficient information for you.

You also need to know:

What was it funding the church for?

And this is why the grant history is so important. Our recent blog how to find human services grants may be helpful to you as well.

Start From the Specific Need You Have

People having a discussion inside a church

Before conducting your research, complete this sentence:

We need funding for __________.

Not:

We need funding for our church.

Try to be as specific as possible.

Examples:

We need funding for $15,000 for the purchase of refrigeration equipment for our food pantry.

We need funding for $40,000 to increase capacity of our youth mentoring program from 40 to 75 students.

We need funding for the renovation of our community space that is used for weekly meal programs and emergency shelter.

We need funding for our mission project aimed at providing clean water in rural communities.

Those funding requests will lead you to different foundations. It’s important to understand what grant funding can be use for.

Here are some examples:

If You Need Funding For…	Research Also These Areas
Food pantry	Food security, hunger relief, poverty reduction
Youth ministry	Children & youth, education, mentorship
Community shelter	Housing, homelessness, human services
Recovery ministry	Addiction recovery, mental health, healthcare
Senior outreach	Seniors, aging services, social isolation
Prison ministry	Justice, re-entry, family support
Refugee ministry	Immigration, newcomer support, humanitarian aid
Clean water mission	International development, water access
Church school	Education, youth, faith-based education
Community counseling	Mental health, family services

Here you may find funding opportunities for faith-based organizations that go beyond “religion only” search.

What Can Be Funded Through Faith-Based Grants?

There are no universal answers.

Depending on the funder, the funding may cover:

Community outreach
Food programs
Youth programs
Family services
Emergency assistance
Housing and shelter
Addiction recovery
Counseling
Missions
Humanitarian programs
Education
Equipment
Vehicles
Accessibility improvements
Building renovations
Program staff
Operating costs
Religious programming

But the phrase “depending on the funder” is important.

Two funders may have the same recipients in their grant histories and support completely different activities.

One may support capital projects.

The other may fund only community programs.

So don’t rely on the recipient name.

Read the purpose.

You may also find our blog how to find foundations that accept LOIs, helpful.

$50,000 Grant to a Church Can Mean Almost Anything

Imagine that you found the following in a foundation’s history:

Recipient: First Community Church

Amount: $50,000

Promising?

Maybe.

Now imagine that this is the purpose of the grant:

Food pantry expansion

This information may be extremely valuable for your organization if it operates a food pantry.

However, it may be irrelevant for those who try to get money for sanctuary renovation.

Or maybe the grant was for:

General support for religious education

This is a completely different story.

Or maybe:

Capital support for a new community center

Again, a completely different one.

That is why the purpose column may be more informative than just the name of the recipient in the recipient column.

Who received the grant gives you part of the story. Why they received it gives you much more.

Grants for Church Buildings and Capital Projects

Church buildings are particularly difficult funding subjects.

Church buildings usually serve multiple purposes.

It may have a sanctuary, but it also may have:

Food pantry
Commercial kitchen
Classrooms
Daycare
Youth center
Shelter
Meeting rooms
Programming space for the community

Some funders may support church buildings exclusively.

Others may give grants for renovations that will help to improve community use of the building.

And others may not fund capital projects at all.

Funding requests related to church buildings may include:

Roof replacement
Accessibility improvements
Safety improvements
HVAC
Kitchens
Community halls
Classrooms
Youth spaces
Shelter space
New construction
Renovation
Equipment

For conducting the research for capital project, search for the funders who have a history of giving grants for construction, renovation, facilities, capital campaign and equipment.

The presence of the religious organization in the recipient list is not enough information.

Ministries Should Look For Funding Based On Their Mission, Not Only On Their Name

“Ministry” says nothing about what the organization actually does.

Consider these organizations:

Youth ministry.
Prison ministry.
Addiction recovery ministry.
Homelessness ministry.
Family ministry.
International mission organization.

All of them are ministries.

From the funding perspective, they have nothing in common.

A youth ministry can research youth development and education.

Prison ministry can investigate re-entry, justice and family services.

A recovery ministry may research addiction, mental health and healthcare.

A homelessness ministry may fit into housing, human services and poverty reduction.

This is one of the main advantages of faith-based organizations that started to see themselves not as belonging to one sector.

Missions Have an Even Greater Map of Funding Opportunities

Mission organizations tend to operate in multiple sectors at once.

Single international mission project may include:

Clean water
Food
Healthcare
School supplies
Agricultural assistance
Housing
Disaster relief
Child sponsorship
Religious outreach

Instead of putting all of these together under “missions” header, break it down.

You may find a foundation interested in clean water but not in evangelism.

Or interested in humanitarian aid but not in church construction.

Or in education, but only in specific countries.

There are also foundations that specifically target religious missions.

Again, the search strategy will depend on the project.

In case of international programs, pay attention to the geography of the foundation’s grants. If the foundation primarily gives money in the United States, chances that it is interested in overseas projects are very low.

Three Real Examples From Grant Advance

Below are three foundations from the Grant Advance database that demonstrate three completely different types of faith-based funding.

These are not just three foundations that happen to give money to religious organizations.

These are three completely different approaches to funding.

Foundation	What Its Grant History Shows	Grant Size	Why It Is Important	Grant Advance Profile
The ALSAM Foundation	Its 2024 grants include $16,650,237 to Skaggs Catholic Center LLC for performing arts center; $7.5 million to Judge Memorial Catholic High School for capital campaign; $490,260 to Saint Francis Xavier School for general support; $232,549 to Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic School for safety equipment/doors; and $50,000 to Cathedral of the Madeleine for Annual Bishop Dinner.	Average: $1.5 million Median: $304,929 Largest: $16.7 million	This is the example of large grants going to Catholic institutions, schools and capital projects. Grant Advance shows the giving in 8 states, with several of these visible religious grants concentrated in Utah.	View The ALSAM Foundation
Chestnut Family Foundation	Crossroad Community Ministries received $60,000 in 2022, $10,020 in 2023, $50,000 in 2024 and $10,000 in 2025. The foundation also awarded $500,000 to FAITH Inc. in 2024.	Average: $414,567 Median: $150,000 Largest: $5 million	This history tells you something else: repeat grants. Several grants to the same ministry over multiple years can indicate a sustained funding relationship.	View Chestnut Family Foundation
Mother Cabrini Health Foundation Inc.	Grants include $500,000 to Broome County Council of Churches for food recovery and healthy-food distribution; $250,000 to Jericho Road Ministries Inc. for shelter, legal assistance and healthcare for asylum seekers; $250,000 to Brady Faith Center for food production, workforce development and community education; $75,000 to Back to Basics Outreach Ministries Inc. for youth mentoring and job training; and $450,000 to Eger Health Care and Rehabilitation Center to preserve faith-based care for older adults.	Average: $255,717 Median: $150,000 Largest: $4.2 million	Here you see faith-based organizations getting funding for charitable activities: food access, healthcare, shelter, youth development, workforce programs and support for older adults. Grant Advance shows the giving in 18 states.	View Mother Cabrini Health Foundation Inc.

Source: Grant Advance foundation profiles and historical grant records. Grant-size figures represent overall foundation statistics and are not limited to faith-based grants. Historical grants do not guarantee current funding availability or eligibility.

Before Adding a Foundation to Your List, Ask These 5 Questions

You don’t need 40-point qualification system.

Just answer these five questions.

Has it funded an organization like ours?

Look at the recipient list.

Has it funded what we need money for?

Look at the purpose.

Does it give to the area we operate in?

Look at the geography.

Does it give grants of the amounts comparable to our request?

Look at the past grants, not the largest the foundation has ever given.

Do we have a chance to approach it?

Check the foundation’s application or inquiry process.

If several answers are “no”, then finding this foundation did not help you to get the grant.

Find Aligned Foundations

One Church. Six Possible Foundation Searches.

Let’s look at a practical example.

Suppose your church conducts the following programs:

1. Sunday worship

Search religion and faith-based funders.

2. A food pantry

Search food security, hunger relief and poverty reduction.

3. Youth mentoring

Search children and youth, education and mentorship.

4. A recovery program

Search addiction recovery, mental health and healthcare.

5. Senior outreach

Search aging services, seniors and social isolation.

6. A winter shelter

Search homelessness, housing and human services.

One church.

Six different funding paths.

That is why the strategy of typing “grants for churches” into a search engine and hoping for the best is not a good idea.

How Grant Advance Helps With This Type Of Research

This is when the ability to cross-reference foundation data is especially useful.

Grant Advance allows you to:

Search faith and religion-related funders
Search the sectors connected to individual programs
Cross-reference funding interests
Look through historical grants
Review previous recipients
Compare grant amounts
Review geographical patterns
Review foundation profiles
Save potential funders
Track outreach
Write Letters of Inquiry and proposals
Manage opportunities

Explore Grant Advance Search Engines

View Foundation Profile Pages

Questions Faith-Based Organizations Ask About Grants

Can churches get grants?

Yes. Some foundations fund churches and religious institutions directly, and others fund charitable programs run by faith-based organizations. Eligibility criteria vary depending on individual foundations. You can use Grant Advance to find foundations that give to faith-based organzations.

Can a church receive funding if the project is not religious?

Possibly. A church that operates a food pantry, shelter, youth program or any other charitable program is eligible for a grant from foundations interested in that particular project, as long as those foundations allow applications that come from faith-based organizations.

Are there grants for church buildings?

Yes, some foundations provide capital grants to faith-based organizations. As the examples of grants awarded by the ALSAM Foundation shown above indicate, many foundations historically allocate money to Catholic organizations and projects. But it does not mean that each foundation funds church buildings. You need to consider current requirements for eligibility.

Are there grants for ministries?

Yes. Ministries may seek grants from foundations that are interested in funding religion, as well as from foundations that are interested in the services provided by the ministries.

Can mission organizations receive grants from foundations?

Yes. Depending on the funder, mission organizations may seek grants for humanitarian aid, healthcare, food security, education, water, community development and religious ministries.

Does a grant include salaries of the ministry employees?

Some foundations allow covering salary expenses, while some others don’t. Allowable expenses will vary from grant to grant.

Do foundations that give grants for “religion” give grants for churches?

No, not necessarily. The idea is that foundations could fund churches for reasons that do not relate to religion, as long as the church is in line with the goals of the foundations in terms of food security, youth, housing, healthcare, etc.