Benefact Trust Limited grants
Benefact Trust is a grant-maker for England and Wales whose published building grants guidance covers repair and improvement work to churches, church halls and cathedrals.
Guidance last checked 16 July 2026· from the funder’s own website
Overview
Benefact Trust's published Building Grants programme funds repair and improvement work to churches and church halls, and cathedrals, in regular use as a place of Christian worship. Before you start, note the match funding gate: applicants are required to have secured at least 30% of their eligible project costs from other funding sources before making an application. The programme is open for applications throughout the year, and there are no deadlines. It asks that charities have an annual turnover of at least £25,000, and at least one full year of accounts available on the charity regulator's website. Its registered objects are wider: promoting the Christian religion, contributing to the funds of any charitable institutions, and carrying out any charitable purpose. The register also records purposes including education, disability, environment and community development, so check its site for anything else that may be open.
What they fund
These are the areas of work recorded on the Charity Commission register. The published guidance we hold covers the trust's building grants for places of Christian worship.
Who and where
These are the groups and areas recorded on the register for the trust across England and Wales.
Who they help
Where they fund
What Benefact Trust Limited says in its own guidance
Quoted directly from the funder’s own website, with a link to the page each quote came from. Always the most current word is theirs — check the source before you apply.
What they say they're looking for
“• Essential building repair • Community use and impact • Congregational growth • Carbon reduction and net zero • Accessibility • Heritage stewardship”
Source: benefacttrust.co.uk — Building Grants Programme Guidance →
Who they say they'll fund
“Charities should have an annual turnover of at least £25,000 (gross income for the most recent financial year) and at least one full year of accounts available on the charity regulator's website.”
Source: benefacttrust.co.uk — Building Grants Programme Guidance →
“Churches (and church halls) and cathedrals in regular use as a place of Christian worship”
Source: benefacttrust.co.uk — Building Grants Programme Guidance →
What they say they won't fund
“Purely aesthetic enhancements (e.g. interior decoration) that are not linked to a repair project or necessary for health & safety or accessibility.”
Source: benefacttrust.co.uk — Building Grants Programme Guidance →
“Routine maintenance (e.g. inspections, gutter clearance and minor repairs), works that have already been undertaken and works normally eligible for cover under insurance.”
Source: benefacttrust.co.uk — Building Grants Programme Guidance →
Grant sizes they mention
“Grants are for up to 50% of the cost of the alarm (up to a maximum of £3,000).”
Source: benefacttrust.co.uk — Building Grants Programme Guidance →
“We also apply a deprivation uplift (of between 20% and 100%) to grants for projects that are being delivered in deprived areas.”
Source: benefacttrust.co.uk — Building Grants Programme Guidance →
Deadlines they mention
“The Building Grants programme is open for applications throughout the year. There are no deadlines.”
Source: benefacttrust.co.uk — Building Grants Programme Guidance →
How they say to apply
“Due to the high volume of applications received, applicants are required to have secured at least 30% of their eligible project costs from other funding sources before making an application.”
Source: benefacttrust.co.uk — Building Grants Programme Guidance →
Their charitable objects
As registered with the Charity Commission (their formal purposes):
To promote the christian religion. 2. To contribute to the funds of any charitable institutions associations funds or objects and to carry out any charitable purpose.
How to approach them
Start with the official sources — they’re always more current than any directory, including this one.
Common questions
What does Benefact Trust fund?
Its registered objects are to promote the Christian religion, to contribute to the funds of any charitable institutions, associations, funds or objects, and to carry out any charitable purpose. Its Building Grants programme guidance lists these priorities: essential building repair; community use and impact; congregational growth; carbon reduction and net zero; accessibility; and heritage stewardship.
Who can apply to Benefact Trust?
For its Building Grants programme, charities should have an annual turnover of at least £25,000, being gross income for the most recent financial year, and at least one full year of accounts available on the charity regulator's website. The programme lists churches and church halls, and cathedrals, in regular use as a place of Christian worship. That is the programme we hold guidance for; the register records a wider set of purposes, so check its site for other routes.
How much does Benefact Trust give?
The trust does not publish a single typical grant size in the sources we hold. Its Building Grants guidance does say that grants for an alarm are for up to 50% of the cost of the alarm, up to a maximum of £3,000. It also applies a deprivation uplift of between 20% and 100% to grants for projects being delivered in deprived areas. In its most recent financial year on the register it made £25,358,249 in grants to organisations.
What will Benefact Trust not fund?
Its Building Grants guidance lists purely aesthetic enhancements, such as interior decoration, that are not linked to a repair project or necessary for health and safety or accessibility. It also lists routine maintenance such as inspections, gutter clearance and minor repairs, works that have already been undertaken, and works normally eligible for cover under insurance.
How do I apply to Benefact Trust?
The Building Grants programme is open for applications throughout the year and there are no deadlines. Due to the high volume of applications received, applicants are required to have secured at least 30% of their eligible project costs from other funding sources before making an application. Check the funder's own website (benefacttrust.co.uk) and its Charity Commission entry (charity number 263960) for current guidance, as processes can change.
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Contains public sector information from the Charity Commission for England and Wales licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0, and grants data from 360Giving used under Creative Commons Attribution 4.0. Figures are derived (filtered and summarised by TrusteeMeetings), not republished unchanged. About the data · Terms of use. This page is a starting point for your own research, not a promise of funding, and is not endorsed by or affiliated with Benefact Trust Limited.