Benefact Trust exists to make a positive difference to people's lives by funding, guiding and celebrating the work of churches and Christian charities; empowering the most vulnerable and giving people, communities and places a renewed opportunity to flourish.
Our Trust
Benefact Trust was built on a simple, but ambitious idea - to be one of the UK's most impactful Christian grant-making charities.
This idea is at the heart of everything we do, it has defined our ownership of Benefact Group - which is made up of specialist financial companies whose available profits go towards funding our charitable giving.
Our Trust
Benefact Trust was built on a simple, but ambitious idea - to be one of the UK's most impactful Christian grant-making charities.
This idea is at the heart of everything we do, it has defined our ownership of Benefact Group - which is made up of specialist financial companies whose available profits go towards funding our charitable giving.
Our Work
We are working to change lives and communities for the long-term. It's more than supporting the repair, restoration, protection, improvement, reach and growth of places of Christian worship; our grants are designed to have a positive impact on the wider community, tackling social issues from homelessness and poverty, to climate change and cultural cohesion.
Our reports and policies
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Policies
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Our History
Benefact Trust was born from the idea that things needed to be put in place to protect the vulnerable. In 1887 - following a series of fires that left parishes with ruined churches and no means of repair - Ecclesiastical Buildings Fire Office was established.
Founded by two MP's, three clergymen, a barrister and a clerk of the House of Lords and its directors which comprised of five clerics and five laymen, Ecclesiastical provided a reliable insurance service for parishes in times of struggle. Through a genuine need and good business acumen, profits started to accrue and the decision was taken that these should be shared through good causes.
As the scope of the business, profits and grant-making increased, it was decided in 1972 that Ecclesiastical's ownership should be transferred to a separate independent charity, hence the formation of Benefact Trust (formerly Allchurches Trust). To this day the Trust continues to award grants to good causes with all available profits from the Benefact Group and the specialist financial businesses that sit within it.