Grants for Churches in Ohio (2026 Guide)

For the national picture, including federal rules and how church grants work in general, start with our grants for churches guide. This page covers Ohio. For programs beyond churches, see the Ohio grants guide and Ohio nonprofit grants.

Foundation Grants to Ohio Churches by the Numbers

Ohio churches and ministries received 2,145 foundation grants from 1,197 foundations, according to Grantsights analysis of Form 990-PF grant records. Those grants went to 1,403 different recipients.

The money runs smaller than the state's size suggests. Ohio's $37.8 million total is below Illinois's $51.9 million and North Carolina's $47.5 million, and only 15% of Ohio grants reached $25,000. The total includes one gift of about $1.9 million, so the median of $5,000 is the realistic number for budgeting. Most Ohio foundation gifts to churches pay for one program or part of one repair.

Seven in ten funders gave to one church. 70% of the 1,197 foundations gave to a single Ohio recipient, ten points above the 60% national rate. Those are mostly family foundations giving where the family worships. The 170 that funded 3 or more Ohio churches or ministries are the list worth working.

Purposes are mostly blank. Purpose lines are vague in most filings, so keyword buckets undercount. Among the 2,145 grants, 60 named youth work, 38 named food, and 33 named building, repair, or capital work. A church shouldn't read the low building count as "foundations won't fund roofs." It mostly means filers wrote "general support."

You can see how many foundations gave to churches in Ohio for free, with two named and one shown in full. The Grantsights church funder list, at $29, covers Ohio and every other state. It names every foundation that reported church and ministry grants on its own IRS Form 990-PF filings, with what each gave, to which church or ministry, for what, and a link to its filings. One payment, no subscription, and a 30-day refund if it doesn't help.

Where Ohio Church Grants Go

Ohio's church grants are spread across its metros instead of piling up in one city. According to our analysis of the same filings, six cities hold 883 of the 2,145 grants, about 41%.

Two numbers stand out. Columbus is Ohio's largest city by far, yet its churches and ministries got 137 grants, fewer than Akron's 153. And Cincinnati leads the state with 299, reflecting a deep base of local family foundations. A Columbus congregation should expect to look harder for foundation money, and should weigh the denominational and community foundation funders below more heavily. Churches in Appalachian Ohio and the rural northwest are further from these six pools still.

Working the $29 List in Ohio

The list includes all 1,197 Ohio foundations above. Three ways to use it here:

1. Begin with the 170 multi-church funders. A foundation that gave to 3 or more different Ohio churches or ministries has shown it will fund beyond one family's congregation.
2. Stay in your metro. Ohio family foundations tend to give near home. A Summit County funder with several Akron church gifts is a better fit for an Akron church than a Cincinnati funder with one.
3. Look for the preselected box. If the 990-PF says the foundation only gives to preselected organizations, don't send a proposal. A short introduction through a member who knows a trustee is the only realistic approach.

Our guide to foundations that give grants to churches shows how to read a 990-PF and includes a sample inquiry letter.

What the Ohio Constitution Says About Public Money and Churches

Ohio's Constitution has no clause banning all public aid to churches, which makes it different from neighbors like Michigan and Illinois. Grantsights read the relevant sections on codes.ohio.gov (opens in a new tab) on October 17, 2026.

• Article I, Section 7: "No person shall be compelled to attend, erect, or support any place of worship, or maintain any form of worship, against his consent; and no preference shall be given, by law, to any religious society." The same section directs the General Assembly to "protect every religious denomination in the peaceable enjoyment of its own mode of public worship."
• Article VI, Section 2 (opens in a new tab): "no religious or other sect, or sects, shall ever have any exclusive right to, or control of, any part of the school funds of this state."
• Article VIII, Section 4 (opens in a new tab): "The credit of the state shall not, in any manner, be given or loaned to, or in aid of, any individual association or corporation whatever." This applies to all private bodies, not only religious ones.

What's happening in court. The live dispute is about schools. In Columbus City School District v. State, the Franklin County Common Pleas Court ruled in June 2025 that the EdChoice voucher program was unconstitutional, including on the claim that public money supported religious schools. On October 15, 2026, the Tenth District Court of Appeals affirmed on other grounds, the state's duty to fund common schools, and said it didn't reach the remaining claims, including the religious-control clause. The court noted that the U.S. Supreme Court held provisions like that one violate the Free Exercise Clause in Espinoza and Carson. Enforcement is stayed pending a further appeal. Grantsights didn't find an Ohio Attorney General opinion applying those cases to churches.

What the federal cases mean for a church. Trinity Lutheran Church v. Comer (opens in a new tab) (2017) held that a state can't exclude a church from a generally available grant because it's a church. Espinoza (opens in a new tab) (2020) and Carson v. Makin (opens in a new tab) (2022) extended that reasoning to school aid. Ohio mostly hasn't tested it with churches, because its main church-relevant state program, the Ohio Security Grant, names houses of worship as eligible by statute.

Federal money that Ohio agencies pass through, including NSGP, TEFAP, and EFSP, still bars spending on worship, religious instruction, or proselytizing. Our government grants for churches guide explains those limits.

Ohio Security Grants for Churches

The Ohio Security Grant has distributed more than $42 million since Governor DeWine created it in 2019, according to the governor's announcement (opens in a new tab) of its latest round. It's state money, not federal, and Ohio EMA's program page (opens in a new tab) says House Bill 96 authorizes grants to "nonprofit organizations, houses of worship, chartered nonpublic schools, and licensed preschools."

Grantsights couldn't confirm the SFY2027 per-site maximum, because that round's funding notice was no longer posted on October 17, 2026. The figures above come from the SFY2026 FAQ (opens in a new tab).

Timing is the catch. The last two state rounds opened in different seasons: the SFY2026 round closed October 24, 2025, and the SFY2027 round closed May 15, 2026. A church that waits to hear about the next round from a newsletter often has only a few weeks. Get a vulnerability assessment and contractor quotes now, so the application is a matter of filling in the form.

The federal NSGP. Ohio EMA is also the State Administrative Agency for FEMA's Nonprofit Security Grant Program (opens in a new tab). According to USAspending.gov data for Assistance Listing 97.008, Ohio's NSGP obligations were $7.3 million in FY2025 and $11.8 million in FY2024 (USAspending.gov search (opens in a new tab)). Those obligations go to the Ohio Department of Public Safety, which passes awards to nonprofits.

Our view: an Ohio church that hasn't applied before should aim for the state grant first. It's state money written for houses of worship among others, and its $125,000 per-site ceiling in the SFY2026 round covers most church projects. Our church security grants guide covers how to prepare for the federal program when you're ready.

Historic Preservation: Ohio History Fund and the State Tax Credit

The Ohio History Fund's Bricks and Mortar grants run from $2,000 to $20,000, according to the Ohio History Connection's 2026 grant guidelines (opens in a new tab). Eligible applicants are "Ohio-based, nonprofit organizations in good standing," and the guidelines don't exclude religious organizations. A Cleveland Baptist church appears on the fund's 2023 recipient list.

Bricks and Mortar rules that matter for a church:

• The building must be on the National Register or locally designated, and owned by the applicant or held on a long-term lease.
• The match is 60/40, and the property owner agrees to maintain the historic features after the grant.
• One open History Fund grant per organization at a time.
• The 2026 deadline was September 8, 2026. The application opens by June 30 each year, so plan for a late-summer 2027 deadline.

The state tax credit. The Ohio Historic Preservation Tax Credit (opens in a new tab), run by the Department of Development, covers up to 25% of qualified rehabilitation costs, rising to 35% in cities under 300,000 people and unincorporated areas, with a $5 million cap. Unlike most state credits, Ohio's statute lets the excess over tax owed be refunded, up to $3 million a year, under ORC 5747.76 (opens in a new tab). Applicants are the fee-simple owner or a qualified lessee, and scoring weights potential economic impact heavily.

That sounds promising for a tax-exempt church, but the refund provision is written for taxpayers filing Ohio returns, and Grantsights couldn't confirm how a church with no Ohio tax liability would claim it. Round 37 applications were due September 30, 2026, with awards on or before December 31, 2026. A church weighing the credit should talk to the Department of Development and a tax adviser before counting on it, and expect the common route to be a reuse project with a developer partner.

What the SHPO's grants don't cover. The State Historic Preservation Office's Certified Local Government grants go only to participating local governments, so a church can't apply. For national building funders, see our church building repair grants guide.

Food: TEFAP, Ohio's 12 Food Banks, and EFSP

The Ohio Association of Foodbanks represents Ohio's 12 Feeding America food banks and 3,600 hunger relief agencies serving all 88 counties, according to its website (opens in a new tab). The association also runs two state-funded programs, the Ohio Food Program and the Agricultural Clearance Program, which buy Ohio-grown food for the same network. Grantsights couldn't confirm the current state appropriation for either.

TEFAP. The Ohio Department of Job and Family Services is the TEFAP state agency. Its 2026 procedural manual splits the 88 counties into 8 regions, each with a regional agent, and sets household eligibility at 200% of the federal poverty level. That's lower than many states: Illinois uses 300%. A church pantry joins by signing on as a partner agency of its regional food bank. According to USDA rules for TEFAP, worship or prayer can't be part of a distribution, and no one can be required to attend a service to get food.

EFSP. Ohio's Emergency Food and Shelter Program allocation for Phase 43 (FY2025) is $4,058,713, up from $3,983,591 in Phase 42, according to the EFSP National Board's Phase 43 allocation table (opens in a new tab).

A red flag for rural Ohio: the State Set-Aside, which serves counties that don't qualify on their own, fell from $307,708 to $32,449, about 89%. A church pantry in a non-qualifying county has far less to compete for this phase. In qualifying counties, Local Boards, usually convened by the United Way, choose the recipients. The National Board's latest news page (opens in a new tab) said award letters and local board plans were still pending on October 17, 2026.

Our church food pantry grants guide covers the records food banks and EFSP boards ask for.

Community Foundations and Denominational Funds in Ohio

Of the six Ohio funders below, three are open to churches now or soon. Grantsights checked each on its own site on October 17, 2026.

The Cleveland Foundation's wording is unusual. Most large community foundations require a separate 501(c)(3), but it says outright that it makes grants to churches, as long as the purpose isn't religious. A case in point is a church-run tutoring program or senior meal open to the neighborhood, which fits the rule, while a worship renovation doesn't.

What Ohio Church Grant Lists Don't Tell You

Most Ohio church grant lists stop at national foundations. Five things they miss:

1. Ohio pays houses of worship from its own budget. The Ohio Security Grant names them in its authorizing law, House Bill 96, and Ohio has no constitutional clause barring aid to churches in general.
2. The security rounds move. One round closed in October, the next in May. Churches that underestimate prep time miss the window.
3. Columbus is thin on church foundation money. Its churches got 137 grants in our data, fewer than Akron's 153.
4. Rural EFSP money dropped sharply. The State Set-Aside fell about 89% between Phase 42 and Phase 43.
5. The state tax credit is refundable, but not clearly for churches. It's worth a call to the Department of Development before a church assumes it's out, or in.

A 90-Day Plan for an Ohio Church

1. Now through October 31: Ignite Ohio. If you're a chartered United Methodist church, submit an application before the month ends.
2. Weeks 1 to 3: documents. Pull together IRS status evidence (a group exemption letter usually works), incorporation papers, a board list, and a financial statement. Get a UEI through SAM.gov; our SAM.gov registration guide explains it.
3. Weeks 4 to 8: security prep. Arrange a vulnerability assessment and two contractor quotes so you're ready when the next Ohio Security Grant round opens.
4. Weeks 9 to 12: foundations and preservation. Send short inquiry letters to multi-church foundations in your metro. If your building is listed or locally designated, start a conditions assessment for the 2027 History Fund round.

To see what else your organization may qualify for, try the free eligibility checker, or choose by project type on our church grant path index.

Ohio churches can compare our church grant guides for neighboring Pennsylvania and Michigan, and for Illinois, built on the same foundation data.

Limits of This Data

These counts cover only the foundations in the Grantsights dataset, and 990-PF filings arrive a year or more after grants are paid. Purpose lines are often vague, so the youth, food, and building counts undercount. Name matching misses churches recorded under other names. Grantsights couldn't confirm the SFY2027 Ohio Security Grant's per-site maximum, the state funding for the Ohio Food Program, or whether an appeal of the EdChoice decision has been filed with the Ohio Supreme Court.

Sources Checked

All sources were checked on October 17, 2026:

• Ohio Constitution on codes.ohio.gov: Article I, Section 7 (opens in a new tab), Article VI, Section 2 (opens in a new tab), Article VIII, Section 4 (opens in a new tab)
• Tenth District Court of Appeals, Columbus City School District v. State, Nos. 25AP-603, 604, and 605, decided October 15, 2026
• Ohio EMA: Ohio Security Grant (opens in a new tab), SFY2026 FAQ (opens in a new tab), and federal NSGP (opens in a new tab); governor's announcement (opens in a new tab)
• USAspending.gov (opens in a new tab), Assistance Listing 97.008, Ohio, FY2024 and FY2025
• Ohio Revised Code 149.311 (opens in a new tab) and 5747.76 (opens in a new tab); Department of Development tax credit program policies (July 2026) and Round 37 application guide
• Ohio History Connection: Ohio History Fund guidelines (opens in a new tab), recipient list, and CLG grants (opens in a new tab)
• ODJFS TEFAP procedural manual (2026); Ohio Association of Foodbanks (opens in a new tab)
• EFSP National Board: Phase 43 allocations (opens in a new tab), Phase 42 allocations (opens in a new tab), and latest news (opens in a new tab)
• Funder guidelines on their own sites: East and West Ohio Conferences (Ignite Ohio), The Cleveland Foundation, Akron Community Foundation, The Catholic Foundation, Episcopal Diocese of Southern Ohio
• Supreme Court opinions: Trinity Lutheran (opens in a new tab), Espinoza (opens in a new tab), Carson (opens in a new tab)
• Grantsights analysis of Form 990-PF grant records, as of October 2026