Large grants

Our Large Grants programme can help your church, chapel, meeting house or cathedral with up to £50,000 for:

• Repairs: major urgent and structural repair projects costing over £80,000
• Facilities: projects to install or upgrade a kitchen and/or accessible toilet costing over £30,000

If you click on the above links, you will find out more about both of these. Scroll down the page to find out about the process and the eligibility criteria. At the bottom of the page you will find a link to take you to apply for a grant.

Status: Open for new stage one applications  

Next Deadline: Tuesday 7 July 2026

Please note, that due to demand on our funds, our average grant size is currently: £21,000.  

Our Large Grants operate through  a two-stage application process.  

Stage One

This is a simple form to check that the parameters of your project meet our eligibility criteria. Our team will go through all the applications to check this. We recommend that you submit as much information as you can at this stage, as it will help to determine if your project will be successful.  

Stage Two

Our team will contact all applicants to let them know if they were successful in making it to the second round. We always do our best to provide constructive feedback to unsuccessful applicants.  

All successful applicants are then invited to complete a more detailed form about their project. Unless on further investigation your project does not meet the eligibility criteria, such as you do not have permissions or the 50% funding in place, your application will undergo a thorough assessment by one of our officers, before going to our independent Grants Committee. The Committee will then review the stage two applications and award funding, which includes the funds we distribute in partnership with other funders. Following this, our team will be in touch with the decisions made. 

Are you eligible for a Large Grant?

These questions form part of the application for a Large Grant. If you cannot answer yes to each question, your application will not be successful.  

• Is your building a Christian place of worship in England, Northern Ireland, Scotland, Wales, the Isle of Man or the Channel Islands?
• Was your building originally built as a place of worship more than 30 years ago? We cannot fund buildings that were not originally built as places of worship.
• Is the building open for a minimum of six public services a year? This is the minimum requirement, though our preference is for more regular use.
• Is the building open to the public beyond worship at least 100 days of the year, or will it be following the project’s completion? We expect buildings that we, and our donors fund, to be open regularly for visitors.
• Are the proposed works either to the place of worship itself or to an extension to it? We do not fund new build or stand-alone structures. Exemptions may be made on request from a Grade I or A listed building where the decision is endorsed by one of the UK Home Counties Heritage bodies, eg Historic England, Cadw, Historic Environment Scotland or Department for Communities.  
• Do you own the building or have the right to carry out the work?
• Is the project either for a) urgent structural repairs costing more than £80,000 including VAT and fees or b) for the installation or updating of kitchens and/or accessible toilets costing more than £30,000 including VAT and fees?
• Is the project led by a professionally qualified architect that is listed on the Architects Register or by a chartered building surveyor, either RICS or FRICS? For projects to listed buildings (ie of recognised heritage significance), the person must also have conservation accreditation from a recognised body – please see further guidance for a list of eligible bodies.  
• Are all necessary permissions in place and valid? For example, a Faculty Certificate, List B Archdeacon’s consent, Property Consent, Listed Building Advisory Committee authorisation, Trustee minutes etc, and local planning permission if required.
• If the church is part of a small or independent denomination, then has it got charitable status?
• Have you already raised at least 50% of this phase of the total project cost?
• Is the project still within its planning stages, but deliverable within two years? Please note, we do not accept applications for projects that have already started.
• If the annual income of the place of worship exceeds £100,000, is it registered with the Charity Commission, Charity Commission for Northern Ireland or Scottish Charity Regulator, or is there evidence that the registration is in process?
• Does your place of worship have a safeguarding policy in place? 

Repairs: major urgent and structural repair projects costing over £80,000

Whether you have a leaking roof, cracked masonry, rotting timbers, or a crumbling tower, we recognise that there are urgent repairs you need to carry out to ensure the safety and future of your building. These grants are designed to help your project get over the line, so that your place of worship can stay open and in use.

As a late-stage funder, we require you to have 50% of funding in place to be eligible for this grant. If you do not have this yet, please check our suggestions of other funders that may be able to help get you there.

We usually award grants of up to £50,000 to your church, chapel, meeting house or cathedral. However our average grant is currently in the region of £21,000 as this is a competitive programme with only around one in four applications being successful.

Additional funding opportunities

The National Churches Trust distributes grants on behalf of other funders during our grant decisions. To be sure to be considered for any additional funds please mark your interest in the relevant question towards the end of the form.

If you meet the eligibility criteria to receive one of these grants, you may receive a grant in addition to or instead of funding from the National Churches Trust. You will find out about any grants awarded to you at the same time.  

If you would like to be considered for a Wolfson Fabric Repair Grant from the Wolfson Foundation, you must tick this box on your application form. You can find out more information about the Wolfson Fabric Repair Grant here. We also distribute funding on behalf of the Headley Trust, and several other funders. In some cases grantees or applicants may be approached after a decision with opportunities to access additional funding. 

To help you apply for this grant, we have written a guide. Please read this before applying, as it will help you to:

• Know what documents and information you will need to send us as part of your application,
• Understand our scoring criteria, which will help you to write your application,
• It could help you secure additional grants, as there is information on some other funders that we award grants in partnership with.

Read our guide on how to apply for a Large Grant for repair work

Facilities: projects to install or upgrade a kitchen and/or accessible toilet costing over £30,000

We know that having modern and accessible kitchen facilities and accessible toilets can help your church be sustainable for the future. It can help attract more visitors and give you more flexibility to serve and respond to the needs of your local community. This grant is designed to help you update your existing facilities or install new ones.  

As a late-stage funder, we require you to have 50% of funding in place to be eligible for this grant. If you do not have this yet, please check our suggestions of other funders that may be able to help get you there.

We can award grants of up to £50,000 to your church, chapel, meeting house or cathedral. However please note that the Large Grant programme is a competitive programme and our average grant is currently in the region of £21,000, with only around one in four applications being successful.

Additional funding opportunities

The National Churches Trust distributes grants on behalf of other funders during our grant decisions. If you meet the eligibility criteria to receive one of these grants, you may receive a grant in addition to or instead of funding from the National Churches Trust. You will find out about any grants awarded to you at the same time.  

To help you apply for this grant, we have written a guide. Please read this before applying, as it will help you to:

• Know what documents and information you will need to send us as part of your application,
• Understand our scoring criteria, which will help you write your application,
• It could help you secure additional grants, as there is information on some other funders that we award grants in partnership with.

Read our guide on how to apply for a Large Grant to add in a kitchen and/or toilet

How to apply for a grant from the National Churches Trust

Throughout the year, we run free online training sessions. One of our key sessions is all about our grants and how to apply for them. In the session, you will hear from our Church Engagement Team with advice and tips on making an application and also be able to ask your own questions too. If you need help before our next training session, please read our guidance on how to apply for a grant. If you still need support, you can contact us at grants@nationalchurchestrust.org

Book onto our next training session here