The Verulam House Fund Trust - could it help you?
Many groups and individuals in St Albans diocese have been supported by the Verulam House Fund, set up by the Diocesan Synod, following the sale of Verulam House, the former diocesan retreat and conference centre.
The Fund aims to support people and projects that promote education, spirituality, witness and service - and is always pleased to receive requests for financial help.
For more information, follow the links below:
Five
year report to Synod - March 2003 Guidelines: key extracts - and how to apply for
a grant |
|
Five year report to Synod - March 2003
In 1994, Verulam House, which since 1926 had been used
as a Diocesan Retreat and Conference Centre, was sold. The sale realised a
sum of almost £700,000 and this was amalgamated with
an Endowment Fund of over £100,000, established for the maintenance of the
House.
A group was formed to discuss the use of this money and in 1996, it reported
back to Synod that it believed ‘it would be inappropriate to take an over-cautious
view of this resource, but that we need to find ways of making it work for people
for the sake of the Kingdom. The parable of the Talents (Matthew 25) suggests
such a confident response to God’s generosity.’
Out of these thoughts
arose the Verulam House Fund Trust, whose aim was ‘to help things happen
for laity and clergy for the sake of the mission and ministry of the Church,
especially through the promotion of spirituality, education,
service and witness’, by means of bursaries for individuals and grants
for projects across the diocese. The Trust was to be administered on behalf of
Synod by representatives of the three Archdeaconries together with one from the
Board of Finance. The original Trustees were Robin Marson, Anthony Archer, Neil
Gill, Hannah Potter, the Rev’d Tom Purchas, the Rev’d Juergen Bridstrup and the
Rev’d Lawrence MacDonald.
The Chairman, and representative of the Bishop of St. Albans, was the Rev’d Canon
Les Oglesby. They were assisted by Lawrie Nichols as Diocesan Secretary and Mrs.
Emma Critchley as Diocesan Trusts Officer. The Trustees were to invite applications
to the Fund, which were to be discussed at their meetings. There are four meeting
per year, held in February, May, September and November. The Trustees were looking
to disburse £22,000 for Projects per year
and £11,000 for Bursaries.
At its meeting on 12th November 1997, the first award granted by the Trustees was for £375 to the Rev’d David Bolster and the Luton Churches Education Trust. This was to part-finance a visit by young people from Luton to the Karenni Refugee Camp in Thailand. A report of the trip sent back to the Trustees from one of the teenagers involved indicated that the fund was making it ‘work for people for the sake of the Kingdom’:
"When we had settled in I began to think about several things, like ‘what am I doing here?’ I have no talents that will help the group, but then I stopped and thought God has sent me. "
From then on, the Verulam House Fund Trust has assisted in the promotion of the Church throughout the diocese and beyond. Since 1998 it has helped 127 projects and individuals and awarded £105,464. Out of this money, 84% (£88,589) has been to 52 Projects, with an average of £1,704 per project. The remaining 16% (£16,874.24) has been to 75 individuals, with an average of £225 per person. Almost 60% (£63,278) of all grants awarded has been to Youth Ministry and the Trust continues to be a valuable source of funding in this area.
We have funded many and various projects. Examples include:
- 1998 onwards: the Grassroots Community Project at Marsh Farm
- 1998: Wellsprings Centre for Spirituality
- 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002: Potters Bar Youth for Christ
- 1999: Radiance Open Air Christian Concert
- 1999: Pilgrims’ Musical Progress: Cathedral Education Centre
- 2000: Townsend School visit to Uganda
- 2000, 2002: Diocesan Initiatives in Spirituality
- 2001: a grant towards Early Years Teacher Training in Zimbabwe
- 2001: the supply of musical equipment to the band, Resurrection
- 2002: a bursary to send a family to Taize
- 2003: Christ the King Youth Club, Welwyn
It was in 2000 that the Fund was operating at its most successful point with grants awarded in that year totalling £46,476, almost 44% of the complete amount awarded in these last five years. This was due to a combination of a high level of ‘Millennium’ applications, renewed publicity in SeeRound and the knowledge that the Fund had risen to its highest at the ending of the previous year. This was to be its peak and since then, due to the decreasing value of shares, the Net Assets held have dropped considerably. But the position is not gloomy, because the Trust has not fully realised its potential for giving in past years and there remains a surplus amount of money from unspent grants which will act as a cushion in future years.
The Trust is now a changing body, with only two of the ‘founder’ Trustees remaining (Hannah Potter and the Rev’d Lawrence MacDonald). It is now chaired by the Revd Peter Louis who brings with him a desire for the fund to reach out to as many people as possible and especially to support creative and innovative people and projects who might not receive funding from any other source.
The Trust continues to receive, and is grateful for, the expertise of the Diocesan Staff including the Diocesan Secretary, Miss Susan Pope, and the Financial Secretary, Martin Bishop. In the next five years we need to look at how the Trust can distribute as much money as possible, thus remaining true to the Parable of the Talents. We need to look at ways of encouraging individuals to apply and we need to discuss ways in which we can broaden the scope of giving. The next five years will be a challenging time and we hope that we can continue to fund the mission of the church ‘for the sake of the Kingdom’.
Trust Fund report for 2006
Income in 2006 increased to £26,975 as compared to £25,880 in 2005, which enabled the Trustees to continue to increase the support which the Fund provides. Total expenditure in support of projects and individuals was £29,186 in 2006 as compared to £27,457 in 2005. The Trustees drew on accumulated income in order to maintain this level of support, which reflected a welcome increase in the number of applications as the work of the Trust became better known.
32 bursaries were awarded (as compared to 20 in 2005); total expenditure was £12,926. Much of this increase was due a number of awards in support of a visit to the Holy Land by Readers from the diocese; the Trustees were delighted to be able to support this. Other bursaries supported a wide range of activities including help with the costs of sabbaticals, assistance with the costs of an MA in Pastoral Theology and support to young people for projects including work in Zimbabwe.
The Trustees also made grants totalling £16,735 to 13 projects within the diocese. These covered a very wide range of activities, details of which are given below.
In addition to the grants which they made, the Trustees approved one loan from the Fund, of £20,800 to the St Albans Woodland Burial Trust to contribute to the cost of setting up a woodland burial site in the diocese.
2006 Project grants
Project Name
Project nature
£Amount
St John and St Leonard, Bedford
Children's Holiday Club
500
Yarlswood
Chaplaincy - work with detainees
1000
St Barnabas, Adeyfield
contribution to funding for youth worker
1,000
Tottenhoe, Stanbridge and Tilsworth
workshops exploring mission
350
Christchurch , Bushmead
funding for equipment to support youth worker
250
BRAVE (2)
Schools worker in NE Herts
5000
Church of Resurrection , Grovehill and Woodhall
church worker with responsibility for children and young people
5000
St Peter's Sharnbrook
media equipment
500
All Saints Bedford
"Shining Stars/Black History month"
500
St Hugh's Lewsey, Luton
cost of leaders attending Soul Survivor
500
St Giles Codicote
contribution to set-up costs for coffee shop
135
Hemel Hempstead Deanery Chapter Residential
contribution to cost of organising and attending this residential event for clergy
500
Bromham Oakley and Stagsden
Contribution to cost of equipment to be used by parish evangelist
1500
Revd Peter
Louis
Trust Chairman
For further information, contact :
Nigel Benger, The Clerk,
Verulam House Fund Trust,
Diocesan Office,
41 Holywell Hill,
St Albans, Herts. AL1 1HE
Tel: 01727 854532
or e-mail nbenger@stalbans.anglican.org
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Guidelines key extracts and how to apply for a grant
1. The Purpose of the Verulam House Fund Trust is to enable laity and clergy in St Albans diocese to engage in the mission and ministry of the Church, especially through the promotion of spirituality, education, service and witness.
2. The overall purpose is addressed by duly-appointed and
elected trustees on behalf of the Diocesan Synod in accordance with the Trust
Deed, dated June 1997.
3. The Trust Deed envisages that within the Verulam House Fund (VHF) the trustees
will set up funds for projects and for bursaries and that they will exercise
powers to preserve capital values.
4. Projects : The trustees have set up a fund investing four-ninths
of the initial VHF as a projects fund. Loans may be made from the capital of
this fund or grants may be made from the investment income and from any other
monies applied to this fund by the trustees, such as surplus income from the
capital preservation fund.
5. Early in each new calendar year the trustees will decide what is available for disbursement in grants and/or loans for that year. Proposed projects will normally be considered by the trustees twice a year, after the end of January and after the end of July, for award in the following six months.
6. Projects proposed should be able to show how they will enable laity and clergy to engage in the mission and ministry of the Church, especially through the promotion of spirituality, education, service and witness.
7. In setting out a project proposal applicants will be asked to give a description of the project, a statement of its aim, a fully costed budget, details of how the project will be managed and how its effectiveness will be assessed, including arrangements for reporting back to sponsors. The trustees will require to be satisfied that the project falls within at least one of the overall purposes of promoting spirituality, education, service or witness. Applicants may be encouraged to show how a project, focussing on any one purpose, will promote the others.
8. The VHF will not normally fund more than fifty per cent of the cost of any project.
9. Awards will not normally be made for projects for which the trustees decide it should be the task of the Diocesan Synod to make budgetary provision through the Common Fund.
10. Each project application should be from a responsible body in the parish, deanery or diocese, and the application should be accompanied by a copy of the appropriate resolution in support of the project, passed by that body, giving voting figures and the signature of the chairperson and the secretary.
11. Application to the projects fund may be for loans or for grants (or for a combination of the two).
12. The trustees will bear in mind that the award of loans will reduce the capacity of the projects fund to make grants, and will normally give priority to grant applications.
13. Applicants for loans will be asked to indicate the number of years over which they intend to repay. The trustees may at some stage come to specify a normal maximum. Applicants will be asked to show evidence of ability to repay the loan. Interest will normally be chargeable equivalent to the annual rate of inflation.
14. Bursaries : The trustees have set up a fund investing two-ninths of the initial VHF, known as the bursaries fund. Grants may be made from the investment income and from other monies applied to this fund by the trustees, such as surplus income from the capital preservation fund.
15. Applications for bursary grants may be made to the trustees at any time. They will be dealt with in the order in which they are received. The trustees may need to consider the appointment of a bursary fund grants officer. In any one calendar year the trustees will not give in grants more than they have allocated for disbursement for that year.
16. Prospective grantees will be expected to show how a grant will help their development in at least one of the areas of spirituality, education, service or witness.
17. Applicants will be asked to give a description of the event or activity for which they are seeking funding, a state-ment of its aim, a fully costed budget and a statement of how its effectiveness will be assessed, including arrangements for reporting back to sponsors. The trustees will require to be satisfied that the event or activity falls within at least one of the overall purposes of promoting spirituality, education, service or witness. Applicants may be encouraged to show how a project, focussing on any one purpose, will assist their development in relation to the others.
18. The VHF will not normally fund more than fifty per cent of the cost of a person’s participation in any event or activity. The VHF would normally expect applicants to make some contribution to the cost of the event or activity themselves.
19. The trustees will normally give priority to lay applicants and to those clergy who do not have access to diocesan or other charitable funds.
20. Applications should normally be from individuals, and should be supported by a letter from their incumbent, or church council, or rural dean, or deanery synod, or archdeacon, as appropriate.
Click here, for a
copy
of the application form (Right click, and select 'Save target as'
to download form to your computer)
Applications should be sent to Mr Nigel Benger, the Clerk, VHFT, Diocesan Office,
41 Holywell Hill, St Albans, Herts. AL1 1HE. He can also let you have a copy
of the full Guidelines.
