Challenging the myth:
Churches and grant funding
Susan Rundle
Development Officer
Diocese of West Yorkshire and the Dales
Introduction
• Research examining
– Notion that “we can’t get funding, we’re a church”
and
– Considering the impacts of attitude and
relationship on the grant-making process
• Published in Voluntary Sector Review, July 2013
Introduction
• Practical implications of the research
• How has it changed working practises?
• How can it inform future working practises?
Research Summary
• Talking to both funders and churches to understand
their attitudes when applying for community based
projects
• Findings
– Grant making trusts will fund churches to do community
projects
– Churches have to prove they’re doing community projects
– Churches need to be able to understand their legal status
– Many churches do not understand their own legal status
Research Summary
• Churches can access funding from
grant-making trusts
...BUT
– Churches need support to understand and explain
their own charitable status
– The onus is on the church to show how their
project will benefit the wider community
Myths
• Churches can’t get funding!
• You have to have a separate charity to be able
to access funding
• Churches are only interested in converting
people not being part of the community
Challenges
• Understanding!
– Churches being able to explain what and why
they’re running projects
– Churches understanding their own legal status
– churches recognising the need to properly explain
themselves and their projects – not assuming
knowledge
– Funding is about building relationships
Overcoming the challenges
• Relationships
– Never built on half truths
• Understanding
– Training is vital
• Legal status
• Project development
• Developing and communicating vision
Overcoming the challenges
• Fundraising basics
– Creating a case for support
– Developing need
– Communicating vision
– Who we are?
– What are we doing?
– Why us?
– Why now?
Examples
• Wakefield Cathedral
– Phase 1 – £2.2m reording project
– £1.6m from Heritage Lottery Fund
– Much of the rest from funders who ‘don’t fund
church’ including:
• Coalfields Regeneration Trust - £100,000
• Wakefield Council - £200,000
Examples
• St Mary Magdalene, Outlane
– 1930’s Church used by range of people
– Needed to redo the kitchen/boiler
– Asked the local council for help – they said you need
to create a separate charity to run the ‘hall’
– They said you can’t get funding if you’re a church
– Training and support to build their capacity
– £10,000 Awards for All grant for the Kitchen
– £2,000 Local Authority Grant
– Built capacity as now gone for money for hearing
loop, children's disco equipment and boiler!
Discussion
• How can you apply this in your Diocese?
• What can we do nationally to overcome some
of the challenges?
Lessons
• How do we apply the research?
– Training for PCC’s
– Build capacity with people applying for funding
– Building relationships and trust with funders
– Sharing stories
– Linking similar projects at different stages
More information
Susan Rundle
Development Officer
Diocese of West Yorkshire and the Dales
susan.rundle@westyorkshiredales.anglican.org
Article available online via Voluntary Sector
Review or email for a copy