About Us
Old Pine Street Church by Jason Ferris
Our Story
The 100,000+ historic houses of worship across America contribute significant value to their communities, and their historic and cultural significance are essential parts of our national heritage. Sacred places function as hubs for social service programs, provide essential spaces for community gatherings and social justice activities, and host a variety of arts programming, all frequently at low or no cost.
Although many historic sacred places are considered icons of stability in their communities, today congregations of every faith face challenges in stewarding their aging and architecturally complex facilities, often requiring increasingly diverse streams of funding to be sustained as centers of community life in the 21st century.
Please note: The term “congregation” is used to refer to the worshipping body or faith community of any religion including those that do not identify with this term (such as mosques/masjid). The National Fund accepts applications from any faith tradition and seeks to provide inclusive programming and resources across religions.
Our Mission
The National Fund for Sacred Places was established in 2016 to provide technical and financial support for congregations, building their capacity and increasing the stability of these critical yet disappearing historic community centers. A program of Partners for Sacred Places in collaboration with the National Trust for Historic Preservation, the National Fund is supported by $40 million from the Indiana-based Lilly Endowment Inc. The Gerry Charitable Trust provided additional support in 2019.
Our Vision
Now in its eighth year, the National Fund is made possible by $40 million from the Indiana-based Lilly Endowment Inc., with additional funding from the Gerry Charitable Trust in 2019. Since 2016, the National Fund has awarded or pledged over $21.5 million to 113 community-serving congregations representing 25 different faith traditions or denominations in 39 states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico. So far, this grantmaking has resulted in over $3 leveraged for every grant dollar invested in participating congregations. The National Fund administers monies through planning grants, wrap-around training and technical assistance, and matching capital grants ranging from $50,000 to $250,000.
What We Offer
St. Joseph Shrine by Teresa Chisholm
Staff Bios
The National Fund for Sacred Places is a program of Partners for Sacred Places in collaboration with the National Trust for Historic Preservation. The National Fund is guided by an Advisory Committee, bringing together faith leaders, architects, and philanthropists from across the country to inform the grant-making process.
Partners for Sacred Places
Partners for Sacred Places helps congregations and others with a stake in older religious properties make the most of them as civic assets in ways that benefit people of all faiths and of no faith. We are national, nonsectarian, and not-for-profit.
A. Robert Jaeger
President
Bob co-founded Partners for Sacred Places in 1989. Previously, he worked with the Philadelphia Historic Preservation Corporation as senior vice president for the Historic Religious Properties Program. He is the co-author of Sacred Places at Risk (1998) and Strategies for Stewardship and Active Use of Older and Historic Religious Properties (1996), author of Sacred Places in Transition (1994), and editor (from 1985 to 1989) of Inspired, a bi-monthly magazine with news and technical articles on religious property preservation. Bob holds a master’s degree in preservation planning from Cornell University and an MBA from the University of Michigan.
Gianfranco Grande
Executive Vice President
Gianfranco brings over 25 years of experience in management of nonprofit organizations and capital campaign fundraising to his role as Executive Vice President of Partners for Sacred Places. Educated at the Vatican Seminary, Gianfranco has worked with more than 1,000 community-serving urban congregations and built strategic relationships with local faith leaders, lay leaders, community leaders, universities, seminaries, public officials, and foundations. With his prior experience managing large-scale fundraising efforts, Gianfranco built on Partners’ menu of services to create and implement the organization’s consulting services arm. In 2012, he was awarded the Richard Nickel Award from the Institute of Architects (AIA) Illinois, recognizing his dedication to the principles of livable communities through grassroots initiatives, and over the last 20 years, he has successfully helped to raise over $80 million. In 2014, Gianfranco was inducted into the Board of Sponsors of Martin Luther King, Jr. College of Ministers and Laity of Morehouse College.
Rachel Hildebrandt
Director, National Fund for Sacred Places
A native Philadelphian, Rachel began her career at Partners for Sacred Places as an intern, carrying out surveys as part of the Economic Halo Effect of Sacred Places study in Philadelphia, Chicago, and Fort Worth. This work gave her a deep appreciation for what congregations do to support their communities and those most at risk within them. At Partners, Rachel assists with the National Fund for Sacred Places; economic impact research with congregations across the United States; research on the viability of resilience of congregations stewarding older and historic properties; and capital campaign consulting. She recently co-authored a chapter in the Routledge Handbook of Religion and Cities as well as Partners’ guide to transitioning property, Transitioning Older and Historic Sacred Places: Community-Minded Approaches for Congregations and Judicatories. Rachel holds a Master of Science in historic preservation and previously wrote on a freelance basis for Hidden City Philadelphia.
Emily Sajdak
Senior Project Manager
Emily came to Partners in 2017 to coordinate and facilitate capital campaign consulting services. Since that time, she has delivered feasibility and readiness studies, furthered grant-funded initiatives as a team member for the Nordic Churches Project and the National Fund for Sacred Places, and fostered connections with the preservation community in Chicago through participation in Landmarks Illinois’ Skyline Council. She previously worked with Rethos, the State Historical Society of North Dakota, and Calvin Theological Seminary. Emily holds a Master’s degree in Public History: Historic Preservation from Southeast Missouri State University, as well as a Master of Theological Studies and a Master of Theology in Old Testament from Calvin Theological Seminary.
Lily Hamilton
Grants Manager, National Fund for Sacred Places
As Grants Manager for the National Fund for Sacred Places, Lily helps manage grantmaking logistics while supporting congregations in the program. Previously, Lily supported the grantmaking team at Bread & Roses Community Fund as a Quaker Voluntary Service fellow, helping move critical dollars into the hands of movement organizations across the Philadelphia region. Lily is excited to be laying roots down in Philadelphia, but calls Virginia home. Outside of work, Lily can be found volunteering with local mutual aid initiatives. Lily holds a Master’s degree in Social Service Administration from the University of Chicago.
First Christian Church by Exhibit Columbus
National Trust for Historic Preservation
A privately funded nonprofit organization, the National Trust for Historic Preservation works to save America’s historic sites; tell the full American story, build stronger communities, and invest in preservation’s future.
Jennifer Sandy
Senior Director of Preservation Programs
As a preservation professional with 20 years of experience in the field, Jennifer works with individuals, communities, and organizations to help preserve and protect the places that matter to them. She leads the annual America’s 11 Most Endangered Historic Places program and manages the National Fund for Sacred Places for the National Trust. Prior to joining the National Trust, she coordinated the historic survey program for Indiana Landmarks before earning a Master of Fine Arts in historic preservation at the Savannah College of Art and Design. She has worked on various restoration and conservation projects and gained experience in public relations and marketing in Belfast, Northern Ireland.
Ann Phillips
Preservation Architect, National Fund for Sacred Places
As a licensed architect and historic preservationist, Ann believes community participation, cross-disciplinary design collaboration, and the history of place to be vital to the planning and design process. With her knowledge of historic building methods and contemporary design solutions, Ann brings a broad range of planning and design expertise to the National Fund for Sacred Places. She advocates not only for historic appropriateness but also for the long-term stability and continued use of meaningful community structures. Prior to joining the National Trust in 2022, Ann worked in the public, private, and non-profit sectors on a variety of projects ranging from city-wide strategic preservation initiatives to the adaptive reuse and rehabilitation of individual buildings. Ann holds a Master of Architecture degree and a Master of Science degree in Historic Preservation from the University of Oregon as well as a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in Interior Design from Iowa State.
Dawn Ellis
Associate Manager, National Fund for Sacred Places
Dawn is a historic preservationist with more than a decade of experience with community based historic preservation organizations. Prior to joining the National Trust, she worked in the nonprofit sector, including academia and public media, in grants administration. She earned a Master of Arts in historic preservation at Ursuline College and a Bachelor of Arts in Hispanic and Continental European Literature at Boston University.
Nicky Vann
Director of Grants & Awards Programs
Nicky has been at the National Trust for 16 years and currently oversees the organization’s grantmaking and awards programs. Nicky establishes the programmatic direction and implementation of the National Trust’s grants and awards programs and provides budget oversight for the department. Her work ensures that these programs are both aligned with National Trust goals and serve the broader preservation field, while also keeping with current best practices in grantmaking. Prior to the National Trust, Nicky worked for various women’s organizations, overseeing grantmaking and program compliance at Zonta International and Genesis House in Chicago, and the American Association of University Women in Washington, D.C. Nicky holds a Bachelor of Arts in history from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
Diana Maxwell
Senior Manager of Grants
Diana started at the National Trust as a program assistant in the contracts department in 2009. She joined the grants team in 2014, and now as senior manager of grants oversees grantmaking at the National Trust. In addition to day-to-day grant operations, Diana is focused on grant programs with internal or external partners, such as the HBCU Cultural Heritage Stewardship program, the National Fund for Sacred Places, and the African American Cultural Heritage Action Fund. Diana graduated cum laude from Cornell University with a Bachelor of Science in communication in 2007 and graduated from George Washington University in 2009 with a Master of Arts in museum studies, with concentrations in museum administration and historic preservation.
First Indian Presbyterian Church by Volkard Graf
Advisory Committee
The National Fund Advisory Committee is comprised of experienced and qualified professionals and leaders representing the key sectors with a stake in sacred places, including religious leadership, architecture and design, historic preservation, capital project financing and funding, and ministry and outreach. The Advisory Committee supports Partners and National Trust staff in reviewing the program applications and evaluating projects based on the funding criteria.
Barbara Abrajano
Director of Development and Community Engagement, East-West University; President, Council of Religious Leaders of Metropolitan Chicago
Alice Antonelli
Director, Nonprofit Finance Fund
Rabbi Michael Balinsky
Board Member, Partners for Sacred Places
The Rt. Rev. Jennifer Baskerville-Burrows
Bishop, Episcopal Diocese of Indianapolis
Stephanie Boddie, Ph.D MSW
Assistant Professor of Church and Community Ministries, Baylor University
The Rev. Dr. Christopher Coble
Religion Division, Lilly Endowment Inc.
Mark Constantine
President and CEO, Richmond Memorial Health Foundation
Marsh Davis
President, Indiana Landmarks
The Rev. Katie Day, Ph.D
Charles A. Schieren Professor Emerita of Church and Society, United Lutheran Seminary, Philadelphia
The Rev. Dr. Thomas E. Frank
President, Heritage Conservation Carolina; Retired University Professor, Wake Forest University
Christopher S. Hunter, PhD, Assoc. AIA, CSI, CDT
Assistant Professor, School of Architecture, Mississippi State University
Catherine Lynch
Development Specialist, Presbyterian Church (USA) Investment and Loan Program
The Rev. Katherine Glaze Lyle
Retired Pastor, North Texas Annual Conference, United Methodist Church
The Rev. Brian Williams
Program Director, Religion; Lilly Endowment Inc.
Ariana Makau, MA
President & Principal Conservator, Nzilani Glass Conservation
Jorge Rigau, FAIA
Architect, Arquitectos PSC
The Rev. Robb R. Webb III
Director of the Rural Church Program, The Duke Endowment
Robin Whitehurst
Principal, Bailey Edwards Architects; Board Chair, Partners for Sacred Places
Edward Torrez, RA, AIA, LEED AP, NCARB
President and Principal, Bauer Latoza Studio
Stories and Media Coverage
Read more about how the National Fund for Sacred Places is helping congregations around the country rehabilitate their sacred places.
Lafayette Avenue Presbyterian Church by Luis P. Gutierrez