Fund to preserve, assist Black churches gets $20M donation

By JAY REEVES
Associated Press

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (AP) — A new effort to preserve historic Black churches in the United States has received a $20 million donation that will go to help congregations. The National Trust for Historic Preservation says Lilly Endowment Inc. contributed the money to the African American Cultural Heritage Action Fund. It will serve as seed funding for the Preserving Black Churches Project. The first recipient is St. James AME Church, which was badly damaged during the tornado that ripped through Mayfield, Kentucky, last month. It will receive $100,000. The project plans to assist more than 50 Black churches nationwide over the next three years.