Grants for Churches in Virginia (2026 Data and Rules)

For the national picture, including federal rules and how church grants work everywhere, start with our grants for churches guide. This page covers what's specific to Virginia.

Virginia Foundation Grants to Churches, by the Numbers

Virginia churches and ministries got 1,709 foundation grants from 968 foundations, according to Grantsights analysis of Form 990-PF grant records. That's about 3% of the roughly 57,000 church and ministry grants nationwide, and Virginia's $3,000 median is tied with New Jersey's for the lowest of the six states in this batch of guides.

Three things stand out.

Virginia money is thin and loyal. 78% of the foundations gave to only one church or ministry in the state, compared with 60% nationally. Only 95 gave to three or more. That's a red flag for any church planning a mass mailing: most Virginia foundations are family or member foundations giving to the congregation they attend, and they won't read an unsolicited letter.

The median is low, and the total is lumpy. More than half the grants were under $5,000, per the same 990-PF records. The $41.6 million total includes one grant above $8 million and 60 grants of $100,000 or more, so the average is far above what a typical congregation will see. Budget around $1,000 to $5,000 per first gift.

Purpose lines rarely help. The purpose counts below are keyword buckets, and most Virginia purpose lines say little more than "general support" or "charitable." Only 44 grants named youth work, 24 named a building, repair, or capital project, and 24 named food. Treat those as a floor, not a picture of what Virginia foundations fund.

See how many foundations gave to churches in Virginia, with two of their names, in the free preview on our hub page.

Where the Grants Went: Six Virginia Cities

Six cities account for 446 of Virginia's 1,709 church grants, about 26%, according to the same Grantsights analysis. The rest went to towns and counties across the state.

According to our analysis, Richmond's 195 grants are almost four times the next city's. Lynchburg's 53 are high for a city of its size, and Charlottesville's 53 line up with a community foundation that, unusually for Virginia, accepts religious applicants (more on that below). Northern Virginia is underrepresented for its population: only Merrifield, a Fairfax County mailing address, and Lansdowne, in Loudoun County, make the list. A church in Arlington, Alexandria, or Prince William shouldn't read that as no money nearby, because recipients there are spread across many small place names.

How the $29 Church Funder List Works for Virginia

Grantsights' church funder list is built from the foundations that reported grants to churches and ministries on their own IRS Form 990-PF filings. For Virginia, it names all 968: what each gave, to which church or ministry, for what, and a link to its filings. It covers every other state too. It's a single $29 payment, with no subscription, and a 30-day refund if it doesn't help.

How to use it in Virginia:

1. Start with the 95. Foundations that gave to three or more different churches or ministries are the only ones likely to consider a congregation they don't already know.
2. Read the purpose line before the amount. A foundation that gave $2,500 to four food ministries is a better lead for a pantry than one that gave $50,000 to a single parish building fund.
3. Check Part XIV. If the foundation says it only gives to preselected organizations, skip the proposal and look for a personal connection instead.

Our guide to foundations that give grants to churches walks through a 990-PF and a sample letter of inquiry.

What the Constitution of Virginia Says About Public Money and Churches

Virginia has three separate provisions on public money and religion, and Grantsights read each on the Legislative Information System (opens in a new tab) on October 17, 2026.

• Article IV, Section 16: "The General Assembly shall not make any appropriation of public funds, personal property, or real estate to any church or sectarian society, or any association or institution of any kind whatever which is entirely or partly, directly or indirectly, controlled by any church or sectarian society." The same section lets the General Assembly authorize counties, cities, and towns to make appropriations to charitable institutions.
• Article I, Section 16: the General Assembly can't "confer any peculiar privileges or advantages on any sect or denomination," or authorize "any tax for the erection or repair of any house of public worship, or for the support of any church or ministry."
• Article VIII, Section 10: "No appropriation of public funds shall be made to any school or institution of learning not owned or exclusively controlled by the State," with exceptions for public and nonsectarian private schools.

What the Attorney General said after Trinity Lutheran. In Opinion 17-038 (opens in a new tab), issued February 15, 2018, the Attorney General looked at Code section 15.2-953, which then barred localities from giving to charities controlled by a church. The opinion said Trinity Lutheran left the statute "vulnerable" to challenge, but the office was "unable to conclude beyond a reasonable doubt" that a court would strike it down.

What changed afterward. The current text of Code section 15.2-953 (opens in a new tab) adds that "no organization shall be prohibited from applying for or receiving public funds as part of a neutral grant or funding program from a locality on the basis of the organization's religious status," as long as the money pays for community services for secular purposes, without regard to the religious affiliation of the people served. The history line cites 2020 and 2022 amendments. So the 2018 opinion describes a statute that no longer reads the same way. For a church, the practical effect is that a city or county grant program open to nonprofits, such as a community services fund, can't turn a congregation away just for being a church, provided the funded work is secular.

What Grantsights didn't find. No Virginia court decision or later Attorney General opinion applies Trinity Lutheran (opens in a new tab) (2017), Espinoza (opens in a new tab) (2020), or Carson v. Makin (opens in a new tab) (2022) to Article IV, Section 16 itself. The closest live case is Hall v. Fleming, a challenge to Virginia tuition grants that exclude students in religious degree programs. The Fourth Circuit decided it on May 13, 2026, and a petition is pending at the U.S. Supreme Court (No. 26-193). It's about students, not churches, but a ruling could shape how Virginia's no-aid language is read.

For the federal rules on religious activity and direct federal money, see our guide to government grants for churches.

Historic Preservation: DHR Grants and the Rehabilitation Tax Credit

Virginia's historic rehabilitation tax credit is worth 25% of eligible expenses, but a church only reaches it through a partnership. DHR's grants mostly don't reach churches at all. Grantsights checked each DHR grant program page (opens in a new tab) on October 17, 2026.

A case in point. The closed Virginia 250 Preservation Fund awarded $516,064 to Trinity Episcopal Church in Staunton for accessibility work in the church building and yard, according to DHR's award list. The same list includes $210,500 to the Historic Polegreen Church Foundation. Those awards show DHR will fund a church when the program allows it. The program that allowed it is gone, though.

The BIPOC fund is the open question. The statute behind it, Code section 10.1-2202.5 (opens in a new tab), and DHR's April 2025 grant manual list eligible applicants as 501(c)(3)s, tribes, and localities, and Grantsights found no clause excluding religious owners. The 2026 cycle closed July 2, 2026. A historic Black church that is also a 501(c)(3), or that partners with a preservation nonprofit, should ask DHR directly before the February 2027 preapplication.

The tax credit. Under Code section 58.1-339.2 (opens in a new tab), the state credit is 25% of eligible rehabilitation expenses, carries forward 10 years, and can be allocated among partners. The per-taxpayer cap is $7.5 million for taxable years starting on or after January 1, 2025. DHR's FAQ still says $5 million, which was the cap before 2025. For a non-residential building, spending has to exceed 50% of the prior year's assessed value.

A church doesn't owe Virginia income tax, so the credit is worthless to it alone. DHR's FAQ describes the workaround: a church takes on taxpayers in a limited partnership and keeps a minority interest as general partner. Credits can't be sold directly. The common mistake is assuming the credit applies to the sanctuary. It applies to a certified historic building in income-producing or qualifying use, such as a former parish school converted to apartments.

For national preservation funders, see our church building repair grants guide.

Security Grants for Virginia Churches

VDEM's FY2026 Nonprofit Security Grant Program offered about $3.4 million in federal money, according to its FY2026 opportunity page (opens in a new tab). The page lists houses of worship as eligible, caps each application at $200,000, and lets one organization submit up to three projects totaling $600,000. Each facility needs a vulnerability assessment and an Investment Justification.

The window was short. The FY2026 application opened July 1, 2026 and closed July 10, 2026. The FY2025 round, with about $3.3 million, opened August 29, 2025. Ten days is not enough time to commission an assessment, so the assessment has to be done before VDEM announces the next round.

Northern Virginia applies elsewhere. Nonprofits in Arlington, Fairfax, Loudoun, and Prince William counties, Falls Church, Manassas, Manassas Park, and Alexandria are in the National Capital Region and apply through the District of Columbia's NCR program, not VDEM. A Fairfax church that files with VDEM is in the wrong line.

The federal money in Virginia. According to USAspending data for Assistance Listing 97.008 on USAspending.gov (opens in a new tab), NSGP obligations to Virginia recipients were about $7.5 million in FY2024 and about $6.1 million in FY2025. No FY2026 award to VDEM had posted on October 17, 2026.

No state fund. Grantsights found no separate state-funded security grant for Virginia nonprofits, unlike Pennsylvania or New Jersey. Searches of the Department of Criminal Justice Services and recent budgets turned up none, but that's an absence of evidence, so ask your regional VDEM coordinator.

Our church security grants guide explains how to write the Investment Justification.

Food: TEFAP Through Seven Regional Food Banks

The Federation of Virginia Food Banks is a network of seven regional food banks and more than 1,100 agency partners, according to its home page (opens in a new tab). Those seven are Blue Ridge Area, Capital Area, Feed More, Feeding Southwest Virginia, Southeastern Virginia and the Eastern Shore, Fredericksburg Regional, and Virginia Peninsula.

TEFAP. Per the VDACS state plan, the Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services is the state distribution agency for all USDA donated foods, and its TEFAP state plan (opens in a new tab), updated in November 2024, says VDACS uses the Federation of Virginia Food Banks to distribute TEFAP. A church pantry doesn't apply to VDACS. It applies to become a partner agency of the regional food bank for its area.

State money for farm food. The Federation says the Virginia Agriculture Food Assistance Program provides more than $1 million a year in grants for harvesting, packing, processing, and transporting Virginia-grown food to food banks. That money goes to the food banks, not to pantries directly. Grantsights didn't find a VDACS page confirming the figure.

USDA's rules apply to TEFAP food at a church: no worship, prayer, or religious instruction as part of the distribution, and no requirement to attend services. Our church food pantry grants guide covers recordkeeping and private food grants.

EFSP: Emergency Food and Shelter Money in Virginia

Virginia's Emergency Food and Shelter Program allocation for Phase 43 (FY2025) is $2,685,370, up from $1,756,777 in Phase 42, according to the EFSP National Board's Phase 43 allocation table (opens in a new tab). Virginia's State Set-Aside Committee gets $452,545 to distribute in areas that didn't qualify on their own.

The shift is big. Fairfax, Prince William, and Loudoun didn't appear in the Phase 42 table at all, and the state set-aside fell from $1,076,552 in Phase 42. A rural church that got set-aside money last time should expect more competition for a smaller pool.

A Local Board in each qualifying county or city picks the nonprofits, usually convened by the local United Way, and a church shelter, pantry, or rent and utility ministry can apply when the board opens. The National Board's latest news page (opens in a new tab) said on October 17, 2026 that allocations are posted but official award announcements haven't been sent, and that the spending period will be shared with the awards.

Community Foundations and Denominational Funds in Virginia

Virginia community foundations mostly exclude religious purposes, with one notable exception. Grantsights checked each funder's own site on October 17, 2026.

Two details worth acting on. The Peter J. Lee fund is for churches with average Sunday attendance under 200 and matches one to one, and a parish can apply for only one diocesan grant a year. The diocese's Creation Care Committee is also offering free energy audits to parishes: email by Friday, October 23, 2026, with applications due Friday, November 6, 2026.

A church's best workaround for the "no religious purposes" rule is a separately incorporated 501(c)(3) for its pantry, tutoring, or recovery program. Lynchburg and Roanoke both fund secular services, and a ministry with its own board and books can apply where the congregation can't.

What Virginia Church Grant Lists Don't Tell You

Most lists of Virginia church grants recycle national foundations and closed programs. Here's what they skip:

1. The Constitution is strict, but local programs opened up. Article IV, Section 16 bars state appropriations to churches, but Code section 15.2-953 now says a city or county can't exclude an organization from a neutral grant program for its religious status. Ask your locality about community services grants.
2. DHR's church money is closed. The Virginia 250 fund did pay churches, and it's done. Don't plan a roof around a state preservation grant.
3. The security window can be ten days. VDEM's FY2026 round ran July 1 to July 10. Applicants who start the assessment after the announcement often miss it.
4. Northern Virginia is a separate pipeline. NCR churches apply through DC, which is easy to get wrong.
5. Virginia gifts are small. A $3,000 median and 78% one-recipient funders mean a church needs several modest asks, not one big one.

Our view: the best first grant for most Virginia churches is the VDEM security program, if the building faces real threats, because it's the largest state-run pool that names houses of worship. Start the vulnerability assessment now for the 2027 round. For community programs, set up a separate 501(c)(3) and apply to the local community foundation. Skip DHR unless your building is a historic Black church that can work with a preservation nonprofit on the BIPOC fund.

A 90-Day Plan for a Virginia Church

1. Weeks 1 and 2: paperwork. Pull together the documents Virginia funders ask for: your State Corporation Commission filing, proof of tax-exempt status (a denomination's group ruling usually counts), a current board or vestry list, and last year's financial statement.
2. Weeks 3 and 4: registrations. NSGP applicants need a UEI from SAM.gov, and getting one can take weeks. Our SAM.gov registration guide covers it. If you're in Northern Virginia, find the NCR NSGP contact.
3. Weeks 5 to 8: pick three routes. A short list of multi-church foundations, one state-run program (VDEM security, the food bank, or your local EFSP board), and one regional or denominational fund.
4. Weeks 9 to 12: draft. Letters of inquiry for foundations, a vulnerability assessment for the next NSGP round, and a partner-agency application to your food bank.

Virginia churches running a pantry, shelter, or school program may qualify for more than church-specific money, and the free eligibility checker sorts that out in a few minutes. Our church grant path index groups routes by project type instead. For Virginia programs beyond churches, see our Virginia grants guide and Virginia nonprofit grants guide.

Churches near the southern border can compare our North Carolina church grants guide, and those with ties to the Mid-Atlantic can see Pennsylvania and New Jersey, all built on the same foundation data.

Limits of This Data

The Virginia counts include only foundations in our dataset, and 990-PF filings arrive a year or more after grants are paid. Matching by recipient name misses churches recorded under another name, such as "Chapel," "Tabernacle," or a saint's name alone, and some Virginia ministries listed at Fairfax County mailing addresses may serve people far beyond the state. USAspending.gov totals for NSGP may not include Northern Virginia churches funded through the District of Columbia's NCR award.

Sources Checked

All sources were checked on October 17, 2026:

• Constitution of Virginia: Article IV, Section 16 (opens in a new tab), Article I, Section 16 (opens in a new tab), Article VIII, Section 10 (opens in a new tab)
• Code of Virginia: section 15.2-953 (opens in a new tab), section 10.1-2213 (opens in a new tab), section 10.1-2202.5 (opens in a new tab), section 58.1-339.2 (opens in a new tab)
• Attorney General Opinion 17-038 (opens in a new tab) (February 15, 2018)
• DHR: grants and funding (opens in a new tab), Virginia 250 Preservation Fund (opens in a new tab), BIPOC Historic Preservation Fund (opens in a new tab), African American Cemetery and Graves Fund (opens in a new tab), Cost Share grants (opens in a new tab), tax credits (opens in a new tab)
• VDEM: FY2026 NSGP (opens in a new tab) and FY2025 NSGP (opens in a new tab); USAspending.gov (opens in a new tab), Assistance Listing 97.008, FY2024 to FY2026
• VDACS TEFAP state plan (opens in a new tab); Federation of Virginia Food Banks home page (opens in a new tab) and farms to food banks page (opens in a new tab)
• EFSP National Board: Phase 43 allocations (opens in a new tab), Phase 42 allocations (opens in a new tab), latest news (opens in a new tab)
• Funders on their own sites: Charlottesville Area Community Foundation (opens in a new tab), Hampton Roads Community Foundation (opens in a new tab), Greater Lynchburg Community Foundation (opens in a new tab), Community Foundation Serving Western Virginia (opens in a new tab), Episcopal Diocese of Virginia grants (opens in a new tab)
• U.S. Supreme Court: Trinity Lutheran (opens in a new tab), Espinoza (opens in a new tab), Carson (opens in a new tab), docket No. 26-193
• Grantsights analysis of Form 990-PF grant records, as of October 2026