Main Church Grants Programme

How to apply

• Application process

• General information required from applicant churches

• Funding rounds

• Contact

Application process

If you are a representative of a beneficiary church and would like to discuss a funding proposal, please contact us.

Beneficiary churches

Contact us

All applications should be made using the online application form. At the launch of each funding round, a link to the online form with key dates (including the deadline for the submission of applications) will also be emailed to all incumbents and Cloudesley’s other main contact at each church. We can help you to complete the form so please do contact us for support if you need it. A copy of the application questions and the general information required as part of the application process are detailed below.

Copy of application form questions

Please complete all relevant questions on the application form and supply the requested supporting information and documents by the deadline. Where possible, please provide answers in the relevant section of the form, rather than referring to attached documents. If you cannot answer a question or provide the requested supporting information, please explain the reasons for this in your application. If you have previously provided us with a copy of a supporting document (e.g., your latest audited accounts) you do not need to submit it again, but please let us know this in your application form.

Church information sheet and other supporting information

The online application form is one part of our application process. The first time you apply for funding from Cloudesley’s 2020-25 grants programme, you will also need to complete a Church Information Sheet. At the launch of the grants funding round, a link to the Church Information Sheet will be emailed to the incumbent and one other main contact at your church for completion. A copy of the questions can be found below. The Church Information Sheet has been introduced so that information which does not change frequently (or at all) can be stored on Cloudesley’s database so that you do not need to submit it each time. This will be referred to alongside other information provided as part of your funding applications to Cloudesley. 

Copy of Church Information Sheet questions

After your first application under the 2020-25 grants programme, each time you submit an application to us, we will email you a copy of your completed Church Information Sheet and ask you to confirm that the information provided is still correct. If there have been any significant changes, we will ask you to let us know what these are.

As well as using information from the application form, church information sheet and the supporting documents which you submit, we will also take into account other information, for example, details from your church website and that of the London Diocese, as well as information from discussions and visits to the church.

As part of its assessment process and during the lifetime of any grant, in some instances, Cloudesley may consult with other organisations about your proposed works/project, such as staff at the London Diocese or other funders. On occasion, Cloudesley may also be asked by other organisations, such as other funders, to share the information provided as part of your application. Because of the Data Protection issues involved here, the application form asks you to confirm that you give permission for this to happen.

Assessment

Immediately after the closing date for each round, we will carry out a quick check to make sure that the application form is complete and that any necessary documents have been provided (for example, latest audited accounts, quotes etc). The application will then be assessed by the staff team, who may request further information or may need to set up a visit to the church to discuss the application further. A report (including a recommendation about funding) will then be prepared for Cloudesley’s Trustees to consider at the next meeting of the Grants Committee or Board.

Notification

Once Cloudesley’s Trustees have made a decision about funding, you will be notified within seven days, with full details of any offer (including grant conditions) issued to the main contact for the application within fourteen days.

General information required from applicant churches

All applications should demonstrate:

1. That the proposed work/project falls within the scope of Cloudesley’s charitable scheme, i.e., that the proposed work/project is ‘towards the upkeep and repair of the fabric of, and the maintenance of services in, any churches of the Church of England in the area of the London Borough of Islington’. Further guidance on this can be found in our definitions page. Please check this before submitting your application to see whether the proposed work/projects for which you are requesting a Cloudesley grant fits within this. If after reading this you are still unsure, please contact the Cloudesley staff team for guidance.
2. The financial position of the church. Cloudesley will carry out appropriate due diligence checks on all applicant PCCs, looking at the most recent annual accounts for financial viability. Applicants are expected to provide a copy of the most recent annual report and audited accounts or a web link to these, unless these have been previously submitted to Cloudesley. For the Spring Round, if you have not finalised your accounts by the application deadline, please submit your draft accounts, with an explanation about when these are expected to be signed off. In exceptional circumstances, if the draft accounts are not ready by the time of the application deadline, the applicant church should submit a copy of the latest management accounts as well as an explanation of the current reserves position at the time of application. If the most recent signed accounts are not provided with the application, they should be emailed to the charity as soon as they are available. If they have not been provided by the time a funding decision is made, any grant offer will be conditional on the final accounts being submitted showing substantially the same financial position.
3. The level of the reserves held, with an explanation of any restricted and unrestricted (both general and designated) reserves, along with the church reserves policy. If the unrestricted reserves include substantial capital assets which are not saleable, this may need to be explained. PCCs will be asked to demonstrate that the work/project cannot be fully funded from reserves. Cloudesley recognises that it is prudent and good practice to designate unrestricted reserves for specific purposes and any designated reserves held will be noted and considered as part of the assessment process.
4. That, from a financial perspective, the project is important to the church. We will usually expect the application to show that some of the funding will be coming either from the church’s own resources (reserves or fundraising) or from other funders. Normally, the larger the Cloudesley grant that is being requested, the larger the part of the budget that will need to be funded in this way.
5. That appropriate financial planning and budgeting are in place in relation to both the particular funding proposal and the church as a whole. Churches will be asked for details of all other funding available/sought for the work/project.
6. That wherever possible, a church will apply for the recovery of VAT through the Listed Places of Worship Scheme (LPOWS). Cloudesley will consider making an ‘up to’ grant award amount in these instances, in case it does not prove possible for the church to recover the VAT. Cloudesley will only pay the VAT element to the church if the church cannot recover the VAT from LPOWS, subject always to the maximum amount of grant agreed not being exceeded. However, where a church does require earlier payment of VAT amounts (for example, if the VAT amount is particularly large), to make best possible use of all of Cloudesley’s Church Grants funding, a church will normally be expected to return any VAT recovered through the LPOWS.
7. That appropriate advice on costings has been sought, so that the church can demonstrate that the project budget is as realistic and accurate as possible. Applicants must include an explanation of how costings have been arrived at in the ‘details of work to be funded’ section of the application form. If the amount requested for any single item or works is:
   • over £10,000, applicants are expected to provide copies of written quotations/estimates from two different firms
   • less than £10,000, applicants are expected to provide a quotation/estimate from the proposed contractor.

   If there is difficulty in complying with this, please contact the Cloudesley staff team before submitting your application.

8. That there is a clear and demonstrated need for the proposed work/project. Depending on what funding is sought for, appropriate evidence might include the provision of survey responses in support of a project and/or a copy of the relevant parts of a Quinquennial Inspection report.

9. That there is clear support within the church for the grant application. The application must include evidence (such as a copy of the relevant extract of PCC minutes) to show that the planned work/project and Cloudesley grant application have been discussed and agreed by the PCC.
10. That, where there are other major stakeholders relevant to the project/works (for example, the Diocese, local authority, community groups or building users), the other stakeholders have been consulted and that any concerns/interests have been addressed.
11. That the relevant consent, faculty and/or planning permission has been applied for, or else details of when this will be done, with a summary of any discussions which might indicate that permissions will be forthcoming.
12. That management of the project/works has been properly planned and will be undertaken efficiently by appropriately qualified personnel.
13. That, where appropriate, taking account of the need for faculties, planning and other permissions and constraints, there is a realistic indication of when the work is expected to start and how long it is expected to take.

Funding Rounds

During 2024, the charity is running Spring and Autumn funding rounds of its main church grants programme.

Contact

Please contact the charity if you have any queries about the Church Grants programme or if you would like to discuss an application. 

Cloudesley welcomes feedback on its processes and communications. Any comments or suggestions made will be reviewed, and the charity’s grant-making processes may be altered as a result.