Should your church choose Solomon Foundation?

The Solomon Foundation was founded in 2010 and has grown faster than any other church extension fund in American history, by their own description. Within roughly fifteen years it crossed a billion dollars in total assets and now sits as the fourth largest church extension fund in the United States, with more than 600 churches financed across all fifty states. The capital base comes from a community of investors who attend Christian Churches and Churches of Christ, and the loans flow back out to churches in the same Restoration Movement tradition. That closed loop is the source of the fund's positioning and most of its competitive advantage.

The structural fit matters because Solomon underwrites both numbers and church identity. They evaluate the financial profile (giving, debt service capacity, real estate value) the way any extension fund would, but they also weigh the leadership and beliefs of the church as part of the credit decision. For a Christian Church or Church of Christ congregation, that means denominational fit is part of the story, not a complication. For a church outside the Restoration Movement, the fit signal cuts the other way and tends to push applications toward less favorable terms.

Solomon's day-to-day pitch focuses on three things. The first is no application or processing fees, which removes a real upfront cost most lenders charge. The second is national coverage in all fifty states, which matters more than it sounds when state-restricted lenders cannot serve a congregation outside their footprint. The third is the package of services around the loan: in-house construction expertise, regional conferences, one-on-one coaching, and a network of leaders who have been through the process. None of that shows up as a line item on the term sheet, but for first-time borrowers it can shave weeks off the learning curve.

The trade-offs are real and worth naming. Underwriting specifics (maximum LTV, minimum DSCR, loan size limits, rate ranges) are not published. Borrowers who want to comparison-shop with hard numbers in hand have to start an inquiry first. Solomon also requires a 3 to 6 month payment reserve held in an interest-bearing account after commitment, which ties up cash that could otherwise fund the project. And although Solomon is now the fourth largest extension fund and ECFA accredited, it is younger than peers like AGFinancial (75+ years) and LCEF (48 years). The track record through one full cycle is strong; the very long-term cyclical record simply does not exist yet.

Our recommendation, in one sentence: shortlist Solomon Foundation if your church is part of the Restoration Movement and you value no upfront fees, national coverage, and the wraparound coaching that comes with the loan. Run the ChurchLend readiness assessment first so you walk into the inquiry already understanding the seven factors Solomon's underwriters care about, and where your church would score on each.