Funder and fundee attitudes to the support of church-based community projects by charitable grant-making trusts

Obtaining support from grant-making trusts is a crucial element in the fundraising strategies of many third sector organisations. But while there is an extensive literature on crafting successful grant applications and on the funding policies of trusts, there has been little consideration of the attitudes of funders and fundees and the impact of these attitudes on the application process. Churches are one, relatively unstudied part of the third sector, especially in terms of external fundraising. This article considers the relationships between churches and grant-making trusts, based on attitudinal data from both parties. The findings show that, while in general grant-making trusts will fund churches undertaking community projects, the onus is on the churches to prove they are not proselytising. It was also found that the ability of churches to explain their charitable status effectively, and thereby demonstrate that they are within the scope of trust funding, is limited through their own poor understanding of this status.