Benefact Trust

Building Grants

Capital grants from Benefact Trust to protect, enhance and sustain Christian buildings (churches, church halls, cathedrals and Christian charities' buildings) across the UK and Ireland. It funds essential repairs, accessibility, community-use facilities, carbon reduction and heritage conservation, and also includes roof alarm grants against metal theft (50% of cost, up to £3,000). You don't ask for an amount: the Trust works out the grant from total eligible project costs using set rates (roughly 10% of costs), plus a 20-100% uplift for deprived areas. Open all year with no deadlines; formerly called Building Improvement Grants.

Apply on the funder’s site

You could get: Up to £150,000; no fixed round
Deadline: Rolling; apply any time
Effort: Moderate; full application with documents

Who can apply

Christian charities, churches and representative bodies (e.g. dioceses and denominational bodies) based in the UK and Ireland
Applicants must be registered charities in the UK or Ireland (or have 'excepted' charity status, which applies to specific churches), with gross annual income of at least £25,000 in the latest financial year and at least one full year of accounts on the charity regulator's website
Churches, cathedrals and denominational bodies must belong to a National Ecumenical Instrument (Churches Together in England, Action of Churches Together in Scotland, Cytun, or the Irish Council of Churches), or for local or independent churches, a local 'churches together' type group
Educational institutions, hospices and similar Christian charities can apply only for chapel works; retreat/camp residential centres and outdoor activity centres cannot apply
At least 30% of eligible project costs must already be secured from other sources (reserves, other grants, fundraising, legacies, loans), and the Trust may ask for more
Leased buildings need the owner's permission and at least five years left on the lease after completion (ten years for projects over £500k); any building/land purchase or lease must be completed before applying
Organisations funded under Building Grants (or the former Building Improvement Grants) must wait two years after their last payment before applying again; a roof alarm grant does not trigger this wait
You cannot get capital funding from both Building Grants and Methodist Grants for the same project

What it funds

Capital works to individual buildings or sites in the UK or Ireland: churches (and church halls) and cathedrals in regular use for Christian worship, and buildings used by Christian charities mainly to deliver public benefit. Works must fit one or more priorities: essential building repair, congregational growth, accessibility, community use and impact, carbon reduction and net zero, heritage stewardship. Eligible costs:

Essential repairs to secure the fabric or structure
New facilities and building works for congregational and community use, church growth or social challenges (e.g. extensions, reordering, new kitchens and toilets)
Accessibility improvements (e.g. ramps, handrails, lifts, hearing loops, accessible toilets, and basic AV kept in the building such as microphones, speakers and screens)
Energy efficiency and carbon reduction measures (e.g. insulation, LED lighting, renewable heating, solar PV and batteries) recommended by an eco-audit or other professional or denominational advice
Conservation, restoration or repair of historic fabric and features (e.g. stained glass, wall paintings, carvings, clocks, tower bells, historic organs)
Chapels in schools and hospices
A reasonable amount of essential equipment to fit out new spaces, if it stays in the building
Roof alarms against metal theft (the system must be approved by the church's insurer and the church must commit to maintaining it for at least five years)

Grant size is calculated by the Trust from total eligible project costs, for example £1,000 for £2,000-£5,000 projects, £5,000 for £50,000, £25,000 for £250,000, £50,000 for £500,000 and £75,000 for £1m, plus any deprivation uplift of 20%-100%.

Large projects over £1m normally get a maximum of £100,000-£150,000; organ projects are capped at £20,000; roof alarms get up to 50% of the alarm cost, maximum £3,000.

Minimum project size is £2,000.

What it will not fund

Routine maintenance (e.g. inspections, gutter clearance and minor repairs)
Works that have already been undertaken
Works normally covered by insurance
Works to offices, residences and other buildings not used for worship or other charitable public use
Works relating to outdoor activity centres and residential centres for retreats or camps
Purely aesthetic enhancements (e.g. interior decoration) not linked to a repair project or needed for health and safety or accessibility
External works not part of the building (e.g. landscaping, gardens, play areas and car parks)
New non-renewable heating systems such as oil and gas boilers (unless there is a clear case for their suitability)
Purchase of buildings, land, organs, other musical instruments, portable PA systems and vehicles
Revenue costs (Building Grants are capital only)
Projects with total costs under £2,000

How to apply

Read the Building Grants programme guidance and use the eligibility checker in the Apply section of the Benefact Trust website
Register on the online application portal and connect to (or create) your organisation's record; the Trust reviews connection requests (Mon-Fri) before you can submit
Complete the online form (organisation details, contact details, project details including building questions and at least one photo, impact, capital costs and funding, safeguarding and declarations), saving drafts as needed
Submit; you get an email acknowledgement straight away
A Grants Officer assesses the application and it goes to the next available decision meeting
If offered a grant, accept it through the portal, agree the Grant Terms and Conditions and give bank details with a bank statement or paying-in slip from the last three months

Open all year with no deadlines.

You present total project costs and secured funding rather than asking for a set amount; the Trust calculates the grant.

The Trust will not add funding once a Building Grant is issued, so complete surveys and investigations before budgeting.

A final report is needed for grants over £10k, and an impact survey at the end of the grant.

Have ready

At least one photograph of your church or project
Costed capital budget and details of secured and prospective funding (entered in the online form)

Registered charities need at least one full year of accounts on the charity regulator's website; leased buildings may need evidence of the owner's permission and lease length; roof alarm applications need the system approved by the church's insurer.

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