Aims/priorities: The Large Grants programme (formerly Cornerstone Grants) supports structural repairs and maintenance issues costing more than £100,000 or the installation of kitchen and toilets costing over £30,000.
Who can apply? Places of worship of any Christian denomination and age can apply.
Applications will be considered from listed and unlisted Christian places of worship across the UK.
Applications from the Trust’s priority areas are encouraged: North East England, Northern Ireland and Wales, though this is not to the exclusion of churches in other areas.
To be eligible, applicants must demonstrate that:
- The building must be a Christian place of worship (but not a cathedral) located within the UK, and originally built as a place of worship no less than 30 years ago.
- Works must be to the main church building. If applying for new facilities, the proposed works must be to the place of worship, or an extension thereof. The National Churches Trust will not fund new build or stand-alone structures. Exceptions may only be made upon request if the place of worship is Grade I / A listed, and the decision is endorsed by one of the UK Home Countries Heritage Bodies.
- Applicants must be the owners or have the right to carry out the work. If the church is not part of a main denomination, or registered with Churches Together in Britain and Ireland, they must be a registered charity. Any place of worship whose annual income exceeds £100,000 must be registered with the Charity Commission.
- Buildings must be open for regular public worship for a minimum of 6 services per year. Buildings that have been closed to the public must have plans to reopen for regular worship and public access, and a congregation waiting to use the building on completion.
- Buildings must be open to the public for at least 100 days per year in addition to worship within a year of project completion. Applicants should tell the Trus if they will need to have special arrangements, such as keyholder details on display, in order to meet this requirement.
- Projects must be led, overseen and supervised by a suitably qualified professional, usually a professionally qualified architect (listed on the Register of Architects) or a chartered building surveyor (MRICS or FRICS). Where the building is listed, the professional must have conservation accreditation from one of the following conservation accreditation schemes at the stated level:
The Register of Architects Accredited in Building Conservation (AABC). Architects should be listed at category 'A'.
Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA). Architects should be listed as ‘Specialist Conservation Architect'.
The Royal Incorporation of Architects in Scotland (RIAS). Architects should be listed as 'Advanced'.
Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors (RICS).
Chartered Institute of Architectural Technologists (CIAT). Listed at ‘Accredited Conservationist’ level.
- Work must not have started before the online application is submitted.
- All necessary permissions (from the governing body i.e. Faculty signed off by the Chancellor, and if required, the local planning authority consent) must be approved, valid and in place at the point of application.
Grant amount: Between £10,000 and £50,000 are available. The current average is about £15,000.
Grants of between £40,000 and £50,000 are extremely limited and reserved for cases which demonstrate a very high case for investment.
The Trust has a very limited amount of funding available and can only offer grants to a small proportion of applicants. The current success rate is roughly 1 in 4 applicants.
Priority for funding is for urgent structural repairs (costed at more than £80,000 including VAT), but the Trust will consider projects for the installation of kitchens and accessible toilets (costed at more than £30,000 including VAT).
Application process: There is a two-stage application process.
- Stage 1 is a simple form to check the project is suitable for this programme. The next deadline for Stage 1 applications is 5 November 2024 (midnight).
- Stage 2 applications are by invitation only to those applicants who were successful at Stage 1.
Guidance notes and the online application form are available on the Trust's website.
Deadline: Tuesday 5 November 2024, Midnight.
Contact information: Email: grants@nationalchurchestrust.org