Many churches are historic buildings and therefore their heating systems are very often old, inefficient and prone to breakdowns. In addition, church owners are increasingly keen to move to renewable sources of church heating in order to help with the fight against climate change.
Which Organisations Offer Grants for Church Heating Repairs?
There are many organisations offering grants towards church improvements, repairs and maintenance, we summarise a selection of these grant giving organisations below:
The National Churches Trust are ‘a charity dedicated to supporting places of worship of historic, architectural and community value used by Christian denominations throughout the UK’. Their website lists major sources of grant funding for various types of repairs and upgrades to church buildings. They don’t, however, have a list of grants for church heating installations. Instead their advice is to get these completed as part of a larger project, applying for a grant for the overall project. Take a look at their list here: https://www.nationalchurchestrust.org/applying-grant-funding/list-major-grant-funders.
The 2019 National Churches Trust Gateway Programme supports congregations and local communities to look after and build a sustainable future for their church buildings. Preference is given to projects from Churches that can demonstrate strong community engagement, sound economic viability and support beyond the congregation on into the future. Grants of between £3,000 and £10,000 for up to 50% of the project costs are available. Applications are accepted from listed and unlisted Christian places of worship, of any denomination, across the UK. The Trust particularly encourages applications from priority areas such as North East England, Northern Ireland and Wales.
The first deadline to apply for a Gateway Grant is the 12th September 2019. Find out more here: https://www.nationalchurchestrust.org/gatewaygrants.
The Congressional and General Charitable Trust are an independent grant giving charity providing grants for the overall care, upkeep and extension of churches. They place an emphasis on giving grants to United Reformed, as well as Congregational, churches, but do consider applications from churches of other Protestant denominations or affiliation. They are particularly keen to promote high quality repair work within churches, including modern heating systems. Visit their website https://www.candgtrust.org.uk/ for details on how to apply for funding.
The Church of England supply grants of up to £10,000 for fabric repairs such as roof repairs, but sadly these grants do not cover heating repairs. Source: https://www.churchofengland.org/more/church-resources/churchcare/our-conservation-grants/grants-fabric-repairs.
The Allchurches Trust is one of the UK’s largest grant making trusts and provides grants with a focus on helping people most in need, supporting Christian projects with a community focus. Find out more here: https://www.allchurches.co.uk/what-we-fund.
Atmostherm Ltd are a diocese approved church heating specialist based in Manchester, providing installation and repairs to church heating systems across the North West. We can also advise on renewable systems and installations or upgrades to churches converted for residential or other uses.