AED Grants for Churches 2026: 30 Grants, $2,000 Median

For defibrillator funding at fire halls, libraries and ball fields, the general guide to grants for AEDs is the better starting point. That guide searched community-tagged grants and found no church by name among its 81 AED grants. This one searches the faith-tagged filings for church and ministry recipients instead, which is why it finds 30 where the other pull found none.

What the Filings Show About AED Grants for Churches

Thirty grants to 29 churches and ministries add up to $83,744, which tells you how small this corner of church funding is. According to Grantsights analysis of the 990-PF filings it has loaded (tax years 2021 to 2025, mostly 2023 and 2024), as of November 5, 2026, the median church AED grant was $2,000, a quarter were $1,500 or less and three quarters were $3,936 or less. Twenty-five of the 30 (83%) were under $5,000, and 6 were under $1,000. Nothing reached $25,000.

According to IRS material about Form 990-PF (opens in a new tab), private foundations use the return "to report charitable distributions and activities," so each row below comes from a public filing. The rows are quoted as filed.

Three things stand out. The largest row isn't a pure AED gift: the $9,630 to Armagh Methodist also paid for lighting and exit signs. A case in point for the usual size is one church in Connecticut, Union Congregation Church of Oakville, which received $3,216 from its local savings bank's foundation in tax year 2025. That grant bundles the device with training for 10 people, which is the request shape a small funder can say yes to in one meeting. And the $690 Moscow grant bought no device at all, only training and signs.

The 30 grants reached churches in 16 states. New York had 4, and Texas, Pennsylvania and Connecticut had 3 each. All 3 Texas grants came from one funder, the Kyle Lake Foundation, so don't read the Texas count as a statewide pattern. The Texas church grants guide and the Connecticut church grants guide show the wider church giving in those states.

Compared with all church giving, an AED is a small ask. The same snapshot holds 147,187 church and ministry grants from 32,236 foundations with a median of $5,000, so the typical AED grant is less than half the typical church grant. That's good news. A $2,000 request is easy for a local board to approve without a long process.

Who Gives: 3 Kinds of Local Funders

Twenty-five foundations made the 30 grants, and they fall into three rough kinds. This sorting is a reading of the funders' names and purposes, not a statistic.

Health-care foundations. Several givers carry "healthcare," "health care," "medical" or a care-home name. Many were formed when a local hospital or nursing home was sold or merged, and they give in a tight service area. The Lewis-Clark Valley Healthcare Foundation row above is typical: one parish, one town, a program name of its own.

Bank and business foundations. A savings bank foundation in Connecticut, a fuel retailer's foundation in Montana, a cabinet maker's foundation in Virginia and an NFL team's foundation in Buffalo all appear. These funders like a request with a unit count and a named location.

Family foundations and trusts. The rest are family foundations, some of which recorded only "AED" or "defibrillator" as the purpose. Two filings show the foundation paying the AED seller's invoice directly for the church, at $4,080 and $3,936, so the church never handled the money.

Civic clubs, memorial gifts and hospital community-benefit offices also pay for church AEDs, but they don't file a 990-PF, so they're invisible here. That gap matters. A Rotary or Lions club check, or a gift in memory of a member who died of cardiac arrest, is often the fastest route, and no filing search will show it. For the wider field of church funders, see foundations that give grants to churches.

Named AED Programs, Checked on November 9, 2026

Grantsights checked 8 named programs on their own pages on November 9, 2026. Only 2 describe giving a device to a nonprofit that applies. The rest are discounts, closed programs or pages that don't state church eligibility.

A few notes on reading that table.

The Kyle Lake Foundation is the only program here that names churches as past recipients of defibrillators, and the filings back it up: 3 church defibrillator grants in the snapshot, $2,134 in 2023 and two of $1,593 in 2024, all to Texas churches. Its filing doesn't show a way to apply, but its own site does, so use the site.

Hopey's Heart Foundation requires 501(c)(3) status. A church is generally treated as tax-exempt without applying for a determination letter, and some funders still want a letter. Ask the foundation what proof it accepts before you spend time on the form.

Firehouse Subs is the one many church lists get wrong. Its official funding areas page talks about first responders. Grantsights couldn't load the foundation's detailed guidelines on November 9, 2026, so this guide doesn't state whether a congregation qualifies. If you want to try, the stronger path is a joint request led by your volunteer fire department.

The Troy Savings Bank post is included as a pattern, not a live deadline. It's the clearest example of a local bank foundation naming faith communities for AED money, and banks in other counties run similar small rounds without advertising them nationally.

What the Federal Law and FDA Pages Give a Church

Federal law protects a church that owns an AED, with 3 conditions, and it pays for nothing. Grantsights checked the current text of 42 U.S.C. 238q (opens in a new tab), the section added by the Cardiac Arrest Survival Act, against what churches are told by sellers.

According to 42 U.S.C. 238q(a), a person who uses or tries to use an AED on a victim of a perceived medical emergency "is immune from civil liability for any harm resulting from the use or attempted use of such device." The organization that acquired the device shares that immunity unless the harm came from its failure to do one of three things: notify local emergency response personnel of where the device is placed, properly maintain and test it, or train an employee or agent who used it and would reasonably have been expected to.

Three limits are worth a trustee's attention. The immunity doesn't cover willful or criminal misconduct, gross negligence or reckless misconduct. The section says it doesn't require an AED at any location, so it never obliges a church to buy one. And it steps aside wherever a state has its own AED immunity statute for that class of people, and many states have one.

State rules add duties the federal text doesn't. Minnesota is one example Grantsights read on the state's own site. According to Minnesota Statutes section 403.51 (opens in a new tab), anyone who buys or obtains a public access AED must register it with an AED registry within 30 working days, keep it at the registered location, and keep it "reasonably maintained," which the statute says includes replacing dead batteries and pads. The law doesn't name churches. It turns on whether the unit is marked or displayed to encourage public use, and a sanctuary AED with a sign on the wall fits that description. Minnesota congregations can pair this with the Minnesota church grants guide. For every other state, read the statute on your legislature's site or ask your local EMS agency; this guide doesn't summarize laws Grantsights didn't load.

The FDA page is a buying check. According to the FDA's page on automated external defibrillators (opens in a new tab), last marked current on October 22, 2024, its table "lists all AEDs that have received premarket approval," and for a device that isn't approved, "compatible necessary AED accessories may no longer be available to support your AED after February 3, 2022." That matters most for donated and second-hand units. Before a church accepts a used AED from a member's business, look the model up on the FDA table.

As for federal money, the last Rural Access to Emergency Devices notice from the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) closed on April 30, 2014. According to HRSA's notice, as the Grants.gov record shows it, the program had a $150,000 award ceiling, 3 expected awards and $450,000 in total, and the record says "faith-based and community-based organizations are eligible" within a community partnership. Nothing newer is posted under that record. FEMA's nonprofit security program, covered in church security grants, is about protecting buildings against attacks, and government grants for churches explains what public money a congregation can and can't expect.

What an AED Really Costs a Church

A new AED package cost $1,573 to $2,357 on the first page of one national seller's listing on November 9, 2026. Grantsights read AED.US's public price pages that day; other sellers and models differ, and prices change, so treat these as one seller's shelf prices and get your own quote.

Those figures line up with the filings. Per the 990-PF rows in the snapshot, a $2,000 median grant buys roughly one new unit, and the Oakville church's $3,216 covered a device plus a class for 10. According to the AED.US listings read on November 9, 2026, a replacement adult pad set and a replacement battery together can run from under $200 to about $500 depending on the model, and both carry expiry dates.

That recurring cost is the one churches underestimate. A grant pays for the box on the wall once. Nobody grants you the replacement pads a few years from now, and an AED with expired pads or a dead battery fails the "maintain and test" condition that the federal immunity depends on. Pick the model partly on what its pads and batteries cost, and put the replacement dates in the trustees' calendar on the day it arrives.

What AEDGrant.com Doesn't Tell You

The word "grant" appears in the site's name, and its home page shows $0 in prices: no figure for the device, the sponsor's share or the church's share. Grantsights read AEDGrant.com's home page on November 9, 2026. It describes a "corporate sponsored AED Buy Down Grant" for "Public & Private Entities" and says the program makes devices affordable. It doesn't say who the sponsor is, what you'll pay after the buy-down, or how that compares with a normal retail quote. A linked page on who qualifies returned an error that day.

Here's what a church should take from that and from the other seller pages.

• A buy-down is a price cut. You still write the check. Whether it's a good deal depends on the final price for a named model, and the page doesn't publish one.
• An insurer's code is a discount too. Church Mutual's page offers policyholders 10% off at AED Superstore. On a $1,600 package that's $160, which helps, and it isn't funding.
• A seller's grant help can point back to you. Cardiac Life's AED grant page says it helps organizations access outside grants and a New York State tax credit, then adds, "Churches often ask their congregations for help." The page describes that credit as saving $500 on state taxes and says it requires state tax liability, which a tax-exempt congregation usually doesn't have.
• Free giveaways are lotteries. AED.US's donation page describes one unit a month and was closed to submissions on November 9, 2026. A second giveaway, Project AED365, says on its page that it donates one ZOLL AED 3 a day to "deserving organizations, schools, and individuals" and gives no application dates.
• None of these pages price the upkeep. Pads, batteries, a cabinet and training are sold separately, and they're where a seller earns money from you for the next decade.

The honest reading: seller programs can shave the price, and they're worth a quote, but a local foundation is the best bet for a church that wants the whole bill paid.

Who Gets Turned Down, and Why

Twenty-two of the 25 foundations (88%) paid for an AED at exactly one church, and only 1 paid three or more. That's the main friction. These aren't AED programs with a queue. They're local funders that said yes once to a congregation in their town, often one they already knew.

The better news is that 20 of the 25 (80%) have a filing that shows a way to apply, far above the 23% for church funders overall. Funders that buy safety equipment tend to be the ones that take requests. That doesn't mean any of them will fund your church, and it doesn't mean they're open this month.

A church request usually fails because of one of these:

• Wrong geography. A health-care foundation in one Idaho valley won't fund a parish two states away. Most of these funders give inside a county or a hospital's old service area.
• Asking a national program for one unit. Programs built for first responders or for big rollouts aren't set up to ship one device to one sanctuary.
• A request that reads as worship support. Some bank and corporate foundations exclude religious purposes. A request framed around the public using the building (pantry days, a polling place, funerals, scout meetings, a preschool) is about safety, and it's also accurate.
• No proof of nonprofit status. A funder that requires a 501(c)(3) letter may not accept "churches are automatically exempt" without paperwork. A denominational group ruling letter can answer that.
• No plan after the purchase. A funder that asks who checks the unit each month and gets no answer has a reason to say no.

If your congregation is small, the size of the ask works in your favor. See grants for small churches for how small requests fit local funders.

Common Mistakes and Red Flags

Six mistakes show up again and again in how churches go after a $2,000 purchase.

1. Treating a discount as a grant. It's a common mistake to stop looking once a seller "approves" a buy-down. Get the final price in writing and compare it with two other quotes.
2. Paying an application fee. A red flag: any AED "grant" that charges to apply or requires a deposit to hold your award.
3. Accepting an old donated unit unchecked. A hand-me-down that isn't on the FDA's approved table may have no pads or batteries available. Look it up first.
4. Budgeting only for the device. Churches underestimate pads, batteries, a cabinet and a class. Ask for all of it in one request; the Oakville filing shows a funder paying for the device and the training together.
5. Skipping the notice to local EMS. Under 42 U.S.C. 238q, the owner's immunity can turn on having told local emergency responders where the unit is. A call to the fire chief costs nothing and often turns up a loaner or a local donor.
6. Searching only for the word "AED." A cold request fails because the funder never gives in your county, not because it never typed "AED" on a return. Read a local funder's whole grant list using how to read a 990-PF.

A 7-Step Plan for a Church That Needs an AED

Seven steps, most of them doable in two weeks, get a church from "we should have one" to a funded unit on the wall.

1. Get a real quote. Ask two sellers for a written price on one FDA-approved model with a cabinet, sign, adult and pediatric pads, and a spare battery. Ask what the pads and battery cost to replace and how often.
2. Call the fire department or EMS agency. Tell them you plan to place a unit, ask about state registration, and ask who has funded AEDs locally.
3. List the local money. Name the hospital or health-care foundation, every bank with a branch in town, the community foundation, the civic clubs and any family foundation that already gives to your church. The free preview on the church grants page shows foundations that have given to churches in your state; its counts can differ slightly from this guide because it reads a newer pull.
4. Check your own house. Ask your insurer about an AED discount, and ask your district, diocese, presbytery or conference office whether it has a safety or small-needs fund. United Methodist congregations can start with grants for United Methodist churches.
5. Write one page. State the model, the price, where it will hang, who uses the building each week, who'll be trained, and who checks it monthly. How to apply for church grants covers the letter itself.
6. Ask for a memorial or matching gift in parallel. A $2,000 goal is within reach of one family or one special offering, and a funder likes seeing the congregation put in the training cost.
7. Look for other needs while you're at it. If the AED is one item on a longer safety or building list, run the free eligibility checker to see what else your church could ask for.

Churches that want every funder's church giving in one place can use the Grantsights church funder list. It covers every state and shows each foundation's church and ministry grants from its own 990-PF (amount, recipient, year, purpose and a filing link) and whether its filing shows a way to apply. It's one payment, with no subscription and a refund within 30 days. For a single $2,000 purchase, though, the phone calls in steps 2 and 3 may be all you need.

Limits of the Data

Thirty grants is a floor, and it's a low one. The count depends on a foundation writing "AED" or "defibrillator" on its return, and most purpose lines in church giving say only "general support." A church that bought its unit from a $5,000 unrestricted gift isn't counted.

Other limits:

• The filings cover private foundations. Community foundations' own grant rounds, hospital community-benefit gifts, civic clubs, insurers and individual donors aren't in a 990-PF, and they probably pay for more church AEDs than private foundations do.
• A small share of rows labeled 2025 are fiscal years that ended in 2025, so the years are best read as a range.
• Some rows bundle the AED with other work (lighting, ceiling repairs, a lawn mower fund), so the $83,744 total overstates what was spent on defibrillators alone.
• The wider snapshot holds 439 AED grants to all kinds of recipients, with a $4,000 median. Fire departments, sheriffs, schools and state health departments receive the large ones, and the church rows are about 7% of the count.
• Program details come from each page as it read on November 9, 2026. Pages change, and a page that didn't state a deadline that day may state one later.
• Prices come from one seller's public pages on one day.

For how church giving works beyond this one purchase, start with grants for churches. For AED funders that give to towns, schools and leagues, go back to the general AED grants guide.

FAQ: AED Grants for Churches

Are there AED grants for churches? Yes. The filings show 30 from 25 foundations, with a $2,000 median, nearly all from funders near the church.

Can a church get a free AED? Sometimes. The Kyle Lake Foundation and Hopey's Heart Foundation describe giving devices, and neither promises one to every applicant.

Are vendor AED grants real grants? Usually not. A buy-down or a promo code lowers the price, and the church still pays.

How much does an AED cost a church? One seller listed new packages at $1,573 to $2,357 on November 9, 2026, with pads and batteries extra every few years.

Is a church liable if someone uses its AED? Federal law gives conditional immunity, and your state's AED statute usually governs. Notify EMS, maintain the unit and train your people.

Is there a federal AED grant a church can apply for? Not an open one that Grantsights found. The last rural AED notice closed in 2014.

Sources Checked

Grantsights loaded each of these 15 AED sources on November 9, 2026.

• 42 U.S.C. 238q, liability regarding emergency use of automated external defibrillators (govinfo.gov) (opens in a new tab)
• FDA: Automated External Defibrillators (AEDs) (opens in a new tab)
• Minnesota Statutes section 403.51, automatic external defibrillation registration (opens in a new tab)
• Grants.gov record for the 2014 rural AED notice from HRSA, number HRSA-14-129 (opens in a new tab)
• IRS: About Form 990-PF (opens in a new tab)
• Kyle Lake Foundation: What We Do (opens in a new tab)
• Hopey's Heart Foundation: AED Grant Program (opens in a new tab)
• Firehouse Subs Public Safety Foundation: Funding Areas (opens in a new tab)
• Troy Savings Bank Charitable Foundation: AED mini grant post (opens in a new tab)
• Church Mutual: AED partner offer (opens in a new tab)
• AEDGrant.com (opens in a new tab)
• Cardiac Life: AED grant page (opens in a new tab)
• AED.US: AED Donation Program (opens in a new tab)
• AED.US: AED packages (opens in a new tab), pads (opens in a new tab), batteries (opens in a new tab) and church collection (opens in a new tab)
• Project AED365 (opens in a new tab)