How to use Benefactor

Our step-by-step guide has been designed to help you use our grants portal.

Benefactor is the portal we use to manage and communicate about our grants. All applications to the National Churches Trust for a grant must be submitted through Benefactor. On this page you will find out what you will need to have to hand to complete your application, as well as tips on using the portal itself.

How to begin

The first time you use the site you will need to ‘Register’ – when you next access the site, you will go to ‘Login’.

When you register a validation email will be sent to your inbox. Check your junk mail if it doesn’t arrive. It may take a few minutes.

When you next access the site, you enter a dashboard – a landing page. Select ‘Apply’ at the top of the screen, then ‘Start a New Application’.

You should then select which grants programme you would like to apply for. The options are:

Medium – for both medium repairs, project development grants and the Cymru/Wales Grade I & II* Listed repair grant
Large – for both repairs and facilities grants

You should then select ‘new application’ under the grant programme you have selected.

Eligibility

At the beginning of all grant applications to the National Churches Trust, you will first have to go through a set of eligibility criteria. If you do not meet these criteria, you are not eligible for a grant from the National Churches Trust and any application you submit will be unsuccessful.

If you pass you will proceed to the Application Form via a Privacy Statement. If you fail, you will be sent back to the start of the quiz.

You are still able to access support from our team about projects that are ineligible or at places of worship that are ineligible for a grant from us. We can help signpost you to other funders, as well as offer help and guidance on things such as fundraising, grant applications and more.

If you are unsure why you are not passing the eligibility quiz, please get in touch with us at grants@nationalchurchestrust.org or by calling 020 7222 0605 and one of our team will be happy to help you.

Progress

You should be able to track the progress of your application in Benefactor. This includes being able to view your application form and what you’ve submitted.

Messaging

You can message us through Benefactor – and we may use it to contact you as well. All you need to do is click the ‘create new message’ button on your application page. When we message you, you should receive a notification via the email address you signed up with. Any messages we send you will show up on your application.

Tips on using online applications forms

You do not have to complete the application form in one go. You can save the form at any stage and revisit it at any time.
If you want to print your application, select the ‘Submit and Review’ tab and a printer icon in the top right corner will appear. Select this to print or to save as a PDF. If you would like to print a completed application, you will be able to return and view the application form. When viewing the completed application form, you will be able to click ‘expanded view’ at the top right, and a button to ‘Print form’ will then appear beside this. Select this to print or to save as a PDF.
Questions marked with a red * are mandatory. You will not be able to proceed with your application if this is empty. If you have nothing to enter, please write N/A. If you are unable to upload a mandatory file, please upload a document explaining why this is the case in its place.
Some questions will have word or character counts.
Uploading files: the maximum size you are able to upload is 10MB. If you are having trouble uploading the files, try removing spaces or punctuation from the file name.
Second attempt application: If you are submitting a new application after being unsuccessful or refused, please assume your case is being assessed for the first time and ensure you submit all the information required, ensuring that it is up to date. This is because we cannot guarantee the same staff member will be reviewing your new application. Please make sure you address any feedback communicated to you in your refusal letter in your new application. While we cannot guarantee the success of any application, addressing previous issues could help strengthen your case.
Project costs and information tables: these are very important, and we will not be able to assess your application without this information.

For project costs, click ‘edit’ on the line and enter a short description if required, the cost and the VAT and then click ‘save' and move onto the next line.

For project income, click the ‘plus’ button, complete the details in the same way, and then click ‘save’.

Please do not need enter any punctuation in these tables; the system will automatically enter these eg commas.

The ‘cost’ column should contain the costs including VAT.

The VAT column should contain the VAT you will need to pay. Please do not enter the rate of VAT or the cost including VAT in this column. You must enter the full VAT amount.

The ‘Total incl. VAT’ column will automatically populate with the sum of the Costs and the VAT costs columns.

Please make sure you include a contingency allowance in your budget.

The ‘Other’ row can be used for any costs that do not fit with the other rows. Please do not use this row for VAT, and include a description of what these costs represent.

For project income, this table should demonstrate the fundraising that has taken place as part of this project.

Click the ‘Plus’ (+) button in the top right to add a new row. You can add any many rows as you like.

You do not need to enter any punctuation in these tables; the system will automatically enter these eg commas.

Unsecured funds are funds that are not yet confirmed, such as pledged donations or grants that have been applied for but are pending a final decision.

Secured funds are funds that have been confirmed, such as donations you have received or grants for which you have received an offer letter for.

If you intend to commit any resources from your church reserves, please indicate this in the table.

The ‘Income Stream’ column should contain a headline description of the funding source eg grants, local fundraising, reserves etc

The description column can be used to add detail, such as the name of the grant funder. Please keep this section brief. If some funds are allocated to a specific part of the project, please include that detail here.

What additional documents will you need to apply for a grant?

There are a number of uploads required throughout the application – you will need these available to upload when prompted, preferably as PDFs. If you don’t have these available, please send them to us via the ‘Messages’ section in your portal within the next five working days, or email us at grants@nationalchurchestrust.org

Please make sure you read the guidance for the grant you are applying to. The guidance will tell you what additional documents you will need to provide in order to be eligible for a grant. For Large Grants, remember that it is a two-stage process, so you will not need to provide everything for Stage One.

Medium Grant Guidance – for repair work

Medium Grant Guidance – for project development

Cymru/Wales Medium Grant Guidance – for Grade I & II* Listed repairs

Large Grant Guidance – for repair work

Large Grant Guidance – for adding in a kitchen and/or toilet

Accounts. A copy of your most recent set of audited, signed or independently examined, annual accounts to help us understand your financial situation. These should include the independent examiner's report. If the income exceeds £100,000 you will need to be registered with the Charity Commission or provide evidence that you are in the process of registering.
Friends’ Group Accounts. If you have a Friends’ group, a copy of its most recent accounts
One external image and some more photos of the issue. A separate exterior image, and some more just of the main issue, in JPEG or PDF format of up to 10MB. We will use these in the assessment papers for our Grants Committee and, if the application is successful, for publicity purposes. Please ensure you have permissions to use the images in place before sending them to us, and make it clear if any credits are required.
Maintenance plan. Regular maintenance is one of our top priorities, so we ask for a copy of your annual maintenance plan and, if you haven’t already got one in place, grant recipients will be required to produce one as a condition of an award and before payment will be released. Maintenance plans are an annual timetable of regular steps to keep the building and grounds in good order. We have templates for you to edit, and advice and resources on our website here.
Permissions. A copy of the permission from the governing body ie Faculty signed off by the Chancellor, List B Archdeacon’s consent (most common consent for maintenance applications at Anglican churches), Property Consent, Listed Building Advisory Committee authorisation or a Trustee minute. If consent is not required, we would still like to see a minute noting the work and the Committee’s approval.
Quinquennial Inspection, Building Survey or Condition Report. A recent QIR or building survey report that clearly highlights the issues that require attention and their urgency.
Specification of works. This is mainly for repair applicants and is compiled by the lead professional and details the work that will be done, preferably costed or the tender report. If a Specification of Works has not been produced yet, we ask to see a letter of support from the lead professional for the proposed works.
A brief for any professional work – mainly for Medium project development applicants – if relevant to the project phase seeking funding. If funds are to support a new temporary post, we will also need to see evidence for an open recruitment process.
Two Quotes. Medium applicants must provide at least two competitive tenders or quotes for the work they are applying for (identifying the preferred quote).
Additional information. Anything further you would like to attach eg leaflets, activity plan etc.

Still need help?

If you have not found what you’re looking for on this page and need additional help using Benefactor, please get in touch with our team by emailing grants@nationalchurchestrust.org or by calling 020 7222 0605 and we will get back to you as soon as we can.

Before you apply for a grant, we recommend reading the guidance for the grant you want to apply for.