About Course
Fundraising for Christian Faith Organisations
CPD Accredited – July 2026 Edition
A comprehensive training course for churches, Christian charities and faith-based organisations on securing grant funding from trusts, foundations and other grant-making bodies, grounded in charity law, the Fundraising Regulator’s Code and 20 years of professional fundraising experience.
Who Is This Course For?
This course has been designed for anyone involved in fundraising or grant development in a church, Christian charity or faith-based organisation in the UK. Whether you are a:
- Church treasurer, PCC member or trustee with financial oversight responsibility
- Minister, vicar or faith leader responsible for income development and project funding
- Fundraiser or development professional working within a faith-based organisation
- Volunteer taking on a fundraising or grant research role for their church or faith group
- CEO or senior leader of a Christian charity looking to diversify and grow income
- New entrant to the sector wanting to understand how faith organisations access grant funding
This course will give you the knowledge, tools and confidence to pursue grant funding effectively and ethically as a faith organisation, navigating both the unique opportunities and the specific challenges that come with a Christian identity.
Course Overview
8 modules · Average 3 to 4 hours to complete · Work at your own pace
The Christian Faith Funding Landscape
Before writing a single word, understand who funds Christian organisations in the UK, what types of grants exist and the unique opportunities, and challenges, that come with being a religious charity. This module maps the four main categories of funder relevant to faith organisations: faith-specific trusts (including the Benefact Trust and the Pilgrim Trust), general grant-makers who fund on community impact, heritage and buildings funders, and local and community funds. The legal status of churches under the Charities Act 2011 is explained, including the sunset date of 31 March 2031 for excepted church charities.
Getting Funding Ready
Funders check your governance before your project. This module ensures your church or faith organisation has the foundations that funders require: an up-to-date governing document, a board or PCC with the right mix of skills, current accounts, an up-to-date safeguarding policy, an Equality Diversity and Inclusion policy demonstrating your services are open to all, and a data protection policy compliant with UK GDPR. The Charity Commission’s CC3 guidance on trustee duties is introduced throughout.
Research & Prospect Identification
The secret to winning applications is better targeting, not better writing. This module covers the funder research tools and techniques that will save you the most time and significantly improve your success rate, how to use the Charity Commission register and annual accounts to research what funders have actually given to faith organisations, how to use 360Giving and GrantNav to search for relevant grants, and how to build a prioritised funding pipeline focused on the funders most likely to say yes to your specific work.
Impact, Storytelling & Funding
Navigating the faith question is arguably the most important skill in Christian fundraising: how much to talk about your faith depends entirely on who you are writing for. This module provides a clear framework for tailoring your narrative to three distinct funder types, faith-specific funders who want to see your Christian mission, faith-friendly general funders who fund on community impact, and secular/statutory funders where community benefit and inclusivity are the headline. The five elements of your organisation’s story are developed into a reusable Case for Support.
Budget Brilliance
Every grant application requires a credible budget, and for many faith organisations, this is the stage where applications fall down. This module covers how to build a grant budget that is accurate, realistic and fundable: how to calculate staff and volunteer costs, how to apply the principle of additionality, how to handle VAT for churches and charities, and how to write a budget narrative that justifies every cost line clearly.
Writing the Application
The techniques that separate consistently successful faith fundraisers from those who apply repeatedly without result. This module covers how to structure an application to guide an assessor to a yes, how to answer the most common application questions with precision and confidence, how to present evidence of community need, how to describe your beneficiaries honestly and with dignity in line with the Code of Fundraising Practice and UK GDPR, and how to avoid the most common mistakes that cause faith organisation applications to be rejected.
Monitoring, Evaluation & Impact
Funders want to know what changes as a result of their investment, not just what activities you delivered. This module covers the difference between outputs and outcomes, how to set SMART indicators appropriate to your organisation’s size and capacity, how to collect evidence of impact compliantly under UK GDPR, and how to write a compelling impact report that satisfies funder reporting requirements and builds the case for future grants.
Building Funder Relationships
One-off grants are useful. Long-term funder relationships that generate repeat income year after year are transformational. This module covers the stewardship principles that turn a first grant into a lasting funding partnership, how to thank funders appropriately in line with the Code of Fundraising Practice, how to keep funders engaged throughout a project, how to handle underspends and project changes compliantly, and how to build a whole-organisation culture of funder engagement that involves your minister, trustees and volunteers in your fundraising story.
What You Will Learn
On completion of all modules, you will be able to:
- ✓ Understand the UK funding landscape for faith organisations and identify the funders most likely to support your work
- ✓ Ensure your church or faith organisation meets the governance and compliance requirements that funders expect
- ✓ Conduct strategic funder research using the Charity Commission register, 360Giving and other authoritative tools
- ✓ Navigate the faith question and tailor your narrative appropriately for faith-specific, faith-friendly and secular funders
- ✓ Build an accurate, compliant grant budget that reflects the additionality principle and UK employer costs
- ✓ Write a compelling, well-structured application that presents your work clearly, honestly and in the language of your target funder
- ✓ Measure and report on your impact in a way that satisfies funders and meets your Charity Commission obligations
- ✓ Build long-term funder relationships through excellent stewardship that generates repeat investment
Benefits for You and Your Organisation
✓ Win Grants Your Organisation Needs
Understand exactly which funders are most likely to support faith-based work, and how to present your case to maximise your chances. Stop losing applications on eligibility or the faith question.
✓ Stay Legally Compliant
Understand your obligations under charity law, the Code of Fundraising Practice, UK GDPR and the Equality Act 2010, and manage your fundraising with confidence that you are meeting every requirement.
✓ Access Funding You Did Not Know About
From the Benefact Trust and National Churches Trust to community foundations and corporate funders, this course maps funding sources that many faith organisations overlook entirely.
✓ Build Sustainable Income
Long-term funder relationships mean more predictable income and less time spent chasing new funding each year. This course shows you how to build them.
✓ A Resource You Will Keep Using
Download and save the course for future reference. Return to it every time you are preparing an application, building a budget or developing a new funder relationship.
✓ Recognised Achievement
Complete all eight modules and receive a personalised, printable CPD-accredited certificate of completion to support your professional development.
– Amie Elliott, GeckoFundraising Ltd
How It Works
Complete your purchase using our secure online card payment. Access to the full course is granted immediately upon payment being received, no waiting, no delay.
Work through the modules online at any time, at your own pace. Your progress is saved automatically in your browser, so you can dip in and out across multiple sessions to fit around your work. Please complete the course on the same device and browser throughout, as your progress is stored locally and will not transfer between devices.
Once complete, save the course as a PDF to keep on your desktop. Return to it whenever you need it, a practical reference resource you will use again and again.
Complete all modules and generate your personalised, printable CPD-accredited certificate of completion instantly, at no extra cost, a record of your professional development to share with trustees, employers or commissioners.
Course Investment
One-off payment including VAT · No subscription · Instant access on payment
- Complete online at your own pace, 3 to 4 hours on average
- Full course available to download and save for future reference
- Links to authoritative UK legislation and official guidance throughout
- Personalised, printable CPD-accredited certificate of completion on finishing all modules
- Course content covers the legal framework for charities in England and Wales · Also available in course bundles and the Full Catalogue (£649 including VAT)
Access to the course content is granted immediately upon receipt of your completed online card payment. You will be able to start learning straight away.
Important: complete this course on one device
Your progress, knowledge-check answers and certificate details are saved locally in the browser you use to open the course. They are not stored on our server and will not transfer to another device, or to a different browser on the same device. Please start and finish the course using the same device and browser. Clearing your browser history or site data, or using a private or incognito window, will also erase your progress. Your downloadable copy of the course is unaffected and can be opened anywhere.
Course Content
Fundraising for Christian Faith Organisations
Fundraising for Christian Faith Organisations