Benefact Trust (previously the Allchurches Trust) is a large national charity in the United Kingdom, established in 1972. It is headquartered in

Gloucester Gloucester ( ) is a cathedral city and the county town of Gloucestershire in the South West of England. Gloucester lies on the River Severn, between the Cotswolds to the east and the Forest of Dean to the west, east of Monmouth and east o ...

. It is an independent

registered charity A charitable organization or charity is an organization whose primary objectives are philanthropy and social well-being (e.g. educational, religious or other activities serving the public interest or common good). The legal definition of a ch ...

. Its objects are 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." Initially, most of its grants were for the repair and maintenance of church buildings. Now it also supports projects that more widely benefit local communities and reflect changes in society.

History

The trust was set up to act as the beneficial owner of the insurance company Ecclesiastical Insurance. It was founded by the

Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the established Christian church in England and the mother church of the international Anglican Communion. It traces its history to the Christian church recorded as existing in the Roman province of Brit ...

and signatories included the then Archbishop of Canterbury

Michael Ramsey Arthur Michael Ramsey, Baron Ramsey of Canterbury, (14 November 1904 – 23 April 1988) was an English Anglican bishop and life peer. He served as the 100th Archbishop of Canterbury. He was appointed on 31 May 1961 and held the office until 1 ...

, the Archbishop of York Donald Coggan, the Dean of St Paul's Martin Sullivan, the Secretary General of the

General Synod of the Church of England The General Synod is the tricameral deliberative and legislative organ of the Church of England. The synod was instituted in 1970, replacing the Church Assembly, and is the culmination of a process of rediscovering self-government for the Church ...

Sir John Guillum Scott and others. Benefact Trust continues to maintain close affiliation to the Church of England, its main beneficiary, and one of its stated funding policies is to provide Dioceses and Cathedrals with block grants to help in their ongoing running.

Governance

It is a

under the name Benefact Trust Limited and its objects are to promote the Christian religion and to provide funds for other charitable purposes. The charity is governed by a board of trustees who set its strategic direction and ensure it meets its goals and objectives. The current chair is Tim Carroll.

Income

It does not fundraise; it derives its funds solely from the business it owns, Ecclesiastical Insurance and the subsidiary EdenTree Investment, which passes on to Benefact Trust a significant proportion of profits. In 2015, Benefact Trust received £23m from Ecclesiastical Insurance, enabling the trust to give £11.7m in grants to the Church of England dioceses, other Anglican denominations and other charitable projects. A 2016 Thanksgiving service in

Gloucester Cathedral Gloucester Cathedral, formally the Cathedral Church of St Peter and the Holy and Indivisible Trinity, in Gloucester, England, stands in the north of the city near the River Severn. It originated with the establishment of a minster dedicated to ...

marked the donation within three years of £50million to the trust from Ecclesiastical Insurance and its subsidiary. A personal message of thanks from Archbishop

Justin Welby Justin Portal Welby (born 6 January 1956) is a British bishop who is the 105th Archbishop of Canterbury. He has served in that role since 2013. Welby was previously the vicar of Southam, Warwickshire, and then Bishop of Durham, serving for ...

was read out by Bishop Nigel Stock, the Bishop at Lambeth and chair of the trust at the time. Ecclesiastical Insurance has set itself a new target of providing £100million for Benefact Trust by 2020.

Criticism

In 2017, survivors of church abuse criticised the nexus of corporate ties between Allchurches Trust, Ecclesiastical Insurance, and the Church of England. Ecclesiastical was founded in 1887 by the Church of England to conserve the profits of the insurer for itself. Since the 1970s, its profits have been paid to Allchurches Trust, which makes substantial block grants to dioceses and cathedrals in addition to grants to many parishes. The nexus has been accused of resisting and restricting financial settlements because it is too closely affiliated with the Church itself. Research carried out in

Companies House Companies House is the executive agency of the company registrars of the United Kingdom, falling under the remit of the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy. All forms of companies (as permitted by the Companies Act) are in ...

revealed the extent of these grants. It has been estimated that between 2014-2020 the Church of England will receive in the region of £100 million via Allchurches Trust. The search for information on Companies House also revealed that in addition to the senior church figures who have been trustees of the trust, numerous bishops and cathedral deans have been directors on the board of Ecclesiastical itself. In July 2017, a BBC

Victoria Derbyshire Victoria Antoinette Derbyshire is a British journalist, newsreader and broadcaster. Her eponymous current affairs and debate programme was broadcast on BBC Two and the BBC News Channel from 2015 until March 2020. She has also presented ''News ...

programme commented that the insurer "has had a string of senior members of clergy on its board of directors." Keith Porteous Wood, chair of the

National Secular Society The National Secular Society (NSS) is a British campaigning organisation that promotes secularism and the separation of church and state. It holds that no one should gain advantage or disadvantage because of their religion or lack of it. It was ...

, commented

References

External links