National Churches Trust

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.

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

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

• Church heritage preservation
• Religious building grants
• Heritage tourism platform
• Places of worship support
• Historic church conservation

Headquarters

HQ city

London

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure, Others

Revenue model

1. Donations: One-off and recurring donations from supporters. Monthly, annual, or one-off giving options available on website.
2. Membership (Friends): Friends of National Churches Trust membership program with various benefits.
3. Legacy Gifts: Bequests and legacy giving programs where supporters leave gifts in their Wills.
4. Events and Tours: Revenue from events including London Friends tours, tower climbs, and experiences.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels9 records

Core 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

Named customers4 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Twelve partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• 360GivingcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership to make data about grants publicly available. Contributes to a common dataset of grant-making in the UK, leading to more effective funding.
• Visit WalescoreGTM or Marketing PartnerPartner in Experiencing Sacred Wales project. Welsh Government tourism initiative attracting UK and international visitors to Welsh churches.
• The Wales WaycoreGTM or Marketing PartnerPartner in Experiencing Sacred Wales project. Family of touring routes through Wales connecting sacred heritage sites.
• Church in WalescoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe Anglican church in Wales with over 900 parishes. Partner in Experiencing Sacred Wales project.
• Addoldai Cymru (Welsh Chapels)minorGTM or Marketing PartnerOrganization aiming to tell the story of Welsh chapels. Partner in Experiencing Sacred Wales project.
• Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of WalescoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner developing and promoting understanding of Welsh heritage. Partner in Experiencing Sacred Wales project.
• Friends of Friendless ChurchescoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCares for over 50 places of former worship and has helped hundreds more. Partner in Experiencing Sacred Wales project.
• WorkingWordminorGTM or Marketing PartnerPR agency that helped secure media coverage for Experiencing Sacred Wales project.
• VisitEnglandcoreGTM or Marketing PartnerGovernment tourism body that co-funded the experiences website platform development.
• Destination Management OrganisationsminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorRegional tourism organizations working with NCT to promote church tourism experiences.
• Historic Environment Division (Northern Ireland)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerDepartment for Communities body providing funding for church repairs through NCT grants (e.g., Whitehead Methodist Church).
• Tourism businessesminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorChurches and tourism businesses creating and marketing experiences through the ExploreChurches platform.

Scale indicators8 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct 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

• Xx.com/natchurchtrust
• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UC1Mupz-z2JDsdDwpokRa4Hw
• Facebookfacebook.com/nationalchurchestrust
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/national-churches-trust
• Instagraminstagram.com/nationalchurchestrust

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about National Churches Trust