Temple Charity

Meeting the Criteria

All applications for grants need to show that they meet the Grant Funding Criteria which the Trustees have adopted and which are set out below. The Criteria set out how the Charity’s income will be divided between potential grant recipients, and the conditions which each applicant must satisfy.

There are three categories of grant recipient:

• The Parochial Church Council of St Mary Redcliffe
• The Bristol Diocesan Board of Finance
• Other projects

1. The PCC of St Mary Redcliffe

15 per cent of the total funds available annually for distribution are awarded to the PCC for the maintenance of the work of the Church of England in the parish. The uses to which the grant is put are entirely at the discretion of the PCC. However the Trustees may invite the parish to submit a report describing how the grant has been used.

The PCC may from time to time, in addition to the annual grant, seek funding for particular projects under Category 3.

2. The Bristol Diocesan Board of Finance

45 per cent of the total funds available annually for distribution will be awarded to the BDBF for furthering the religious and other charitable work of the Church of England in the area of the Archdeaconry of Bristol as it was on 20th January 1992 (the Area of Benefit). The purposes for which this annual grant are used are at the discretion of the BDBF, provided it is used within the Area of Benefit.

The BDBF will submit an annual report which describes generally how the grant has been used in the Area of Benefit and which explains the Diocese’s current strategic thinking.

The BDBF may from time to time, in addition to the annual grant, seek funding for particular projects under Category 3.

3. Other projects

Up to 40 per cent of the total funds available annually for distribution will be used by the Trustees at their discretion in response to applications which further the religious and charitable work of the Church of England in the Area of Benefit received from the following::

• St Mary Redcliffe PCC
• St Mary Redcliffe and Temple School
• Bristol Cathedral
• individual parishes
• groups of parishes
• deaneries
• Bristol DBF
• other groups and organisations

Applicants under this Category should note:

• they are encouraged to discuss applications in advance with the Clerk to the Trustees, Roger James, whose telephone number is 0117-968-1864 and whose email address is randwjames@gmail.com.
• the Charity Commission Scheme which governs the Charity requires that preference be given to furthering the religious and other charitable work of the Church of England in the area of the former ecclesiastical parish of Temple or Holy Cross, and therefore applications from the parish of St Mary Redcliffe will be considered before others in this Category. However the Trustees will apply the same criteria to all applications in this Category.
• the Bishop of Bristol needs to be consulted on the application, and this will be arranged by Roger James through the Diocese. The application should not be sent directly to the Bishop or the Diocese.
• in order to comply with the Charity Commission Scheme which governs the Charity, applications must further the religious or other charitable work of the Church of England in the Charity’s Area of Benefit. Each application will be considered on its own individual merits, but the factors which my indicate that it has sufficient connection with the Church of England include:
  • Church of England involvement in the leadership or the governance of the project which is the subject of the application;
  • Church of England participation in the project;
  • the support of the Bishop of Bristol and any reason given for such support.
• the Trustees are looking for projects which develop the life of the churches and communities in the Area of Benefit. The Trustees give priority to projects which serve communities most in need.
• the Trustees prefer to contribute to the cost of a project rather than paying the full cost, and they prefer applications which are limited in time. Applicants for a grant for the full cost of a project need to explain why the project has no other source of funds.
• the Trustees expect applicants to recognise the impact of their project on the environment and prefer applications which are consistent with the Bristol Diocese’s target to be carbon-neutral by 2030.

The Trustees will review these Criteria from time to time.

A copy of these Criteria can be obtained from the Clerk to the Trustees.