Our church is champing at the bit to put in a lavatory and servery, and to get other bits of reordering done. We wonder whether it would be easy to get a grant to help us put in the sewer pipe and water pipes. We have had an estimate of £2000-£3000 to cover plumbing, pipes, and archaeological survey.
We have not got a faculty in place yet, however. Can they be reassured that we will find some funding? We are close to a landfill incinerator, and the church has not asked for any money from the company yet.
I have got a bit stuck with the process. We have had the DAC over to look at what we want to do; and, back in April, we submitted a Statement of Significance and a Statement of Need to the DAC. What happens next? Do I wait for the DAC to get in touch with us before submitting a faculty, or do we just send in the faculty forms?
I RECOMMEND that you get a full indicative budget from your architect for all the works: lavatory, servery, drainage, and water supply, as well as fees and VAT; and then begin enquiries about funding. You can expect modest amounts from Landfill Community Funds. Look at each company’s guidelines, as they may be more interested in the internal fitting than in the drains.
The larger funders, such as the Landfill Community Funds, are tending now to say that you must start work within one year of their grant offer or lose the grant; so this compacts timescales a bit. I suggest that you draw a timeline with all the key steps on it — including what is dependent on what — and then work through it so as not to lose hard-earned grants.
There are other potential funders around; so do some research, and prepare applications. Ask other churches about the trusts with which they have been successful, and add them to your list.
If you have some church funds to cover part of the overall budget, show this as income against the overall cost; so funders can, if they wish, choose the elements to which they would like to contribute. You may end up with funding for the servery, and your money covers the less interesting drains.
It is always good to have some fund-raising activities locally in which church and local residents are involved. The result is that everyone will have a sense of achievement about the end result.
When you have a clear plan of where funds are coming from, with some certainty, then the completed drawings and specification from your architect are used in order to apply for the faculty, and go out to tender. The architect will do most of the work of sending in the material applying for the faculty.
Your Statements of Significance and Need will be read alongside the specifications and drawings by the committee. The secretary to the DAC will be helpful in explaining the faculty process in your diocese.
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