Partners for Sacred Places

Programs and consulting. This program offers in-person and remote training and support to congregations and others with older religious properties. Our signature program, new dollars/new Partners, has helped leaders from over 1,000 Sacred Places build their capacity, form new community partnerships, and raise new funds from outside their congregations. In addition, we also provide individualized support services, working one-on- one with congregations to measure their community impact, facilitate space sharing, raise funds, deepen engagement with their communities, and more.

Re-grants. This program provides capital grants to Sacred Places, which have been leveraged by recipients to secure additional funding. In 2016, the organization established the national fund for Sacred Places in collaboration with the national trust for historic preservation. The national fund for Sacred Places is a grant-making and capacity-building program to help significant historic Sacred Places successfully complete major capital projects and to bring greater attention to the role of Sacred Places in america. In addition, Partners for Sacred Places provides capital grants to churches in central appalachia and the upper midwest.

Research. The organization has been a research leader, defining and energizing the study of the public value of religious assets with our 1999 landmark study, Sacred Places at risk: new evidence on how endangered older churches and synagogues serve communities, and our 2016 study, the economic halo effect of Sacred Places, and updated with our 2022 economic halo effect in rural churches. Because of these studies, which documented dozens of ways Sacred Places contribute to their communities and local economies, the program enables congregations from around the country to advocate for increased community support.