The Welsh Church Act Funds

It will come as something of a surprise to some Christian Voluntary Sector projects to learn of a funding stream provided by an Act of Parliament and defined in terms of the Church, the Welsh Church Act Funds. The Welsh Church Act 1914, which secured the dis-establishment of the Anglican Church in Wales, made provision, in Section 19, for the funding of Church projects.

Today the money made available from this stream is limited. Grants are seldom more than £3000. Having said this, however, in aggregate the money still amounted to £500,000 for 1998-99. In an age where being a Christian Voluntary Sector project can make accessing funding difficult it is encouraging that there is still a fund, resting on an Act of Parliament, that is defined in terms of the Church.

The significance of the size of the fund, however, must also be qualified by the fact that, despite its name, it is not exclusively allocated to Church projects. In 1998-9 it was estimated that £250,000 went to non Church projects. Having recognised this, though the fact that £250,000 pounds went to the Church from a funding stream set in law and defined in terms of the Church is surely significant.

Simple Application Forms

One of the great attractions of Welsh Church Act Funds is that the funding application forms are some of the simplest we have ever seen!

Welsh Church Act Fund Criteria

For the purpose of providing something of a taster for the funding criteria of the Welsh Church Act Fund, this short briefing paper considers those operating in Carmarthenshire.

Guidance Re Welsh Church Fund From Carmarthernshire

In what follows we quote directly from the Carmarthernshire County Council's guidance regarding Welsh Church Act Funds.

1. Eligible To Apply

Applications are invited from:-

• Churches & Chapels
• Organisations
• Individuals.

Organisations must be either Carmarthenshire based, or if of a national and regional character must be able to demonstrate that the money requested would be used for a specific Carmarthenshire based project.

Organisations must either:

• be registered as a charity
• hold certificates of charitable status
• or have funds which are exempt from income tax.

Applications for grant support from individuals towards a specific activity will be considered provided the applicant is resident in the County.

No grant will be made if assistance for a particular application is available from any other Committee of the County Council, or any other funding source e.g. Lottery.

No application can be considered from of any previous successful applicant in respect to building construction, contents, improvements or repair projects until a three-year period has elapsed from the award date.

2. Eligible Expenditure / Grant Rate

Applicants can apply for grant support for the following purposes:

• Advancement of Education
• Libraries, museums, art galleries etc.
• Relief of poverty
• Advancement of religion
• Other purposes beneficial to the community.

The degree of support to be offered will be at the absolute discretion of the County Council.

Generally the following eligible expenditure and grant rates apply:

1. Churches/Chapels (Grant rate of 20-25%)
   Applicants can apply for capital costs (including repairs and renewals) and may be awarded the following grant rates:
   
   PROJECT COST GRANT RATE
   
   Up to £1,000
   £1,001 to £2,500
   £2,501 to £5,000
   £5,001 to £10,000
   £10,001 and over
   Up to £250
   £251 to £500
   £501 to £1,000
   £1,001 to £2,000
   Up to a maximum of £3,000
2. Village Halls
   Applicants can apply for capital costs (including repairs and renewals) and the grant rate for Village Hall Schemes is 12.5%, up to a maximum of £3,000 in respect of all building construction, contents, improvements or repair projects.
3. Organisations
   Organisations can apply for revenue and capital projects. However the grant rate in respect of all building construction, contents, improvements or repair projects will be 10% on total project costs, to a maximum of £3,000
   
   
4. Individuals
   Applications will be considered from individuals for aid towards a specific activity (grant aid is generally not awarded to individuals who reside outside the County). Grants to apprentices are available for the purchase of tools. The normal level of support to individuals will be between £50 - £150.
5. Other
   No grant will be awarded for schemes over £30,000 unless it can be shown that there are adequate funds for the completion of the scheme.
   
   Enhanced financial assistance of up £10,000 may be made, if the overall cost less any financial contributions from parent bodies, the utilisation of capital receipts and other reserve funds is in excess of £100,000.
   
   The Chairman of the Finance and Property sub-committee is authorised to award a grant of £100 for each person taking part in Operation Raleigh from the General fund... It is interesting to see a funding stream defined in law that deliberately states that it is for the "Advancement of religion"!

Where To Apply

If you live in Blaenau Gwent, Caerphilly, Newport, or Torfaen Your Welsh Church Fund Money is administered by Monmouthshire.

If you live in Bridgend or Merthyr Tydfil your Welsh Church Fund Money is administered by Rhondda Cynon Taff. If you live in Cardiff your Welsh Church Fund Money is administered by the Vale of Glamorgan.

In the case of all the Local Authorities not mentioned they administer Welsh Church Act Funds in their area. All allocating authorities are listed below.

Welsh Church Act Funds - Allocating Local Authorities

Carmarthenshire County Council
County Hall,
Carmarthen,
SA31 1JP
(01267) 234567
www.carmarthenshire.gov.uk

Ceredigion County Council

Neuadd Cyngor Ceredigion,
Penmorfa,
Aberaeron,
Ceredigion,
SA46 0PA
(01545) 570881
www.ceredigion.gov.uk

Conwy County Borough Council

Bodlondeb,
Conwy,
LL32 8DU
(01492) 574000
www.conwy.gov.uk

Denbighshire County Council

Council Offices,
Wynnstay Road,
Ruthin,
LL15 1AT
(01824) 706000
www.denbighshire.gov.uk

Flintshire County Council

County Hall,
Mold,
CH7 6NB
(01352) 752121
www.flintshire.gov.uk

Gwynedd Council

Swyddfa'r Cyngor,
Caernarfon,
LL55 1SH
(01286) 672255
www.gwynedd.gov.uk

Isle of Anglesey County Council

Swyddfa'r Sir,
Llangefni,
Ynys Mon - Anglesey,
LL77 7TW
(01248) 750057
www.ynysmon.gov.uk

Monmouthshire County Council

Finance Department
County Hall,
Turnpike Road,
Cwmbran,
NP44 2XH
(01633) 644657
www.monmouthshire.gov.uk
This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

Neath Port Talbot County Borough Council

Civic Centre,
Port Talbot,
SA13 1PJ
(01639) 763333
www.neath-porttalbot.gov.uk

Pembrokeshire County Council

County Hall,
Haverfordwest,
Pembrokeshire,
SA16 1TP
(01437) 764551
www.pembrokeshire.gov.uk

Powys County Council

County Hall,
Llandrindod Wells,
Powys,
LD1 5LG
(01597) 826000
www.powys.gov.uk

Rhondda Cynon Taff County Borough Council

The Pavillions,
Cambrian Park,
Clydach Vale,
Tonypandy,
CF40 2XX
(01443) 424000
www.rhondda-cynon-taff.gov.uk

City and County of Swansea

County Hall,
Oystermouth Road,
Swansea,
SA1 3SN
(01792) 636000
www.swansea.gov.uk

The Vale of Glamorgan

Civic Offices,
Holton Road,
Barry,
CF63 4RU
(01446) 700111
www.valeofglamorgan.gov.uk

Wrexham County Borough Council

Guildhall,
PO Box 1284,
Wrexham,
LL11 1WF
(01978) 292000
www.wrexham.gov.uk

Briefing Compiled by Daniel Boucher Gweini Policy Development Officer
March 2002. Updated September 2009.

For those interested all legislation post 1988 in on the HMSO web site and thus the latest Order with respect to Welsh Church Act Funds (1996) can be seen: www.hmso.gov/si/si1996/Uksi_19960344_en_1.htm

Caramthernshire County Council web site.
www.carmarthenshire.gov.uk/services_eng/grants/welsh_church_fund/criteria.htm

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