Benefact Trust: Building Improvement Grants Programme

Overview

Programme Overview

Benefact Trust’s Building Improvement Grant programme provides essential support to protect and enhance churches and Christian charity buildings, ensuring their continued use and the safeguarding of their heritage.

The programme is open to applications from churches, cathedrals, denominational bodies and Christian charities based in the UK or Ireland.

The programme supports the following types of work:

• Essential repairs to ensure the viability of a building.
• Works or equipment to improve accessibility.
• Energy efficiency measures.
• Conservation or restoration of historic features.
• Aesthetic enhancements to indoor or outdoor spaces.

Through this programme, they make contributions towards capital projects. Please note that they are not able fund regular maintenance and works normally covered by insurance.

Please refer to their Community Impact Grants programme if your project is focused on delivering wider community impact rather than undertaking essential building improvements.

Who can apply

The Building Improvement Grants programme is open to applications from churches, cathedrals, denominational bodies and Christian charities based in the UK or Ireland. 

Educational institutions, such as schools and theological institutions, are not eligible to apply under this programme, but they may apply to Community Impact Grants under Objective 4: Schools and educational institutions. 

Please note that they are only able to provide funding to organisations which are registered as charities in the UK or Ireland (unless the organisation applying has 'exempt' status, which is restricted to churches).

What they can fund

They can support a range of capital costs which are aligned with one or more of the following areas of work:

• Essential, one-off repairs or other capital works to ensure the continued use or viability of a building 
• Works or equipment to improve disabled access or meet operational requirements (e.g. essential operational equipment, AV equipment, hearing loops, ramps/handrails, lifts etc)
• Conservation or restoration of historic features (e.g. stained glass, carvings, interior furnishings, clocks, tower bells, organs etc) which contribute to preservation and appreciation of a building’s heritage 
• Energy efficiency/renewable energy measures (e.g. heating/lighting upgrades, solar panels, etc)* which improve the sustainability of church buildings/facilities and enable their continued use
• Aesthetic enhancements (e.g. interior decoration/furnishings or public realm improvements) to improve indoor or outdoor spaces for users

They do not normally make retrospective grants for projects or work already undertaken. If you are planning to apply for a project that has already started, please contact them first for a discussion.

 *Notes for energy efficiency proposals: 

• If you are planning to apply for funding for energy efficiency works (e.g. heating/lighting upgrades, solar panels, etc), you are advised to check your plans with your insurance company first. 
• Their application form will ask what advice you have received to inform your energy efficiency proposals. This may be in the form of an ‘eco audit’, other professional/denominational advice or research you have undertaken.

How much can you apply for?

When completing your application, you will be asked to present the total costs of your project and details of the match funding you have secured, rather than requesting a specific grant amount. If your project fits the programme criteria, the size of your grant will be calculated by their Grants Officers based on your total project costs and their assessment criteria. They will also take into account deprivation levels where your project is taking place and may apply a deprivation uplift when determining the size of your grant.

They receive a high volume of applications for Building Improvement Grants, and the Trust aims to support as many projects as possible. Grants sizes can range from £750 to £100,000 and are typically a small contribution to the overall project costs. In 2023, a total of 644 Building Improvement grants were given. The average grant size for projects with total costs up to £1m was £3,300. The average grant size for projects with total costs over £1m was £46,000.

Other funding

All applicants will be expected to have secured funding for at least 30% of their total project costs before making an application (it will not be possible to submit an application form until this level of funding has been secured). Applicants should also have a clear plan for how the remainder of the match funding for the project will be secured (i.e. it should not be assumed that Benefact Trust will cover the entire funding shortfall).

Eligible Expenditure