Many of our churches have benefited from grants from the National Churches Trust to help with repairs, re-orderings andproject planning.
However, at a recent meeting at their head office, the Trust said they had seen a dip in applications following a rebranding oftheir funding streams.
Here is a summary of the different grants that Churches can apply for and how they can help:
Cornerstone Grants:
- Grants available of between 10,000 and 50,000 towards the cost of urgentstructural repair projects costed at more than 100,000 including VAT.
- Grants available of up to 50% of the introduction ofkitchens and accessible toilets to enable increased community use, costed atmore than 30,000 including VAT.
In return for their investment, the Trust expect that thechurch will be open for visitors on at least 100 days a year (this is only 2days a week or every day in all school holidays!). The works should beled by a qualified professional (with conservation accreditation for listedchurches) and have permissions in place prior to applying. Churches willalso need to sign up (free) to the Trusts two online portals: Explore Churchesand Maintenance Booker.
The next deadline for these applications is 1 July fordetermination in November.
Gateway grants:
- Grants of between 3,000 and 10,000 (up to 50% of total cost) towards projectdevelopment and investigative work up to RIBA Stage 1, to support thepreparation of a significant project which will then be approaching a major grantfunder.
The same provisos on openness, professional input andsubscription apply as for the Cornerstone Grants, though as you are developingplans you dont need permissions in place (though as part of such developmentwork you should be consulting me and the DAC at an early stage).
The next deadline for these applications is 9 May fordetermination in July.
Foundation grants:
- Grants of between 500 and 3,000 towards urgent maintenance works and smallrepairs identified as high priority within a recent Quinquennial Inspection orsupplementary survey. Also eligible are small investigatory works anddetailed surveys on significant items not covered in detail in the QI.
Same provisos as above, including having permissions (likelyList B from the Archdeacon) in place.
The next deadline for these applications is 12 May fordetermination in July.
Micro grants through Maintenance Booker
Maintenance Booker www.maintenancebooker.org.uk- is the Trusts portal to procure contractors for items of maintenance onchurches: rainwater goods maintenance, lightning protection inspection andworks, tree surveys and surgery and asbestos surveys and removal.
If you procure these services for your church through theportal with contractors approved by the Trust then you will be eligible toapply for grants of either 250 for services costing between 500 and 1,000 or500 for services costing over 1,000. These applications are consideredon a rolling basis.
The Trust are adding to their contractor list all the timeand would be happy to take recommendations from churches who already usereputable contractors to add to the system you may be able to send morebusiness their way!
The Trust are also developing a function in MaintenanceBooker for multi-church parishes, benefices or even deaneries to procureservices for multiple buildings which could lead to savings through economiesof scalewatch this space.
If you would like any further information or advice on thesethen there is plenty of further information on www.nationalchurchestrust.org /www.maintenancebooker.org.ukor contact the Church Buildings dac@cofe-worcester.org.ukor 01905 732809.
