Monthly Grants: empowering communities to grow, connect, and thrive
See some of the latest projects to benefit from our Community Impact Grants and Building Improvement Grants. We’re helping churches and charities to extend their welcome, reduce isolation, and strengthen the places and projects that support people most in need. From Oxfordshire to Perth, each grant is enabling transformational work in the community…
Community Impact Grants
The Archway Foundation, Oxfordshire - £4,300
Loneliness is a growing public health crisis. In Oxfordshire alone, 48,000 people report feeling lonely often or always. The Archway Foundation has long supported those facing chronic isolation in Oxford City and Abingdon and will now extend its vital work to Banbury, an area where partners such as Age Friendly Banbury and the Royal Voluntary Service have highlighted a significant need.
With the support of a Community Impact Grant, Archway will be able to expand its social groups, recruit and train new volunteers, and grow its personalised, 121 support.
Greyfriars Church, Reading - £5,200
For refugees and asylum seekers in Reading - many living in hotel accommodation with no cooking facilities and limited access to support - isolation and loss of dignity are daily realities. Greyfriars Church’s ‘Conversational Kitchen’ offers a warm, welcoming space for people with all levels of English language skills to come together and connect.
With its new Community Impact Grant, Greyfriars will continue to grow the project, providing weekly English lessons and shared meals, alongside practical support and access to wider services.
St Francis Church, Salisbury - £6,500
Since its launch in 2020, the Parish Nursing Ministry at St Francis Church has seen a tenfold rise in people seeking physical, emotional, and spiritual support. Many clients are isolated, vulnerable and struggling to access traditional health services.
A Community Impact Grant will enable St Francis to expand the ministry through an additional Parish Nurse, supporting whole-person health in partnership with Grace Church Salisbury, GP surgeries, mental health teams and local community services.
Building Improvement Grants
Bradford Cathedral, West Yorkshire - £17,000
Bradford Cathedral has stood at the heart of the city for many generations, serving as a place of history and worship. The cathedral is now undertaking the first phase of its 'Welcoming In' project - a major upgrade to improve safety, accessibility and the visitor experience across its historic precinct.
Supported by a Building Improvement Grant, this phase will deliver resurfacing and lighting improvements to the North Pedestrian Path, repairs and lighting at the West Entrance, restoration of the Cathedral’s distinctive ironmongery and railings, and new heritage-style solar LED lamp posts.
With rising visitor numbers after Bradford’s ‘UK City of Culture’ celebrations and renewed footfall from the neighbouring Bradford Arts Centre, this project will ensure the Cathedral is safe, welcoming, and accessible to all.
Perth Hope Hub, Scotland - £3,000
In the heart of Perth, the newly opened Hope Hub is already home to a wide range of community activities - from a rehab café and prayer space to youth nights, Alpha courses, film evenings and plans for workshops supporting people in isolation, recovery or hardship. However, parts of the building remain cold, damaged and unusable.
Funding through a Building Improvement Grant will support the replacement of secondary glazing across key rooms, repairs to leaking and water damaged areas, and the installation of energy-efficient lighting and heating.
These essential improvements will make the Hub warmer, safer and more cost efficient, enabling it to serve the community year-round.
Find out more about Benefact Trust’s funding for churches and charities
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