National Churches Trust
National Churches Trust is a religious institution that offers advice on church maintenance.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2007
- HeadquartersLondon, United Kingdom
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingServices
What National Churches Trust does
The National Churches Trust (NCT) is a UK-registered charity (charity number 1119845) and company limited by guarantee, founded in 2007 and headquartered at Faith House, 7 Tufton Street, Westminster. It is the only UK charity operating at national scale across all four nations with the dedicated mission of keeping Christian places of worship open, in good repair, and in active community use. NCT disburses grant funding (Large, Medium, and Wolfson Fabric Repair Grants) alongside regionally targeted programmes — Cherish in Scotland, Wales, and North West England, and Treasure Ireland in Northern Ireland — and operates complementary ground-level support, training, and volunteer engagement. Since inception it has helped more than 2,000 churches, chapels, meeting houses, and cathedrals.
NCT runs a digital platform centred on ExploreChurches.org, a searchable directory of 2,000+ UK churches with filters for denomination, facilities, and grant history, complemented by bookable tourism experiences, themed trails, and a Travel Trade proposition. Supporting tools include the House of Good Local Calculator (impact measurement), the National Churches Survey, a Creative Commons photography and film library, and an Open Data Portal that publishes grant data with 360Giving. Annual programmes such as the National Church Awards, Church & Community Volunteers Awards, and Friends Award reinforce brand visibility.
NCT is funded through a diversified mix of individual donations (one-off and recurring), Friends membership subscriptions, legacy gifts, events and tours, and co-funding from government and lottery sources (e.g., the National Lottery, Historic Environment Division NI, VisitEngland, Visit Wales). It earns no commercial revenue from its beneficiaries, who are themselves small non-profits; revenue concentration risk is therefore low but funding flows are macro-sensitive to UK heritage and tourism policy.
National Churches Trust firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- National Churches Trust
- Legal name
- The National Churches Trust
- Website
- https://www.nationalchurchestrust.org
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2007
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Short description
- National Churches Trust is a religious institution that offers advice on church maintenance.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
National Churches Trust industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Heritage Preservation Charitable Services
- NAICS
- Grantmaking and Giving Services (81321), Religious Organizations (81311)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Places of Worship & Religious Facilities Operations (Cemeteries, Retreat Centers, Pilgrimage Sites) (BPAGAJAL)
- akta.pro secondary industry
- Local Congregations & Worship Communities (Churches, Mosques, Temples, Synagogues) (BPAGAJAA)
Keywords
Where National Churches Trust is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- London
- HQ country
- United Kingdom
- HQ region
- Europe
Offices1 record
Markets served
National Churches Trust business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure, Others
Revenue model
- Donations: One-off and recurring donations from supporters. Monthly, annual, or one-off giving options available on website.
- Membership (Friends): Friends of National Churches Trust membership program with various benefits.
- Legacy Gifts: Bequests and legacy giving programs where supporters leave gifts in their Wills.
- Events and Tours: Revenue from events including London Friends tours, tower climbs, and experiences.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Subscription | Monthly | One-off or recurring donations |
| Unit Pricing | Pay-as-you-go | Event donations |
| Unit Pricing | Pay-as-you-go | Experiences pricing |
Go-to-market motion2 records
Distribution channels4 records
Marketing channels9 records
National Churches Trust product offering
Product offeringCore offering
National Churches Trust is an independent UK registered charity (charity number 1119845) and company limited by guarantee that provides grant funding, training, research, and tourism support to keep Christian places of worship of all denominations open, in good repair and serving their communities across England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. It operates the ExploreChurches digital platform to promote church tourism and offers tools such as the House of Good Local Calculator and an Open Data portal of grant information.
Product overview
National Churches Trust operates a multi-faceted digital platform centered around ExploreChurches.org, which serves as the UK's leading church tourism portal. The organization provides a comprehensive suite of services including a searchable church directory with advanced filtering, grant programs for church maintenance and repairs across the UK, the House of Good Local Calculator for measuring social value, an Open Data portal publishing grant information, and various training resources for church volunteers. Additional offerings include curated tourism Experiences, an awards program recognizing church heritage excellence, a photography library, and the National Churches Survey for data collection. The platform also supports church listings through user-submitted forms and offers regional campaigns like Cherish (Wales/Scotland/North West England) and Treasure Ireland (Northern Ireland).
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- ExploreChurches Digital platform for discovering and exploring churches, chapels, and meeting houses across the UK, featuring an interactive map, church listings, visitor facilities search, themed trails, and downloadable photography. Targeted at church visitors and the travel trade.
- Grants Programs Financial support programmes for churches including Large Grants, Medium Grants, Wolfson Fabric Repair Grants, Cherish (Scotland, Wales, North West England), Treasure Ireland (Northern Ireland), and other repair and maintenance grants. Targeted at churches and chapels needing funding for urgent repairs, new facilities, essential maintenance and heritage conservation.
- House of Good Local Calculator Online tool that helps churches measure and demonstrate their social, economic, community and voluntary activity value to local areas. Targeted at church leaders preparing funding applications and advocacy materials.
- Experiences Curated tourism experiences featuring churches including guided tours, pilgrimages, walks, workshops, tower climbs and cultural activities offered through partner organisations on the ExploreChurches platform. Targeted at UK and international visitors interested in heritage tourism.
- Open Data Portal Publicly available downloadable grant data in Excel format, published in partnership with 360Giving, covering grants awarded from 2016 onwards. Targeted at researchers, journalists, and other grant-makers.
- Training and Resources Online and in-person training sessions covering church maintenance, tourism, photography, video production, marketing, and grant applications. Targeted at church volunteers and staff across the UK.
Quantifiable outcome
- £2.6 million awarded in grants to 77 churches in 2025
- +2 more outcomes
Companies that use National Churches Trust
Customer profileNamed customers4 records
Segments3 records
Ideal customer profiles3 records
National Churches Trust technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Feature3 records
National Churches Trust partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Twelve partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.
- 360GivingcorePartnership to make data about grants publicly available. Contributes to a common dataset of grant-making in the UK, leading to more effective funding.
- Visit WalescorePartner in Experiencing Sacred Wales project. Welsh Government tourism initiative attracting UK and international visitors to Welsh churches.
- The Wales WaycorePartner in Experiencing Sacred Wales project. Family of touring routes through Wales connecting sacred heritage sites.
- Church in WalescoreThe Anglican church in Wales with over 900 parishes. Partner in Experiencing Sacred Wales project.
- Addoldai Cymru (Welsh Chapels)minorOrganization aiming to tell the story of Welsh chapels. Partner in Experiencing Sacred Wales project.
- Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of WalescorePartner developing and promoting understanding of Welsh heritage. Partner in Experiencing Sacred Wales project.
- Friends of Friendless ChurchescoreCares for over 50 places of former worship and has helped hundreds more. Partner in Experiencing Sacred Wales project.
- WorkingWordminorPR agency that helped secure media coverage for Experiencing Sacred Wales project.
- VisitEnglandcoreGovernment tourism body that co-funded the experiences website platform development.
- Destination Management OrganisationsminorRegional tourism organizations working with NCT to promote church tourism experiences.
- Historic Environment Division (Northern Ireland)coreDepartment for Communities body providing funding for church repairs through NCT grants (e.g., Whitehead Methodist Church).
- Tourism businessesminorChurches and tourism businesses creating and marketing experiences through the ExploreChurches platform.
Scale indicators8 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights6 records
National Churches Trust competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Friends of Friendless Churches: UK charity that cares for over 50 former places of worship and has supported hundreds more — directly comparable to NCT in mission and beneficiary profile. Already listed as an NCT partner on the Experiencing Sacred Wales project.
- Churches Conservation Trust: The UK's largest heritage charity protecting historic churches at risk, directly operating conservation and tourism. Highly comparable in grant-adjacent funding model and church heritage mission.
- Allchurches Trust: Grant-giving charity funding church and community projects across the UK. Directly comparable funding model, beneficiary base, and grant categories (repair, community use, heritage).
- Historic Churches Preservation Trust: UK charity providing grants for the repair of historic churches of all denominations. Closest peer in pure grantmaking focus and beneficiary overlap with NCT's core programs.
- Architectural Heritage Fund: UK social investor supporting the repair and reuse of historic buildings including churches. Comparable grant/loan model and beneficiary overlap in heritage building preservation.
- Pilgrim Trust: UK grant-giving charity funding historic buildings and social welfare causes, including church heritage. Comparable endowment-driven grantmaking structure.
Broad incumbents
- National Lottery Heritage Fund: UK's largest heritage funder and an NCT co-funder (Great Interpretations project). Comparable as a grant provider for historic buildings but operates at vastly greater scale and broader scope.
- SAVE Britain's Heritage: UK architectural heritage charity campaigning for historic building preservation. Comparable advocacy and awareness-raising remit but broader than church-specific focus.
- Historic England: Public body that protects and promotes England's historic environment, including the Heritage at Risk Register. Comparable as a stakeholder/funder rather than direct competitor, but shapes NCT's operating context.
Regional players
- Church Buildings Council: Church of England body advising on church building conservation and use. Comparable focus on church fabric and viability, but denomination-specific rather than pan-UK/ecumenical like NCT.
Market position
Strengths4 records
Weaknesses4 records
Competitive moat6 records
Key risks5 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
National Churches Trust social profiles
Digital presenceNational Churches Trust financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
National Churches Trust leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles1 record
National Churches Trust funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
National Churches Trust M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about National Churches Trust
What does National Churches Trust do?
National Churches Trust is an independent UK registered charity (charity number 1119845) and company limited by guarantee that provides grant funding, training, research, and tourism support to keep Christian places of worship of all denominations open, in good repair and serving their communities across England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. It operates the ExploreChurches digital platform to promote church tourism and offers tools such as the House of Good Local Calculator and an Open Data portal of grant information.
Is National Churches Trust a public or private company?
National Churches Trust is a private company. It is classified as nonprofit foundation owned and is currently operating.
When was National Churches Trust founded?
National Churches Trust was founded in 2007. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is National Churches Trust based?
National Churches Trust is headquartered in London, United Kingdom, in the Europe region.
How does National Churches Trust make money?
Four revenue lines are on record. Donations are the primary driver. The others are membership (Friends), legacy Gifts and events and Tours.
Who are National Churches Trust's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Friends of Friendless Churches, Churches Conservation Trust, Allchurches Trust, Historic Churches Preservation Trust, Architectural Heritage Fund and Pilgrim Trust. Broad incumbents are National Lottery Heritage Fund, SAVE Britain's Heritage and Historic England. Church Buildings Council is listed as a regional player.
Does National Churches Trust have an API?
No public API is recorded for National Churches Trust.
What industry is National Churches Trust in?
National Churches Trust's product category is Heritage Preservation Charitable Services. Its primary akta.pro industry code is BPAGAJAL, Places of Worship & Religious Facilities Operations (Cemeteries, Retreat Centers, Pilgrimage Sites), with a secondary code of BPAGAJAA, Local Congregations & Worship Communities (Churches, Mosques, Temples, Synagogues). Its NAICS code is 81321.