NEW ROAD BAPTIST CHURCH

BONN SQUARE OXFORD OX1 1LQ

Church Warden Telephone OXFORD (01865) 798235

Minister: Revd Kathryn Bracewell

2a Carlton Road, Oxford OX2 7RZ

Telephone OXFORD (01865) 437909

E-mail: kathryn.bracewell@yahoo.co.uk

Secretary: Dr Deborah Rooke

Telephone OXFORD (01865) 798235

THE CHARLTON ON OTMOOR LIVING LEGACY FUND 2015-2020

A Mission Fund for Baptist Churches in Oxfordshire

New Road Baptist Church has a strong history of planting and serving numerous churches in the Oxford area. The present-day members of the church find it humbling to acknowledge the way our ancestors shared their resources - human and material - and we wish to continue the tradition. The closure and sale of Charlton-on-Otmoor chapel has provided us with an exciting opportunity. We have, in a sense, received our investment back and now wish to disperse the proceeds of this sale in a creative and imaginative way and strengthen our relationship with the churches around us.
To this end we have created a mission fund, available to Baptist Churches within Oxfordshire, which are engaging with their local communities in new and imaginative expressions of mission. The fund will be open to applications until the end of 2020 and the number of grants made each year will be limited to ensure an even distribution over the period. At the end of 2020 the deacons of New Road Baptist Church (in conjunction with the SCBA Regional Ministers and the Baptist Union Corporation) will determine how any remaining money in the fund, not committed, shall be dispersed.

Successful applications to this fund will normally come from Baptist Churches in Oxfordshire that are in membership with the Baptist Union of Great Britain, although some flexibility may be given to new/informal groups that are not actually in membership with the BUGB, yet which have strong links with churches that are.

Applications for mission events that are being carried out ecumenically are welcomed, as long as a) it can be demonstrated that a Baptist Church is a strong and active partner in the venture and b) the application is made by the Baptist Church.
Application letters may be written by any member of the church but must be co-signed by the minister or a deacon of that church. Grant payments will only be made to the church which is making the application, not to any individual.

Applications are invited under one or more of the following categories:
1. SEED MONEY
One off grants of up to £1,000.
These grants might fund short-term mission events or ventures. We are especially keen to fund that which is imaginative and perhaps 'risky', and which break new ground.
2. SMALL GRANT
One off grants of up to £5,000.
This grant could be for a larger mission project and may include material changes to a building or the purchase of new equipment. General building repairs will not normally be considered, nor will applications where the grant will be only a small part of the overall costs – unless these changes clearly and directly make the mission venture possible, or enhance it significantly.
3. PEOPLE AND PLACE
Grants of up to £5,000 per annum, potentially renewable to a maximum of 3 years.
This might fund staff costs or other running costs. We are especially interested in funding situations where a 'person' and a 'place' have come together providing a spark of unique opportunity. In some instances the grant-making body may make a provisional commitment to provide two or three-year funding, however the onus will be on the applicant to provide evidence at the end of each year of the grant that the money is being used as expected and agreed. The fund will be closed to new applications at the end of 2020. Where applications involve two or three-year projects that extend beyond this date, provision will be made for this.

To apply for a grant please send a letter (maximum two pages A4 plus one page A4 budget), outlining your venture. Included in this letter should be:

- What you are aiming to achieve.

- The rationale behind your venture.

- Why you think your project is needed

- Evidence/Indication of community need

- Your project plan

- Your projected costs.

- Any funding sought/received from other sources

Please also include a copy of your most recent church accounts.

The grant making body meets three times per year, normally in September, January and May, but is open to considering applications in-between meetings should there be a significant time restraint. The grant-making body may wish to send two of its members to meet and talk with applicants.

All successful applications will fulfil the main criterion which is:

To engage with your local community in new and imaginative expressions of mission.

Grants will be awarded at the discretion of the grant-making body, whose decision is final. The grant-making body will make a limited number of grants each year, and its decisions will reflect the number of applications received and the nature of need expressed.

Successful applicants under categories 1 and 2 will need to provide written confirmation that the money was used as expected, once the project has been completed. Successful applicants under category 3 will need to submit an annual report for each year the grant is renewed, to the grant-making body, confirming the grant has been used as expected. Any unused monies must be returned to the grant-making body within 3 months of the completion of the project.

For the purposes of sharing vision, good practice and encouragement, all grant recipients will be asked to provide a closing report (and photos, where possible), summarising their project and its impact, which could be shared among the wider Baptist family and further afield.
Please send your application letter to:

The Charlton Fund, c/o The Diaconate, New Road Baptist Church Oxford, OX1 1LQ

Or please email your application to:

kathryn.bracewell@yahoo.co.uk AND officenewroadbaptist@yahoo.co.uk

KABracewell

On behalf of the Deacons of New Road Baptist Church, May 2016