Grants for Churches in Wyoming (2026 Guide)

What a congregation may and may not use grant money for under federal rules is explained in our grants for churches guide; this page covers Wyoming only. Wyoming programs for nonprofits that aren't congregations are in the Wyoming grants guide.

Wyoming Church Grants by the Numbers

Wyoming ranks 48th among the 50 states with 305 foundation grants to churches and ministries, and 83 of those went to just 18 recipients in Jackson. The table puts the outside-Jackson figures first because they describe what a church in the rest of the state can expect.

Jackson is a different market. According to the filings, Teton County's seat holds 83 of 305 grants and $4,889,394, 55% of all Wyoming church dollars, spread over only 18 recipients. One Jackson Episcopal parish alone drew about $3.09 million, 35% of the statewide total, including the only grant of $1 million or more in the data, a $2.1 million gift in 2025. Remove that one gift and the statewide average falls from $28,984 to $22,172. Grants of $100,000 or more are just 17 of 305, yet they carry 60% of the dollars. For a congregation in Riverton or Torrington, the honest benchmark is the $6,250 outside-Jackson median.

Typical checks are mid-sized. Statewide, 45% of Wyoming church grants landed between $5,000 and $24,999, ten points above the national share, and only 34% were under $5,000. Wyoming's median ranks third among the nine smallest church-grant states Grantsights compared, after North Dakota and Idaho.

Almost no one shops around. Only 28 foundations, 21%, gave to more than one Wyoming recipient, less than half the national 49%, and 11% gave to three or more. 38% made a single Wyoming church grant across the whole period, and 114 of 139 recipients had exactly one foundation supporting them. A mass appeal to these funders is a red flag; most are paying for the church a family belongs to.

A few donors set the totals. The top 10 foundations hold 59.7% of Wyoming church dollars, and the largest single foundation accounts for 23.8%. Still, 75 foundations, 57%, send most of their church giving to Wyoming, so these are mostly local donors, not distant ones.

Where Wyoming Church Grants Go

Casper is the strongest market outside Jackson, with 52 grants, $1.53 million, and a $9,418 median, according to Grantsights analysis of the filings. Cities here are recipient mailing cities, since the snapshot has no ZIP codes, and a diocesan or post office address can land a rural parish in a bigger town.

Casper's total leans on one church. Three program grants to a Casper community church, in 2023, 2024, and 2025, add up to about $875,000, more than half the city's dollars. The $9,418 median is the better guide.

Sheridan is the most open city. It has 51 grants from 22 foundations, and 9 of those foundations name an application route, with an $8,948 median. A Sheridan County congregation has a real case for a researched letter.

Cheyenne is thin for a capital. Forty grants from only 15 foundations, a $4,900 median, and just 3 route-naming funders make the state's largest city a weaker foundation market than Casper or Sheridan.

Cody's money is one project. A single $314,000 grant for an evangelical church's early-childhood academy expansion is most of Cody's $356,140, and the city median is only $2,000. Outside the top four cities, every Wyoming town in the data has 9 or fewer grants, and only 28 recipient cities appear at all.

Working the Church Funder List in Wyoming

Thirty-seven Wyoming foundations, 28%, name an application route on their filing, better than the 23.1% national share and fourth among the nine smallest church-grant states. That's the group worth contacting, and you can look up Wyoming church funders free to see which have funded churches near you. The Grantsights church funder list covers all 50 states: each foundation's church and ministry grants come straight from its own 990-PF, with the amount, recipient, year, purpose, and a link to the filing, along with whether that filing says the foundation takes requests. There's a single payment, no subscription, and a refund window of 30 days.

1. Read Part XV before writing. The 37 route-naming filings give an address, a format, and sometimes a deadline. Skip any funder whose past grants all went to one Jackson or Casper congregation.
2. Use the denominational counts. Catholic-named recipients appear 144 times in the Wyoming records and Episcopal 62 (a figure lifted by the Jackson parish's repeat grants), then Presbyterian 28, Baptist 21, Methodist 17, and Lutheran 12.
3. Schools lead the purposes. School mentions (20) top Wyoming's purpose keywords, ahead of missions (13), community work (11), and youth (10). A parish school, preschool, or youth program has the clearest pitch; building appears only 4 times.

The common mistake here is mailing the same letter to all 132 foundations. Nearly half (48%) gave the same recipient money in two or more tax years, which signals loyalty, not openness. Our guide to foundations that give grants to churches shows how to read a funder's history in its filing.

Article 1, Section 19 and Article 3, Section 36

Wyoming has 2 separate constitutional limits on public money for religious bodies, plus a third for school funds. Grantsights read them in the Legislature's compiled Wyoming Constitution (opens in a new tab) on November 9, 2026. Article 1, Section 19 reads in full: "No money of the state shall ever be given or appropriated to any sectarian or religious society or institution." Article 3, Section 36 adds that no appropriation shall be made "for charitable, industrial, educational or benevolent purposes to any person, corporation or community not under the absolute control of the state, nor to any denominational or sectarian institution or association." Article 7, Section 8 separately keeps public school funds away from private schools and from any school controlled by a church or sect.

Where the federal cases come in. Trinity Lutheran Church v. Comer (opens in a new tab) (2017) is the starting point: Missouri lost when it refused a scrap-tire playground grant to a church preschool solely because a church ran it. Espinoza v. Montana Department of Revenue (opens in a new tab), 591 U.S. 464 (2020), applied that reasoning to a state no-aid clause used against religious schools in a scholarship program, and Carson v. Makin (opens in a new tab), 596 U.S. 767 (2022), held that Maine couldn't drop schools from a tuition program because they teach religion.

What a Wyoming church can take from this. If Wyoming opens a program to every nonprofit, those decisions make it difficult to turn a congregation away only because it is one. They don't erase Sections 19 or 36, they don't oblige the state to create grants, and they don't pay for worship or religious teaching. Section 19's text speaks of "money of the state" and doesn't name counties or towns, but the text alone doesn't settle what local governments may do, so ask a Wyoming lawyer before relying on local funds. Our government grants for churches guide explains the federal limits.

Wyoming Security Grants for Churches

Wyoming's Nonprofit Security Grant Program is 100% federally funded with no cost share, per the Wyoming Office of Homeland Security's NSGP page (opens in a new tab), checked November 9, 2026. Its companion NSGP-NSS page (opens in a new tab) says the program can fund nonprofits "including houses of worship" at high risk of terrorist attack. Neither page posted FY2026 or FY2027 application dates, a per-site cap, or an application form on that date, so the next window and its limits are unknown; ask the program manager named on the page. Grantsights found no state-funded security grant for Wyoming houses of worship.

Plan for cash flow. Because Wyoming pays NSGP awards by reimbursement, a church must front the cost of cameras, locks, or lighting before seeing the money. Small congregations often underestimate that gap; line up a short-term loan or a reserve before applying.

On the federal side, according to FEMA's nonprofit security page (opens in a new tab), FY2026 funding is $300 million, evenly divided between urban-area and state tracks, compared with $274.5 million for FY2025, and places of worship are among the eligible organizations it names. FY2026 recipients were announced on September 28, 2026 (FEMA facts checked November 6, 2026). Our church security grants guide covers the vulnerability assessment, and the SAM registration guide covers getting a UEI.

Historic Preservation: The Wyoming Cultural Trust Fund

Wyoming's State Historic Preservation Office makes 0 grants to congregations directly; its funding help page (opens in a new tab) says it "only provides grants to Certified Local Governments" and points owners to the Wyoming Cultural Trust Fund, the Wyoming Historic Architecture Assistance Fund, and National Trust Preservation Funds. The Cultural Trust Fund is the one with a church track record.

The terms above come from the Fund's grants page (opens in a new tab) and grant process page (opens in a new tab). Neither mentions religious applicants. But the state's June 6, 2023 award release (opens in a new tab) listed $42,000 to Union Presbyterian Church of Evanston for stained glass restoration. The Fund's June 25, 2026 round (opens in a new tab) awarded $529,405 to 44 projects, none to a church, though it paid for a Thermopolis Masonic lodge's rewiring and masonry repairs at a Rock Springs museum.

Two cautions. First, the release doesn't explain how the Evanston award fit Article 1, Section 19, so call the program coordinator before investing in an application. Second, the Wyoming-incorporation rule trips up parishes that exist legally as part of a diocese; a friends-of-the-building nonprofit or the diocese itself may need to be the applicant. Frame the request around the building's public and historic value, such as tours, concerts, or community use, not worship.

Rehabilitation credits need income. The SHPO page directs credit seekers to the federal credit, which the National Park Service limits to income-producing buildings (opens in a new tab). A Wyoming sanctuary with no rental or commercial use falls outside it.

National programs, no Wyoming winner in 2026. The National Trust's grants page (opens in a new tab) offers Preserving Black Churches grants of $50,000 to $200,000 and National Fund for Sacred Places grants of up to $500,000. Its October 20, 2026 announcement (opens in a new tab) funded 30 of 466 applicants, and none were in Wyoming. Both programs get fuller treatment in our church building repair grants guide and the historic churches guide.

Food: TEFAP at 185% of Poverty, and an EFSP Set-Aside That Covers Most Counties

Wyoming sets TEFAP eligibility at 185% of the federal poverty level, the federal floor, according to the Department of Family Services' emergency food page (opens in a new tab). Its income table for February 2026 through January 2027 allows gross income up to $2,461 a month for one person and $8,591 a month for eight, plus $876 a month for each added member. Income is self-declared, and the table says people who come for meals at soup kitchens or shelters face no income test.

• Who distributes. The department works with the Food Bank of Wyoming in Evansville to supply pantries around the state.
• Churches already do it. The department's linked TEFAP pantry list includes St. Thomas Church in Dubois, St. John's Lutheran in Lovell, and a Baptist youth mission in Sinclair.
• The friction. At 185%, Wyoming's line is lower than Idaho's 200% or Montana's 300%, so some working families a church pantry serves won't qualify for TEFAP food and will need donated stock.

A church that wants TEFAP food should ask the Food Bank of Wyoming about becoming a partner pantry. Our church food pantry grants guide lists the records partners usually keep.

EFSP. Wyoming's Phase 43 (FY2025) Emergency Food and Shelter Program allocation is $250,000, per the EFSP National Board's Phase 43 allocation table (opens in a new tab).

The set-aside committee controls 55% of Wyoming's EFSP money, and for most of the state it's the only door. Just 9 of Wyoming's 23 counties have their own allocation, so a pantry or shelter ministry in the other 14, including Teton, Big Horn, Johnson, Converse, Goshen, and Sublette, applies through the set-aside. Grantsights didn't find a public web page for Wyoming's set-aside committee, so ask the national EFSP office or a neighboring county's local board for the current contact.

Denominational and Regional Funds in Wyoming

0 Wyoming judicatory grant programs for congregations could be confirmed on the bodies' own pages on November 9, 2026, so this section lists only public and national programs Grantsights could check.

Grantsights couldn't verify a current congregational grant program from the Foundation for the Episcopal Church in Wyoming (its funding page returned an error), the Wyoming Catholic Ministries Foundation (its site refused automated access), the United Methodist Mountain Sky Conference, the ELCA Rocky Mountain Synod, or the Wyoming Community Foundation (its grant FAQ doesn't mention congregations). Ask your own judicatory directly.

What Wyoming Church Grant Lists Don't Tell You

$6,250 is the typical grant to a Wyoming church outside Jackson, a number that statewide totals hide. Five things generic lists miss:

1. One resort town holds most of the money. Jackson has 55% of the dollars and one parish has 35%.
2. Few funders give twice. 79% of Wyoming's church funders gave to one recipient only.
3. State money has funded church glass. Despite Article 1, Section 19, the Cultural Trust Fund paid $42,000 for Evanston church windows in 2023.
4. Security money is reimbursement. The church pays first and is repaid later.
5. Most counties share one EFSP pot. The set-aside covers 14 of 23 counties.

A 90-Day Plan for a Wyoming Church

1. Weeks 1 and 2: get the records together. Gather your IRS exemption or group ruling, bylaws, officer list, and last year's financial statement. Check whether the church is separately incorporated in Wyoming, because the Cultural Trust Fund requires it.
2. Weeks 2 to 6: assess the building and site. Do a vulnerability assessment with photos for any future NSGP request, and document the building's age, history, and repair quotes for a Cultural Trust Fund application due April 1.
3. Weeks 4 to 10: write a few letters. Choose up to five route-naming foundations that have funded Wyoming churches like yours outside Jackson, and ask each for one project near the $6,250 median.
4. Weeks 8 to 13: food and the set-aside. Talk with the Food Bank of Wyoming about partner status, ask about the State Set-Aside Committee's next EFSP round if your county lacks its own board, and ask your diocese, synod, or conference about any 2027 grants.

The church grant path index groups programs by need, and the free eligibility checker shows open programs for your kind of organization. Congregations without paid staff should start with our grants for small churches guide. Churches near state lines can compare the Montana, Colorado, Utah, Nebraska, Idaho, and South Dakota church grant guides.

Limits of the Wyoming Data

305 grants is the count from private foundation filings Grantsights has loaded, not a full record of what Wyoming churches received. Individual donors, community foundations, and denominational funds don't file 990-PFs, and filings arrive a year or more after the grants. Purposes such as "support of organization" hide what money paid for, so keyword counts run low. A mailing address can place a ranch-country parish in the town where its diocese or treasurer gets mail. Grantsights couldn't confirm Wyoming's FY2026 or FY2027 NSGP dates or cap, a contact for the EFSP set-aside committee, or any Wyoming judicatory's congregational grant program.

Sources Checked

Each source below was read on November 9, 2026, except where a different date appears:

• Wyoming Constitution, compiled by the Legislature (opens in a new tab) (Article 1, Section 19; Article 3, Section 36; Article 7, Section 8); Trinity Lutheran Church v. Comer (opens in a new tab); Espinoza v. Montana Department of Revenue (opens in a new tab); Carson v. Makin (opens in a new tab)
• Wyoming Office of Homeland Security NSGP page (opens in a new tab) and NSGP-NSS page (opens in a new tab); FEMA NSGP page (opens in a new tab) (November 6, 2026)
• Wyoming SHPO help with funding (opens in a new tab); Wyoming Cultural Trust Fund grants page (opens in a new tab), grant process (opens in a new tab), June 25, 2026 awards (opens in a new tab), and June 6, 2023 awards (opens in a new tab); National Park Service tax credit eligibility (opens in a new tab); National Trust grants (opens in a new tab) and 2026 Sacred Places awards (opens in a new tab)
• Department of Family Services emergency food and commodity assistance page (opens in a new tab), with its linked TEFAP income table and pantry list; EFSP National Board Phase 43 allocations (opens in a new tab)
• Grantsights analysis of Wyoming recipients in the 990-PF filings Grantsights has loaded, tax years 2021 to 2025, as of November 5, 2026