OUR GRANTS
GRANTS FOR SMALL CHURCHES WITH BIG IDEAS
Our Empowering Change Fund enables grants to be made to qualifying churches to help fund specific small-scale building projects which will directly further the mission and ministry of the church.
Where we receive proceeds of sale from a closed church building, we seek to turn these funds into a blessing for other churches, by making 25% available for grant applications.
We have been pleased to support a number of churches in our 2023 round of grants.
At this time we have NO GRANTS AVAILABLE but we hope to open another grant cycle in Autumn 2024. We will update this page when we have more information but please contact us if you want to be added to our grant cycle notification list.
WHO CAN APPLY?
The grants are aimed at helping small churches mainly in rural or deprived urban areas with small scale standalone projects which will have a big impact on their local mission work. In order to be considered for a grant, the church must meet ALL of the following criteria:
· The church must be in membership of an approved Baptist Union in the UK;
· The church should have a regular weekly attendance of no more than 50 adults;
· The church should have a maximum annual income on general fund of £50,000 (evidence of reserves will be taken into account in considering applications);
· The church should have a clear ongoing mission strategy and the proposed building work must form an essential component of enabling that mission strategy to become a reality; AND
· The project should be small scale (less than £60,000) and standalone, not part of a larger project.
PLEASE NOTE
The church must apply for the grant before money is spent, and we cannot give a grant for work already done. Grants will not be given to parts of a larger project and cannot be used to pay off any debt in existence prior to the proposed project.
Each grant cycle has limited funds available as the monies are only available as/when we receive proceeds of sale from a closed church. As a result, grants are at the discretion of the Trustees and meeting the criteria does not guarantee that your project will be selected for the award of a grant.
We reserve the right to limit the amount of the grant, which may be below the amount requested.
If you are planning a larger project or don’t meet all of our criteria, you may be eligible to apply for our Loans (of £30,000-£500,000).
See our LOANS page for more details
WHAT LEVEL OF GRANTS WILL BE AVAILABLE?
The maximum grant will be £25,000 and there will be a minimum level of £5,000. The church will be expected to fund at least 30% of the proposed project costs.
WHAT WORK WILL BE FUNDED?
The work could include but is not limited to:
• alteration of the building to improve access;
• alterations to interior to improve use of building and allow new activities;
• adding toilet facilities for the disabled or baby changing;
• addition of or improvements to kitchens;
• environmental projects eg solar panels;
• improvements to heating systems eg boilers, heat pumps;
• improvements to frontage to increase visibility;
• improvements to storage facilities eg to store playgroup equipment;
• improvements to enclosed outdoor spaces eg building a community garden.
The aim of the Empowering Change Fund is to support church communities to flourish and live out God’s mission. Your application should clearly explain how the proposed building work would enable and empower your local mission work.
HOW DO YOU APPLY FOR A GRANT?
You can download an application form here.
Once the grant cycle is open, please email your completed form to the Administrator via admin@baptistbuilding.org.
We would encourage you to contact us if you have any questions before making your application - 07506663761 or admin@baptistbuilding.org.
Applications must be received by the closing date to be considered within the grant cycle. Any application received after the closing date will be considered in the next cycle (subject to available funds).
Where an incomplete application has been made, the date of submission will be treated as the date on which all the information was supplied. This may mean that consideration of the application will be deferred.
Please use our guidance above to help you prepare your application, and ensure you have all the supporting documentation requested on our form (including financial accounts, quotes for the work, property title documents and any approvals required for the works) before submitting your application to us.
We do not accept repeat/multiple applications from churches for our grants.
WHAT HAPPENS NEXT?
A sub-committee of trustees will give consideration to the application and its chairman may contact the church for further information. The sub-committee will make recommendations on the grant and we will contact the appropriate Regional Minister (or equivalent) for a commendation.
Our Trustees will consider the application and decide whether a grant should be made and the amount of that grant. That decision will be conveyed to the church as soon as possible after the Trustees meeting. The Trustees’ decision is final; no correspondence will be entered into about that decision and no feedback given.
If an application is successful, Baptist Building CIO reserves the right to include details of the project in our publicity including this website and churches will be asked to consent to this as part of the application process.