Tuesday, 5 April 2016

National Churches Trust - funding opportunities for churches

Graham Morris MP has recently received the following information from the National Churches Trust, which may be of use to church groups in our villages who may be seeking funding for building repairs, adaptations or maintenance.

Please note the links included in the article below for further information on community and church repair grants:


We noticed that you recently posed a question to the Rt Hon Caroline Spellman MP in parliament on a topic relating to church building repairs. I thought you might be interested to hear a little about our charity, The National Churches Trust, as well as our grants programmes which support churches of all Christian denominations with funds towards building repair work and adaptations to church buildings to encourage their community use.

The National Churches Trust supports and promotes church buildings of historic, architectural and community value through support, advice and grant-giving. We are the independent, UK-wide charity supporting all 42,000 churches, chapels and meeting houses of all Christian denominations. We believe that places of worship are an integral part of our nation’s architectural heritage and play a vital part in building and sustaining local communities. You can find out more about us on your website www.nationalchurchestrust.org.

This year the North-East of England is an area we are interested in supporting further. If you are aware of churches that are looking for financial support, please do forward the details below to them, or contact me for any further information you think would be useful.

Below is a summary of our main grants programmes for your use and interest. More detailed information is available on our web pages.

The National Churches Trust's 2016 community and repair grants programmes.
If you need funding for a church repair project or want to install a toilet, kitchen and improve community facilities in your place of worship, then the National Churches Trust grant schemes can help you. This year, there is also a chance to obtain additional funding to set up a social action project, in partnership with the Cinnamon Network, to meet the needs of local people.

Repair Grants
The National Churches Trust's Repair Grants programme offers funds of £10,000 and above towards the cost of urgent and essential structural repair projects. A small number of grants are available at £40,000 and above. Projects must have an estimated cost of at least £100,000 (including VAT and fees) to qualify.

Community Grants
The National Churches Trust's Community Grants programme offers the opportunity to apply for grants of £10,000 and above for projects which introduce facilities to enable increased community use of places of worship. All types of community projects will be considered, but should include toilets or catering facilities. To qualify, projects must have an estimated cost of at least £25,000 (including VAT and fees).

How to apply
Churches, chapels and meeting houses in England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland open for worship and which are part of a denomination belonging to Churches Together in Britain and Ireland are eligible to apply. Applications from both listed and unlisted places of worship are welcomed. The 1st deadline for applications is 31st March. Applications can continue to be submitted until 12th September 2016.


I hope this information will be helpful and look forward to hearing from you, and/or potential applicants in your area.