Grants and Interest-Free Loans

The current WREN agreement for the distribution of Landfill Community Fund Grants to Cambridgeshire Churches & Chapels via the Cambridgeshire Historic Churches trust is working well. 

The CHCT has now loaned a total of £1.74 million to 163 churches and chapels and currently has over £350,000 loans outstanding.

Below are three items available to download.  They are a Letter from the Grants Secretary, advice notes and an application form, these will help you with your WREN Grant or CHCT Grant or Interest-Free Loan application. 

The Trust likes to keep a record of churches that may be considering applying for a Grant. Even if you just want to download the forms to discuss the matter with your church council, would you please advise the Grants Secretary that you have done this.  This greatly helps the trust in assessing how many applications are in the pipeline.

When you are ready to apply, will you please first of all read the letter from the Grants Secretary and contact him to discuss your individual needs and so that you may benefit from his first hand valuable advice.

Grants Secretary's Letter

CHCT/WREN Grants & Loans Policy Advice Notes

CHCT/WREN Grants & Loans Application Form

To contact the Grants Secretary please click on the link

Grants Secretary - David Collingswood

21 The Pasture,
Somersham,
Huntingdon

Cambs
PE28 3YX

01487 741171

Please note: To read some PDF files you need an up to date version of Adobe Acrobat Reade, to find out how to do this click here

Our Grants Secretary accounts for CHCT grants, but where else might you apply?

The Churchcare website www.churchcare.co.uk/funding is a good place to start looking, as it lists the main organisations that help churches not just with their fabric repairs, but also the conservation of fixtures and furnishings, monuments, organs and bells and with the creation of new facilities. The National Churches Trust www.nationalchurchestrust.org (formerly the Historic Churches Preservation Trust, or HCPT) has re-organised its grant schemes and increased the overall sum available each year to £2 million. Repair grants under its Cornerstone Scheme can be as much as £50,000 and it now offers Community Grants for new facilities in churches too. The NCT is also launching a National Advice Line in Spring 2009, providing a dedicated telephone and online helpdesk to assist church volunteers with the care of their building.

The money WREN gives CHCT is only able to fund repairs to existing buildings; in addition WREN's own policy precludes it from funding walls or boundary work surrounding churches and church yards. However, WREN can also contribute to new community facilities in church buildings through its main grant schemes; see www.wren.org.uk for details.

The other waste operator in Cambridgeshire, Donarbon, can similarly fund such facilities (but not just repairs) through its Community Fund. This is run by the Cambridgeshire Community Foundation who also administer other charitable funds for community purposes www.cambscf.org.uk (The Quorum, Barnwell Road, Cambridge, CB5 8RE).

If you are embarking on such a scheme for your church, then contact the Action with Communities in Rural England at www.acre.org.uk/communityassets_churches.html.

There is money available for most projects undertaken in churches, and though it will take some time and perseverance to identify, ‘seek ‘til you find and you’ll not lose your labour’.

David Collingswood

Grants Secretary