Synod Grants
The Synod makes grants available for both mission and building projects.
The Grants Committee meets four times a year to consider applications. It makes the final decision on grants up to £50,000 and recommendations to the Synod Executive on grants above this threshold.
There is an expectation that churches will not only use their own resources but seek grant support from third party funders. The Finance Manager will be able to help you identify other funders.
All applicants for building grants should consult the Property Officer before submitting their applications. You must get the approval of the Synod Trust in advance for any repair or buildings works that you are planning for your buildings before entering into any agreement with trades people and starting work. You should inform the Property Steward and the Local Area Pastoral Committee Convener at the earliest opportunity. This requirement must be adhered to irrespective of the source of funding for the works intended be it from local church funds, Synod funds via a grant or other sources.
If your application is in excess of £100,000 you will be asked to provide more information than is requested on the standard application form. Please contact the Finance Manager for further details.
Deadline for Applications - Committee
1st February - Early March
1st May - Early June
1st August - Early September
1st November - Early December
Guidance Notes
November 2025
The Synod has revised its application forms for Mission and Buildings Grants.
Sections to Complete
All applicants should complete the summary section and Parts A, B, C, D and E
Download the Grant Application here >
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This part seeks basic factual information about the church making the application and its congregation. It provides you with the opportunity to identify other churches and organisations involved in the project, particularly if you are making an application on behalf of a group of churches.
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In this section you should provide sufficient information to enable the Grants Committee to understand the project for which you are seeking funding. In particular, it should be clear about the details of project delivery and the reasons for doing it.
Question B2 asks you to identify the reasons why you are undertaking this project. This could relate to a mission opportunity, or need in the community served by your church. For building grant applications, it could relate simply to a need for significant repairs to your building highlighted by a recent inspection.
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The purpose of this section is to enable us to understand how the project relates to the church’s priorities for mission.
It also seeks in section C2 information about the research you have undertaken to understand and involve your community in the development and design of the project.
Section C3 asks you to think about the outcomes from this project and how you will know that it has been successful. We want to get better at ensuring that the learning from innovative and successful projects is shared widely across the Synod, so it also asks you to identify how you will share information about your project.
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The first part of this section asks you to confirm that all the necessary approvals have been sought and ideally obtained for the work you are proposing to your building.
The next couple of questions will help us be clear about the extent to which the proposals relate to essential work to ensure that building is safe for users and is being properly maintained.
The final sections ask you to identify how the work is going to be procured and managed.
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This section asks you to set out a full picture of the finances of the project for which you are seeking funding for. You will need to provide information about:
All the costs expected to be incurred in the project
How the project will be funded?
What other grant applications have been made and whether these have been successful
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Synod use only
Grants for Warm Hubs / Warm & Welcome Spaces
As in recent years, the Synod wishes to encourage churches to offer Warm and Welcome Spaces / Warm hubs for people in their local community during the winter period. We are again offering any church who registers their offer with Warm Welcome or with their Local Authority a grant of £1,000 to support this work. The church is free to use that grant how they wish to support their work, be it to provide free food or to meet additional energy cost from the opening of the church.
In order to apply for the grant could you simply email me at transformation@nwsynod.org.uk with a copy of your church’s registration with the Warm Welcome campaign or with your local authority.
