Socorro Mission Wins $500,000 Grant for Restoration, but Must Raise Matching Funds

La Purísima Socorro Mission in Socorro, Texas, has been awarded a $500,000 capital grant to support restoration of the historic building. The award comes with a condition: the community must raise an equal amount locally to secure the matching funds.

Together, the grant and the local match would provide $1 million toward a $2 million restoration campaign that remains underway. Organizers are asking for donations, sponsors and community partners to help meet the match and pay for the wider project.

The funds are earmarked for several repairs. They include work on the mission's adobe walls and historic plaster, drainage improvements and a full roof replacement. The work is meant to make the building safer and more durable while keeping its historic character intact.

A fundraiser on Oct. 17 at Bodega Loya drew local chefs, performers, sponsors and community supporters. Organizers said proceeds from the event, along with the awareness it generated, will go toward the ongoing campaign.

Marty Loya, a restoration campaign representative, described the grant as both an opportunity and a challenge. "This grant is an extraordinary opportunity for Socorro Mission and for the entire community, but it is also a call to action," Loya said. "We must continue building on that momentum to secure the match and reach the full restoration goal."

The mission was chosen from a national pool of applicants. The 2026 National Fund for Sacred Places cohort includes 30 congregations that will receive more than $9 million in capital grants. They will also receive technical assistance in planning, community engagement and fundraising.

The fund is run by Partners for Sacred Places in collaboration with the National Trust for Historic Preservation. Since it was created, it has awarded or pledged more than $42 million to 197 congregations in the United States and Puerto Rico.

People who want to learn more or support the restoration campaign can visit socorromissionrestoration.com.