OUR LOANS
At Baptist Building CIO, our funds are mainly used to provide loans to Baptist churches to enable you to expand, repair and improve your church premises.
HOW MUCH CAN YOU BORROW?
We currently offer loans of £30,000 - £500,000, repayable over 10 years.
For any loan, particularly those over £250,000, please get in touch to discuss your project loan requirements before completing an application.
Our loan must comprise at least 75% of external borrowing for your project. However, we will not lend the whole amount of the project cost. Normally we look for an amount of at least 30% of the cost to be raised within the church.
If you are a small church planning a small-scale project, you might want to consider our Empowering Change Fund (which offers grants in the range of £5,000-£25,000 to eligible projects, subject to availability).
See our GRANTS page for more details
WHAT ARE THE TERMS OF ANY LOAN?
Loans are interest free, repayable in 4 quarterly instalments per annum for the period of the loan. The first instalment is payable 12 months after the loan has been drawn. Once the loan has been repaid we ask for a thank-offering to cover our administration costs and to help our funds to grow so that we can help more churches.
WHO CAN APPLY?
Churches in membership of an approved Baptist Association in the UK and Ireland (BUGB, BUW, BUS, GBTC, ABCI) or independent Baptist Churches with an ultimate trust in favour of a Baptist cause.
WHAT PROJECTS WILL QUALIFY FOR LOANS?
Projects for which we will make loans are usually one of three types:
- Repairs and renovations to existing church buildings including updating heating systems and conversion to greener energy.
- New buildings or extensions to existing buildings
- Purchase of a building for church use
Please note it is not normally our policy to make loans for the purchase of or repairs to a manse or similar building. In addition, it is not normally our policy to make loans to repay loans/debt (including owed to any Baptist body).
HOW DO YOU APPLY FOR A LOAN?
You can download an application form here. Please also refer to our FIRM FOUNDATIONS booklet as you complete your application, for more information and answers to other frequently asked questions.
We would encourage you to contact us if you have any questions before making your application on 07506663761 or via admin@baptistbuilding.org
Please send your completed application form and all necessary documentation to us by email.
WHAT HAPPENS NEXT?
The application to be considered by two of our Trustees:
- One will look at the finance aspects to make sure that the numbers stack up and that the church has the ability to repay the proposed loan;
- One will look at the building side to ensure that you have all the correct procedures in place as far as your professional team is concerned.
- The Administrator will also contact your Regional Minister or appropriate person to confirm your church’s standing and ask for their commendation of the project.
- A visit may be arranged to view the project.
Once all these reviews have been completed a report will be made to the Trustees to ask them for approval of the loan.
WHEN WILL YOU KNOW WHETHER YOUR LOAN HAS BEEN APPROVED?
If your application has been successful you will be asked to fulfil a number of conditions before we issue the loan.
More details of these can be found in FIRM FOUNDATIONS.
IMPORTANT NOTICE
The role of Baptist Building CIO is solely that of lender. We do not charge lending fees and, whilst we obtain financial and architectural advice, we do so for our own purposes only, and at our own cost if need be, to enable us to decide whether to lend or not.
Under no circumstances can Baptist Building CIO or anyone acting on our behalf be regarded as an advisor to the borrower nor can the fact that we obtain our own advice be regarded as a substitute for the borrower obtaining its own proper advice in advance and properly supervising and insuring work in progress.