Grants for the Conservation of the contents of your church
Apart from the major grant givers and the CBC conservation grants, there are a number of other organisations which can help you fund the conservation of your church's furnishings and fittings as well as churchyard furnishings, memorials and tombs.
The Leche Trust
Secretary: Mrs Louisa Lawson
84 Cicada Road
London SW18 2NZ
Phone & Fax: 020 8870 6233
Email info@lechetrust.org
The Leche Trust offers grants for the preservation of buildings and their contents and the repair and conservation of church furniture (including such items as monuments, but excluding structural repairs to the fabric). Preference is given to buildings and objects of the Georgian period.
The William and Jane Morris Fund
c/o The General Secretary
Society of Antiquaries
Burlington House
Piccadilly
London W1J 0BE
Tel 020 7479 7080
Email admin@sal.org.uk
www.sal.org.uk/grants/williamandjanemorris
Preference is given to limited programmes of work connected with conservation of decorative features, e.g. stained glass, sculpture, furniture, textiles, monuments and tombs. Grants are allocated annually, and application forms must be submitted by 31st August for consideration in the following November or by 31st March for consideration in the following May.
BELLS
The Sharpe Trust
c/o The Grant Secretary
Mr A Strickland
71 North Home Road
Cirencester
GL7 1DS
Tel 01285 885734
Email Alan.strickland4@btinternet.com
The Sharpe Trust administers grants for the maintenance, repair, and restoration of church bells in England and Wales.
The Central Council of Church Bell Ringers (CCCBR)
c/o The Hon Secretary
Mrs Mary Bone
11 Bullfields
Sawbridgeworth
CM21 9DB
Tel 01279 726159
Email secretary@cccbr.org.uk
The CCCBR administers two funds for bell restoration, the Central Council's Bell Restoration Fund and the Fred E Dukes International Bell Fund (for bell restorations outside the British Isles). When funds are available, applications for the Bell Restoration Fund are invited by notices in The Ringing World and on the CCCBR website, generally in December or January.
ORGANS
The Arts Council Arts Lottery Fund
Organ appeals in connection with concert and other performances should approach the Arts Lottery Fund. The Heritage Lottery Fund Your Heritage scheme may be appropriate for major works to historic instruments. See the Major Grant Givers.
The O N Organ Fund
The Secretary
Dr Alan Thurlow
8 Old Bakery Gardens
Chichester
West Sussex
PO19 8AJ
Email alanjthurlow@btinternet.com
The fund offers grants for the provision and restoration of pipe organs in the British Isles. Grant applications are welcomed before the closing dates of 31 March and 30 September.
The Ouseley Trust
Martin Williams
127 Coleherne Court
Old Brompton Road
London SW5 0EB
Tel 020 7373 1950
Fax 020 7341 0043
Email clerk@ouseleytrust.org.uk
Funding is available for organ repairs and other musical objects for Anglican churches where there is an active choral tradition.
The Foundation for Sport and the Arts
This trust was set up in order to distribute funds awarded to it by the football pools companies from their profits. The money available has therefore been severely reduced by the impact of the National Lottery on the pools. The Foundation will require you to establish that your project has significant community benefit. In the past they have made grants towards the restoration of historic organs where the instrument is used for public concerts.
Following a review of the current level of reserves and in light of the fact that that their only source of income is now the interest generated by those reserves, the Trustees have decided to cease the activities of the Foundation at the end of March 2012. No new applications for funding will be considered after the end of March 2009.
Further details can be obtained from:
The Foundation for Sport and the Arts
Walton House
55 Charnock Road
Walton
Liverpool L67 1AA
Tel 0151 259 5505
Fax 0151 230 0664
Email contact@thefsa.net
www.thefsa.net
The Pilling Trust
Waterworths
Central Buildings
Richmond Terrace
Blackburn
Lancashire BB1 7AP
The Pilling Trust is particularly interested in churches that maintain an active choral tradition. They will consider new organs and electronic instruments.
Other Organ Grants
The British Institute of Organ Studies (BIOS) has produced a leaflet 'Grants for Funding Work on Historic Pipe Organs'. This gives details of charities that have made grants towards the conservation of historic organs. It also gives useful information about the preparation of organ appeals and how to research the history of your instrument. This guide is available at www.bios.org.uk.
The Honorary Secretary
British Institute of Organ Studies
Lime Tree Cottage
39 Church Street
Haslingfield
Cambridge CB23 1JE
SIGNIFICANT TOMBS IN CHURCHYARDS AND CHURCHYARD FURNISHINGS
District Councils are empowered to give grants for tombs and other churchyard furnishings. For Georgian tombs try the Leche Trust (see above).
Memorial Grant Scheme
The scheme started in November 2005. The Government has made proposals to the European Commission for a permanent reduced VAT rate to be charged on memorial construction, renovation and maintenance. The Memorial Grant Scheme is a temporary measure. It will operate until 2011 unless agreement is reached sooner on a permanent reduced rate.
The scheme returns in grant aid the amount of VAT incurred in the construction, renovation and maintenance of memorials on or after 16th March 2005. Invoices spanning works before and after 16th March 2005 can be submitted, but only the element incurred on or after this date will be refunded. There is no maximum or minimum limit on the amount reclaimable.
The cost of professional services (architects, structural engineers, surveyors, planning supervisors, archaeologists, H&S advisors, bat inspectors and professional fundraisers), which are directly related to eligible repairs, are eligible from 22nd March 2006.
The purpose of the scheme is to recognise the social value of memorials, and it therefore applies to memorial structures in the form of statutes, monuments and similar constructions, which:
- are solely for the purposes of commemorating people, events or animals;
- bear a commemorative inscription; and
- meet a public access test of a minimum of 30 hours a week.
Structures with a dual purpose are not eligible under the scheme (eg: a memorial bench or playground). Stained glass windows, although dual purpose, are eligible. Also excluded from the scheme are memorial gardens and trees, which are not structures capable of construction or renovation, although minor landscaping and planting undertaken in the course of memorial construction will generally be eligible. Private expressions of remembrance, such as headstones, are not covered by the scheme.
For full details of the scheme and application form go to: www.memorialgrant.org.uk
Or contact:
Memorials Grant Scheme
PO Box 609,
Newport
NP10 8QD,
South Wales, UK
Tel 0845 600 6430
THE LIVERY COMPANIES
The Livery Companies of the City of London have funds for charitable works, but they vary greatly in their resources. Applications most likely to be successful are for work to be carried out on items of specific interest to that Company, e.g. the Worshipful Company of Glaziers for the conservation of stained glass, or for parishes in areas connected with a Company e.g. the Tonbridge area of Kent and the Skinners' Company.
Applications should be addressed to The Clerk. A list of the Companies and their addresses is given in Whitaker's Almanack and also in the City of London Directory & Livery Companies Guide.
REGIONAL OR LOCAL TRUSTS
There are many trusts that will assist churches in particular areas. Consult the Directory of Grant-Making Trusts or staff in your diocesan office. The Charity Commission web site allows you to browse the Register of Charities using criteria such as location and keywords. Some charities may not be on the Register and it might therefore be useful to ask around locally, for example, at the Citizens' Advice Bureau, or with firms of long-established solicitors.
March 2003, December 2007 & June 2008
