Grant Applications from The Methodist Church of Great Britain

The Joseph Rank Trust (JRT) is not a Methodist Church institution, nor is it part of the Connexion. It is an independent grant-making charity which supports the Methodist Church of Great Britain and the Methodist Church in Ireland. JRT made its first grant to Methodism in 1919.

In the past JRT supported property schemes which were applied for through the Resourcing the Mission Office in Manchester (now closed) and youth projects which were submitted through the Children and Youth Team at MCH London.

As from 1st January 2010, we welcome applications made direct from Churches, Circuits and Districts to fund local Mission work.

Applying for a Grant : please read carefully

1. All applications must be submitted through Synod Secretaries to ensure District approval and/or knowledge of the application.
2. Individual Churches, Circuits and Districts can apply via the above method.
3. Applicants are encouraged in the first instance to view this webpage and if necessary then contact the Secretary Dr. John Higgs who will be happy to have an initial conversation about the work they are doing and offer advice on the preparation of a funding application.
4. There is no application form for JRT grants. The main elements of your project should be expressed on two pages of A4 paper. Any further information, such as budgets, Gantt charts, District Mission Policy etc may be attached as appendices but the two pages of A4 are critical and must express what you are doing, why you are doing it and who it is benefiting.
5. There is no maximum or minimum limits of a grant.
6. JRT does not support the entire costs of a project and would expect to see contributions from the church, circuit, district, connexional sources and others such as local funders and landfill grants.
7. Before an application for funding is considered by the Trustees it may be visited by Dr. Higgs.
8. Deadlines for 2012 meetings can be obtained from your Synod Secretary.
9. The Trustees will not accept or consider applications posted directly to the Trust by individual ministers or churches.
10. Full copies (not summary pages) of accounts will be required: copies of Church accounts, Circuit accounts and District accounts.
11. Applications must include a note of the District Advance Fund and the Circuit Advance Fund (model trust fund), as at 31.8.2011, showing the respective values of these two funds and the commitments made against these two funds.
12. Applications must be sent in hard copy and NOT by email.
13. Incomplete applications, i.e. those that ignore the requirements as stated above will not be considered and will be returned to the District concerned.
14. If any of the above is not clear please contact the Secretary.

What The Joseph Rank Trust supports

JRT has a fund which is used to support Methodism. In 2011 we committed £800,000 to Methodist work. We are interested in funding:

1. Property Schemes which provide improved facilities both for the church itself and the local community;
2. Family workers at Church, Circuit or District Level;
3. Youth workers at Church, Circuit or District Level;
4. Other areas of local Home Mission work. This will follow the JRT’s interpretation of what Home Mission is, which can be expressed as supporting the Church’s role within the community.

Grants are available to support ongoing Church work. However JRT offers only time limited grants and will not consider an application to support work to which it has previously awarded a grant.

JRT will not fund completed projects or delayed church maintenance.

For the avoidance of doubt, the Trust is an independent grant-making charity and is not part of the Connexion.

(page updated 3rd February 2012)

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