The Church of England Parish Accessibility Fund 2026-2028 (Large Grants stream, and Small Grants stream) is now open to parishes in the Southern Dioceses
The Parish Accessibility Fund offered through the Disability Project aims to help parishes to enhance accessibility and inclusion for those who are Deaf, disabled and/or neurodivergent. The scheme has run for two years in the Northern province and has now been introduced to the Southern province.
Parishes will be able to apply for funding for small projects with a grant of up to £5000, or larger works with a grant value of up to £50,000. No more than 8 applications will be considered in each panel. Applications may be deferred to the next round. The fund will be open until December 2028 or until otherwise depleted.
More information is available below, and you can contact Sue Nelms, Bishop's Advisor on Disability on disability.advisor@elydiocese.org
Upcoming dates
- The second Large Grants panel will be on 1st July and applications will close on 17th June.
Key documents
- An application form (which applies to both large and small grants streams).
- The assessment framework on which grants panels will base their decisions on approval.
- A full guidance document.
- A guidance note on different categories of applications for our scheme, and pointers for consideration by applicants.
- A template for an accessibility audit (other formats of audit will be acceptable as long as they are clearly an appropriate form of accessibility audit).
- A budget template (this template is mandatory and other formats will not be accepted).
Useful weblinks
- Parish Accessibility Fund webpages.
- The government’s guidance on building regulations for accessibility, which forms a key basis for grants panels considering applications for structural improvements to accessibility.