GrantRadar

The Henry Smith Foundation

Christian Projects Grants: Clergy

Grants of at least £10,000 a year, normally for up to three years, from the Henry Smith Foundation's Christian Projects programme for churches, charities and not-for-profits that support the health and wellbeing of Anglican clergy in the UK. Projects might include peer support groups, retreats, one-to-one mentoring or pastoral care. Work must come from churches in the Anglican Communion in the UK (Church of England, Church in Wales, Scottish Episcopal Church, Church of Ireland), or be fully ecumenical, and smaller organisations with income under £1 million are prioritised. Applications are accepted year-round, and trustees decide three times a year.

Apply on the funder’s site
You could get
£10,000 – £1,000,000
no fixed round
Deadline
Rolling
apply any time
Effort
Heavy
budgets, references, often several stages

Who can apply

  • Churches, small charities and not-for-profit organisations in the UK with charitable aims and objectives
  • The work must come from churches in the Anglican Communion in the UK (the Church of England, the Church in Wales, the Scottish Episcopal Church or the Church of Ireland) or be fully ecumenical
  • Organisations that are not formally part of one of these churches must show that the project has the full support of the geographically relevant church
  • Applicants must have been established for at least 18 months, have published their first annual accounts, and have a track record of delivering similar work
  • Annual income is normally up to £1 million (organisations above this should phone for a discussion), and reserves must not exceed 12 months' expenditure
  • The grant cannot be more than 50% of the organisation's annual running costs
  • Applicants must have met all reporting requirements on any previous Henry Smith grants
  • Individuals cannot apply

What it funds

  • Projects that help Anglican clergy stay healthy and effective in their ministry, through support or preventative measures
  • The foundation's examples are a programme of peer support for a group of local clergy, retreat houses providing restorative time for clergy, one-to-one mentoring, and online or in-person pastoral care
  • Grants go to churches or charities, not to individual clergy
  • The minimum request is £10,000 a year, normally for up to three years (up to five years in exceptional circumstances, after discussion with the foundation)
  • Running costs can be requested, and salary costs are allowed (the form asks for job descriptions)

What it will not fund

  • Applications for less than £10,000 a year
  • Grants of more than 50% of an organisation's annual running costs
  • Capital grants of any sort
  • Sabbaticals or holidays
  • Work that takes place overseas
  • Grants to individuals, or to causes that benefit only one person, including student grants or bursaries
  • Work whose sole focus is heritage or conservation
  • Activities that have already happened
  • Organisations with reserves (net current assets plus investments) covering more than 12 months' expenditure
  • Organisations with annual income above £1 million (except in exceptional circumstances after discussion with staff)
  • Organisations that applied unsuccessfully in the previous 12 months
  • Organisations with another application under consideration, or an active grant, in any Henry Smith programme (unless in the last 6 months of a current grant and seeking continuation funding)

How to apply

  1. Read the Christian Projects funding guidelines and check that your organisation and project are eligible
  2. Complete the online eligibility checker on the Clergy grant page
  3. If eligible, create an account or log in to the Henry Smith application portal
  4. Review the application guidance and sample application form, then complete the online form (organisation, project, experience, impact, budget and safeguarding sections) and upload the attachments
  5. Click 'Sign and submit'; you receive a confirmation email with a tracking number
  6. The Grants Team reviews the application and may ask for more information; trustees decide at one of three meetings a year
  7. Within three weeks of the trustee meeting you receive an offer letter with terms and conditions, or a decline letter with the option of verbal feedback

The foundation welcomes phone calls (020 7264 4970) to check fit before applying, and may look at draft material.

Phone before applying for more than three years of funding, or if your income is over £1 million.

Unsuccessful applicants must wait at least 12 months before reapplying. Organisations can hold only one active grant at a time.

Have ready

  • Most recent audited or independently examined accounts (draft or management accounts if the accounts are over 10 months old)
  • Full budget for the work (the whole organisation's budget if requesting running costs)
  • Job description(s) if the grant covers salary costs
  • Safeguarding policies, procedures or guidance

Organisations that are not formally part of an Anglican Communion church must show the relevant church's full support for the project.

More like this

Other grants open to organisations like yours.