Finding funding for an accessible church

Disability charity Through the Roof has created a webpage to show churches and ministries where to find funding for building work to improve disabled access. It's available now on their website and at this link: https://bit.ly/ObtainFunding

Katie Mobbs from Through the Roof shares: "I'm a Christian, and a wheelchair user. It can be challenging to access some church buildings in my wheelchair, as many have steps, heavy doors and fixed pews that limit access. Many churches want to open up their buildings more for disabled people but are not sure where to start. That's why I'm excited about our webpage about funding for access improvements! I'd love all churches to know there are funding bodies that want to help – so please do visit the webpage and tell others about it."

"My own church is really positive about disability inclusion and it is wonderful that they want to make sure everyone is able to have full accessibility and a chance to belong in church. We know that finances are tight for churches currently – so it is more important than ever to know how to get funds."

Making your church more accessible is a journey – you don't have to get everything right straight away. Just get started and remember that small things can make a big difference.

Here are some key tips from the webpage about finding funding:

1) There are many different funding organisations for churches such as the National Churches Trust or the Benefact Trust – many offer advice as well as sources of funding.

2) If your church building is used for community activities, ensure you flag that to funders – many more funds are available for community-used buildings than for church-use alone.

3) Building work to provide access for disabled people is zero-rated for VAT – make sure you get an appropriate certificate to give to your builder so you don't pay VAT.

Through the Roof helps churches and Christian ministries become accessible with ...

• a FREE 2 hour Zoom Disability Awareness workshop for churches who appoint a disability champion or 'Roofbreaker'
• access to our free downloadable 'Church Toolkit' and 'Removing Barriers' church accessibility audit, available to all Roofbreaker disability champions
• ongoing support, monthly emails, events, Facebook and Roofbreaker Networks.

Find out how your church can be blessed by the full involvement of disabled people at: https://throughtheroof.org/forchurches/