Monthly Grants: supporting churches, families and communities
From community baby banks and volunteer programmes to historic church restoration and new spaces for young people, our Community Impact Grants and Building Grants are helping churches support the people and places around them.
Here are just some of the projects to benefit from September's funding.
Community Impact Grants
Our Community Impact Grants support churches and Christian charities delivering projects that address social challenges and make a positive difference in their communities.
Chelmsford Cathedral, Essex – £7,800 for community volunteering
The cathedral hosts community-focused activities including picnics and Bible study groups for refugees and asylum seekers, offering safety and support.
Volunteers are vital for these initiatives – giving hours of their free time to keep the cathedral welcoming and accessible to the wider community.
With the support of a Community Impact Grant, Chelmsford Cathedral will be able to create a volunteer database and management system, improving communication, training and safeguarding. There are also plans to expand sustainability initiatives and create service books and worship resources.
New Life Church, Great Cornard, Suffolk – £4,400 for baby bank support
This independent church has been running Abi’s Footprints Baby Bank since 2017, fulfilling more than 1600 requests for families in and around Sudbury.
The volunteer team respond to requests from families and from health workers, supplying items for pre-school children including clothes, nappies, home equipment and buggies.
The church also runs weekly mother/carer and baby/toddler groups, building trust with the families who attend.
With the support of a Community Impact Grant, the church will be able to cover costs such as supermarket vouchers for families, new mattresses for Moses baskets and cots and room hire for weekly groups.
Building Grants
Our Building Grants provide funding for churches to improve their buildings, helping create more accessible, inclusive and welcoming spaces for congregations and local communities.
St Peter’s Church, Clayworth – £20,000 for historic mural restoration
In the summers of 1904 and 1905, renowned Arts and Crafts artist Phoebe Anna Traquair painted all four walls of the chancel with biblical scenes. Her largest work outside of Scotland, the murals are a rare example of early-twentieth-century mural painting in England. They regularly attract visitors to the church.
The paintings have deteriorated, being added to the Heritage at Risk Register in 2025. A Building Grant will enable the church team to restore the murals and run tours and community projects.
Capel Hope-Siloh, Pontarddulais, Swansea – £12,000 for chapel repairs
The chapel’s services, Sunday School and clubs are all run through the medium of Welsh. And the local community uses the Grade II-listed church building for social and cultural activities including choirs and concerts, a Welsh language book club and conversation group.
With the help of a Building Grant, the chapel team will be able to organise conservation repairs to the building – including repairing rainwater goods and refurbishing windows – protecting its role as a centre for community life.
Kairos Network Church, Harrogate, North Yorks – £23,000 for a youth space
Working across Harrogate, alongside parish churches, Kairos creates communities for people who might not normally connect with local churches. This includes a group for teenagers and another for children and families.
With the support of a Building Grant, Kairos plans to create a dedicated space for young people – The Den – allowing it to create new groups and offer space to existing ones.
St Peter’s Church, Walworth, London – £10,000 for community facilities
Lots of different ages, ethnicities, nationalities and social backgrounds are represented within St Peter’s congregation, reflecting the rich migratory history of this south London borough.
The church supports the diverse community with all kinds of activities from cultural, educational and wellbeing events to addiction recovery support. There’s even a community café and bakery in the crypt.
The Grade I-listed church building is of architectural importance, as it’s one of only three designed by Sir John Soane. But work is needed so the church can continue to help the community, where there are high levels of deprivation.
A Building Grant will make this possible, including improving access to the first floor and refurbishing the space for heritage learning and community use.
Find funding for your project
Benefact Trust supports churches and Christian charities across the UK and Ireland through our grant programmes.
Explore our grants to find out more about the funding available and how we could support your project.