Give a man a fish, you feed him for a day;

Teach a man to fish, you feed him for a lifetime.

The average congregation owning a historic building will have to spend more than $225,000 over the next several years in building maintenance and repair. Tragically, many of Cincinnati’s older churches, synagogues, temples and meetinghouses face slow deterioration, threatening our diverse cultural heritage.

To help preserve this priceless legacy, Cincinnati Preservation Association’s sacred sites initiative has been expanded. Through training programs and most recently, capital planning grants, some of Cincinnati’s most important landmarks are now facing a more secure future.

In 2004, CPA concluded a unique model program designed to proactively preserve Cincinnati’s historic sacred sites. Ten congregations graduated from this intensive year-long training program equipped with the skills and knowledge to raise the funds necessary for the maintenance and repair of their historic buildings.

In 2006, CPA expanded the pilot program by establishing a seed grant fund for capital planning projects. Congregations were required to make a formal grant request to CPA, and to raise $1,000 in matching dollars from their own fundraising efforts in order for funds to be received.

This innovative program maintained the congregations’ momentum by facilitating the next critical steps in meeting their capital needs. It also put them in a better position to leverage new sources of funding.

Through this proactive program CPA has distributed $60,000 and leveraged an additional $10,000 from the congregations’ fundraising efforts to invest in securing the future of Cincinnati’s historic sacred sites.