The Church of England intends to distribute £1.2 billion between 2023 and 2025, up from £930 million in the current three-year period. The money will be distributed by the Church Commissioners for England to support local parishes and its mission activity, particularly in disadvantaged communities.
The Church Commissioners also plan to maintain this level of funding over the subsequent six years. If approved by the Church Commissioners’ AGM in June, this would mean distributing £3.6 billion to frontline work of the Church of England between 2023 and 2031, making the Church Commissioners and Archbishops’ Council among the largest grant givers in the country.
The extra funding aims to help the Church of England reach more young people in these communities, fund more social action work, and increase diversity within the church. It will also be used to help the church continue cutting its carbon footprint in support of its aim to be carbon net zero by 2030.
The Church Commissioners’ distributions will account for approximately 20% of Church funding, whilst the biggest contribution comes from churchgoers across the country.
The Archbishops of Canterbury and York made the announcement about funding for the Church of England while visiting St John The Evangelist Church in Balby, Doncaster.
The Archbishop of York, Stephen Cottrell, said:
“Working through our parishes, most of these will be in neighbourhoods, schools and places of work and leisure. Some will be online. At least 2,000 will be in the poorest and most deprived parts of the country. This is very good news indeed.”
The 2023-25 spending plans are subject to formal approval at the Church Commissioners’ Annual General Meeting on 23 June.
For details of grant schemes currently administered by the Church of England, please go to the ‘Resources’ section of its website.
Source: UK Fundraising