Download the Tier 2 grant application form
Read the guidance below before you start to fill out your form.
On this page...
- Who is making this application?
- About your project
- Costs
- Employment information
- Building-related projects
- Sustainability
- Bank account details
- Completing your application
Who is making this application?
We need to know the community which is making this application. This can be a parish, benefice, deanery or a community (such as a chaplaincy) within the Diocese of Oxford.
If this is for a project linked to a school, the application should come from the parish (or maybe a deanery in the case of a secondary school). You will also need to provide confirmation that the school’s head teacher is supportive of your project.
Next, give the contact details for the main person who is (or will be) responsible for the day-to-day running of the project you wish to fund.
About your project
We use the word ‘project’ to describe the initiative or piece of work you would like to do, which will be enabled by, or benefit from, a Development Fund grant. Grants will sometimes be sought for particular equipment or resources. However we also want to know about the wider ‘project’: what the equipment or resource is needed for, and how it is going to be used to benefit your organisation.
Throughout this section, keep in mind the priorities for the Development Fund, which are to encourage discernment, missional creativity, learning and sustainability (see the ‘Before you start’ section at the top of this document).
We ask you to tell us about your project by answering six questions:
1. Summary. A single sentence which sums up what the grant will help you to do, and what outcome you hope this will have. Although this is the first question, you may find it easier to write this after you have answered all the other questions. Ideally, phrase this sentence in the form below, with you filling in the blanks:
A Development Fund grant will help us to ________ and we expect this will lead to ______
2. A brief description in no more than 400 words. Make sure you describe:
o The main features of the work you plan to undertake, especially where it addresses the Development Fund priorities
o who will contribute to this project and who will benefit from it
o Say what is distinctive about this project (this might be the work you plan to do or the context into which it will be deployed)
3. How will this project help you become a more Christ-like church for the sake of God’s world? Now tell us the main way(s) you expect this project will help you become a more Christ-like church. Grand aspirations are not essential: becoming more Christ-like is often to be found in the everyday and the seemingly unremarkable. For help completing this question, the guidance document Signs of a more Christ-like church, available to download on the website, contains lots of ideas.
4. How does this project tie in with the wider strategy or plans of your parish and benefice? We are looking for evidence that the project is part of a thought-through plan, with signs of discernment where God is at work. In other words: what makes this a God idea, rather than a good idea? A parish planning tool may help here. You should also seek the advice and support at an early stage from your Parish Development Adviser, who can help you develop your vision and strengthen your project by sharing their experience from other projects and referring you to other relevant resources. As evidence of your thinking, you might also mention here any alternative approaches that have been considered and rejected (and briefly, say why). Stronger applications typically demonstrate how their project has been strengthened by consultation with relevant organisations.
Applications serving more than one church and/or community are particularly welcomed.
5. Outline the project timescales. Here provide a high-level plan showing: the main activities or phases of activity; when you expect the key milestones to occur; the overall expected timescale to completion; and indicate where the main cost items occur (to help us plan staged payments for longer-term projects). The amount of detail you give needs to be in proportion with the size, duration and cost of the project. You may wish to attach a separate document/file for this.
Particularly for large/complex projects, it will help your application if the project can be shown to be a series of discrete phases each with their own outcomes, rather than a single massive task with all the outcome benefits at the end.
Development Fund grants are offered over a maximum of five years: if your project requires funding over a longer timescale, please contact the Development Fund Administrator (contact details at the top of this document) to discuss.
6. What are the hoped-for outcomes of your project? Two parts to this:
o A description of the impact or outcomes you might reasonably expect (how will things be different after your project, compared to now) and
o an indication of how (and when) you think the outcomes might come about
Because this is anticipating the future, you cannot be entirely specific, and some things will turn out differently to what you expect. However, we ask this question to check that your expectations are reasonable, considering the amount of time and effort going into the project.
2.3 Section 3: Costs
In this section, we are seeking assurance that your project is financially viable so that it can be completed in the way you describe. Please tell us:
• How much money you are asking for from the Development Fund. For Tier 2: above £2,500 but not normally more than £80k in a single grant or £200k over a maximum of five years. A grant for a buildings-related project does not normally exceed £50k. You should also use a Tier 2 application form for any projects involving employment, even if the requested amount is under £2,500.
• What is the total cost of the project? (This is likely to be more than the amount you have just stated due to other income and funding sources.) For many Tier 2 grant applications it will be helpful to provide a budgetary statement of all the costs and income sources, which you can attach to your application.
• What would the grant be spent on? If you have a particular item or service in mind, please support this with a price or quotation which shows the costs. Development grants are awarded on a ‘restricted funds’ basis, so any grant awarded must be spent on the item(s) you indicate here. Also, if your grant is not fully used, you must return the unspent amount to the Diocese.
• What contribution your parish/benefice/deanery/chaplaincy is making to the project. Please include any financial contributions, also any other contributions in kind such as voluntary effort, buildings, equipment, etc.
• Any contributions from other sources you have for this project (for example grants you have obtained or hope to obtain from other sources).
A note about matched funding. For Tier 2 applications we generally expect the applicant to source at least half of the project cost from itself and other partners. You may, however, wish to make a case in this section for higher levels of Development Funding for work in deprived areas, or for projects where there are no alternative funding sources, resources, or other contributions in kind.
• Recent history of Parish Share payments. Please tell us if you are up to date with your Parish Share payments, and if not, the circumstances of the shortfall and plans you have to address it. If Parish Share payments have not been made in full, consideration will need to be given to the sustainability of any project within the broader finances of the parish. Applications from parishes that have withheld Parish Share are unlikely to be considered until payments in full are made.
• Recognising the possibility that this fund could be oversubscribed and that we may not be able to accept every application (or may be unable to grant the full amounts requested), please tell us what would happen or how you would change your plans if this grant was not awarded.
• Please also attach the following to your application:
o Your most recent annual accounts for your PCC, benefice or deanery.
o You may also wish to provide details of your current financial position, to give us a more accurate and up-to-date picture of your financial status (for example, to demonstrate recent fundraising activity).
o To accompany the above responses, it helps the Development Fund Panel if you provide a budgetary statement of all your expected income and expenditure for this project. This is particularly helpful for larger grants and longer-term projects.
If there are questions about the financial viability of your project, based on the information in your application, the Development Fund Administrator may contact you or your Area Bishop or Archdeacon for more information.
2.4 Section 4: Employment information
You only need to complete this section if your project includes the employment of paid staff (even if the grant would not cover the full cost of employment). These additional questions are asked to help applicants think through the additional considerations attached to employment, to ensure financial expectations are realistic and to avoid common pitfalls experienced by parishes and deaneries in the past. We ask all applicants whose project involves employment of staff to look through the Parish HR Toolkit, which has comprehensive guidance on employing staff, and to consult with the HR team before applying.
In addition, for applications:
• including the employment of children, youth or family workers all applicants should as the first point of contact consult with the Discipleship Enabler for their Archdeaconry
• including the employment of roles related to new congregations or church plants, all applicants should consult with the Parish Development Adviser for their Archdeaconry before the application is submitted, with information about the proposed role(s). (Applicants in Oxford Archdeaconry should consult with the Programme Manager in the New Congregations team.)
Before you submit your grant application, work through the questions in this section (a separate set for each role) and send your responses to the HR team in Church House Oxford (Tim Barnett tim.barnett@oxford.anglican.org, tel. 01865 208200).
For each role that you will employ under this project, tell us:
• The role title.
• Confirm who will be the employer, also confirm whether this organisation already employs staff (that is, they will be employing someone for the first time)? There are a number of legal requirements to be met by the employing organisation: for example, a deanery may need to register as a CIO (Charitable Interest Organisation).
• State the employment category: will this role holder be an employee, a contractor or an office-holder?
• Tell us the context of the role: is this a continuation of an existing role (terms and conditions unchanged); a change to an existing role (expansion or realignment) or is this a new role?
• The proposed terms of employment:
o gross pay rate (before tax and deductions) per year/month/week (you should note that the Oxford Diocesan Board of Finance has made a commitment to the Real Living Wage https://www.livingwage.org.uk/what-real-living-wage).
o working pattern and number of working hours per week/month
o the contracted number of hours per day
o contract type: permanent or fixed term (in which case state the term length)
o annual leave allowance.
• An estimate of the additional employment costs: employer pension contributions, employer NI contribution and an estimate of the likely expenses for travel, telephone, IT equipment, etc.
• Describe any arrangements for continuing professional development (mandatory training, retreats, other learning and development, incl. costs) that will be appropriate to this role.
• The role description. Every role should have a Job Description which outlines the role activity, responsibilities and skills/attributes needed (attach a separate document to your application).
• Advertisement and recruitment. Please explain briefly how/where you plan to advertise and recruit to the role.
• Right to work in the UK. We need you to acknowledge the need to check the right to work status of any applicant. For details see https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/right-to-work-checks-employers-guide
• Finally, we ask you to confirm that this role has been discussed with HR at Church House Oxford and to summarise the outcome of those consultations.
2.5 Section 5: Building-related projects
‘Building’ and ‘building-related’ refer to any works affecting your church buildings, churchyard or curtilage. You should complete section 5 if your project includes any building work (even if the grant would not cover the full cost of the work).
Applications for support with early-stage project documentation, e.g. feasibility studies, should be made under Tier 1.
• Please describe the specific work for which you have received approval.
We are seeking assurance that this project has approval to proceed so that it can be completed in the way you describe.
If you are applying for building works, you must have received a supportive Notification of Advice or List B permission (as required) from the Church Buildings Team (DAC@oxford.anglican.org). For buildings not under faculty jurisdiction, the relevant local authority consent(s) must have been granted.
Please also tell us the specific pieces of work for which you have obtained permission.
If you are not yet at this stage, please contact your Parish Development Adviser about developing your vision and the Church Buildings Team for guidance on planning the building project.
• Please attach your draft or final Statement of Need for your building project (if it requires faculty permission rather than List B).
· Overall building management: If you have any outstanding emergency or routine repairs to make to your building(s), please provide details.
We would like to understand how this project fits into the priority, care and management of the rest of your building(s) to assess your ability to complete the proposed project within the timescale indicated.
Please let us know if you have any urgent large-scale repairs you need to make in addition to this project.
• A grant for a buildings-related project would not normally exceed £50k.
• Funding is normally awarded on the basis that your project is able to start within 12 months of any award by the Development Fund Panel.
Essential infrastructure for mission
Bishop’s Council has made available £200K per annum for three years to enable the provision of essential infrastructure required by churches to enable their mission today, where these do not already exist in a usable state.
You do not need to apply separately for this funding; if your project meets these criteria, as the Development Fund Panel will automatically take this into consideration whilst reviewing your application.
The existing normal limit of £50K for a Development Fund grant towards a building project also applies to essential infrastructure grants. As for all Tier 2 applications, we generally expect the applicant to source at least half of the project cost from itself and other partners. You may, however, wish to make a case for higher levels of Development Funding for work in deprived areas, or for projects where there are no alternative funding sources, resources, or other contributions in kind.
Essential infrastructure covers the following types, where these do not already exist in a usable state for your mission activity in the building:
Mains water Heating Hot water
Foul water drainage Lighting Hearing loop
Electricity Toilet Level access in and around the building
Gas Sink WiFi/Internet Connectivity*
*There is a separate Internet Connectivity Fund available to support installation of internet connections where these do not already exist in churches.
2.6 Section 6: Sustainability
Particularly with larger grants, we need assurance that consideration has been given from the outset, for sustainable outcomes and a reasonable legacy of benefits after the funding ends. In this section please tell us your approach to ensure that the work you plan, together with its expected benefits, can continue to a natural conclusion and will not suffer unduly when the development funding ends. We are not seeking a detailed strategy, rather we want to see you have taken reasonable steps, considering the scale of the project.
There are usually three possible outcomes at the end of a project:
1. the work is complete and has reached a natural conclusion (though there may still be a legacy of benefits); or
2. the project becomes self-funding or attracts some other funding source as it progresses (if so, please show how this will happen and indicate the likely impact if replacement funding is not achieved); or
3. the project needs ongoing funding (in which case, please indicate the likely future funding requirement and the impact if it stops).
Please also tell us about the expected legacy from your project: those benefits which may continue after both the funding and the project have ended.
2.7 Section 7: Bank account details
Development Fund grants will normally be paid into a PCC, benefice or deanery account and not a personal account or account belonging to another organisation. Please give details of the account (name, account number and sort code) and the treasurer’s name and contact details.
2.8 Section 8: Completing your application
All applications must be endorsed by two senior office-holders (typically this would be one clergy and one lay). Some examples:
• For a parish/benefice application: the incumbent and one of the churchwardens
• For a deanery application: the area dean and lay chair
• For a parish-school application: the incumbent and the school’s head teacher
• For a chaplaincy or other non-parish/deanery application: the senior chaplain and one other member of the organisation (to include at least one Anglican member of the community)
Signatories may sign a paper copy of the form, or alternatively attach an appropriate email confirmation provided it is clearly from the individual/role concerned.
In doing so, you are confirming the information in the application is accurate and reliable, that the parish/benefice/deanery/chaplaincy is committed to the project described and that you are willing to participate in the learning and monitoring & reporting of outcomes:
• We ask all grant recipients to submit an End of Project Report. This helps you to reflect on the work you have done, recognise what you have learned and how you have become a more Christ-like church. It will also help the Diocese understand the impact of our Development Funding across the Diocese
• For longer projects we ask for Monitoring Feedback every 6 months
• You may be invited to a learning group, to share what you learn with others engaged in similar projects (who may or may not have received a Development Fund award)
• Grant funding must be spent as indicated in Section 3 and any unspent grant must be returned to the Diocese.
• The Communications Department is constantly on the look-out for interesting stories emerging from the common vision process. From your feedback, they may get in touch with you to share your story more widely.
• The Diocese of Oxford will publish a list of the grant awards that have been made: what sums have been awarded, to whom and for what purpose.
Submitting your application
The completed application form, plus any other supporting documents, can be either emailed to the address on the form or else printed, signed and posted to the address on the form.
Where the form is submitted by email and a handwritten signature is not possible, evidence of endorsement will be accepted via an email from the person endorsing the application. Supporting documents can be accepted as email attachments in Word, Excel, PDF or JPG format.