January 10, 2009 -- Presbyterian Church of Bonham, a member of the 2008 New Dollars for New Partners training class, has received a grant from the Texas Office of  Partners for Sacred Places for building repairs and restoration. Partners for Sacred Places is a national, non-sectarian, nonprofit that provides funding, technical assistance and training to congregations in historic buildings.

Partners for Sacred Places assists congregations in using their facilities as tools to transform and serve those communities in which they exist.
 
According to Board Chair and Executive Developer James Nader, "The reason we selected First Presbyterian Church of Bonham was that they fulfilled the expectations of the program sponsored by the Wichita Falls Community Foundation and were persistent enough to complete the requirements, meet their goals and seek assistance for their project which was worthy of support. In addition, we felt that their application and project are representative of the goals and objectives we teach in our program and by awarding a grant would enable them to attract additional funding from other sources which is a tenant of the New Dollars for New Partners training."

First Presbyterian Church of Bonham file photo by Tammy Rich

 
The New Dollars for New Partners training teaches congregations strategies to increase their public value and the importance of self-reliance as well as to identify positive internal and external assets that can be used for the benefit of the community. Partners for Sacred Places provides funding for congregations who complete the New Dollars New Partners training program. Participants are eligible to receive a $5000 seed grant for an architectural assessment and can seek funding for up to $25,000 as a matching grant. 
 
For more information on Partners for Sacred Places, please visit our website at www.sacredplaces.org.  The Texas Office is located in Fort Worth.