Is your church exploring how to use its land or buildings for affordable housing or community-serving development?

The Good Next Step Grant Program is here to help! This unique, pay-it-forward initiative helps churches in Wisconsin move from vision to action with the funding and expert guidance needed to complete critical pre-development work.

Why Apply?

• Receive up to $40,000 in grant funds to support feasibility and early pre-development work
• Keep control of your property throughout pre-development and ensure it is used for community good
• Partner with trusted, mission-aligned development professionals
• Access tools and resources tailored specifically for churches
• Position your project for success and future funding
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An Example

First Church has completed the Good Futures Accelerator and is ready to explore the feasibility of developing housing on their land in Wisconsin. Working with RootedGood, along with a mission-aligned development partner like Threshold Sacred Development, they complete the Good Next Steps application process and receive a $40,000 grant. First Church contributes $20,000, creating a $60,000 pre-development budget that funds feasibility work such as site analysis, zoning, and financial modeling.

Importantly, these pre-development costs are part of any development project, but through this program they are largely covered by grant funding and paid upfront in a way that allows the church to remain in control. Rather than giving a developer early site control in exchange for covering these costs, First Church is able to guide the process, explore options, and choose the right partner based on real data.The feasibility process clarifies what is possible on the land and positions the church to move into development with confidence and leverage. If the project moves forward, the $60,000 is repaid to RootedGood as part of the project financing, typically from a construction loan, land sale, or lease proceeds, not from the church’s operating funds. RootedGood then recycles those funds to support another church.

In this way, a one-time investment continues to multiply, unlocking as much as $450 million in community-benefit development across Wisconsin and creating new places for thousands of people to live and experience community.

Who Should Apply?

Churches in Wisconsin that have completed the Good Futures Accelerator or a similar planning process, and who are ready to explore
development that includes community benefit—such as affordable housing, sustainability, or community gathering spaces.
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