Grant-making charity Allchurches Trust rebrands to Benefact Trust 

On its 50th anniversary, one of the UK’s largest grant-making charities has changed its name to 'reflect the organisation’s increased charitable scope, impact and giving ethos'

Benefact Trust is the owner of Ecclesiastical Insurance Group which has also rebranded to Benefact Group, marking the first time in the organisations’ history that they share the same name. A press release stated that the new name 'better reflects the Trust and Group’s diversity, breadth and purpose – it derives from Latin and means to do well by supporting a person or good cause.'

The name change will help enable the Trust and Group to work more closely together to further support churches, charitable causes and communities through social action, said the release. The Trust has awarded £100m in grants in the last five years and over £235m since its inception. 

Benefact Trust helps tackle complex social issues, including mental health, food poverty and homelessness. The Trust has supported organisations such as The Church Urban Fund, Kintsugi Hope, The Trussell Trust and the YMCA. Several Baptist churches have also been beneficiaries of its funding.

Benefact Group is the fourth-largest corporate donor to charity in the UK and has ambitious plans to give £250million in total to good causes by 2025. Benefact Trust’s mission is to 'equip and empower Christian churches and charities to have a positive impact on the lives of the most vulnerable in our communities', noted the press release.

The Benefact Group gives all of its available profits both to its charitable owner, the Benefact Trust, as well as giving directly through various programmes such as the Movement for Good awards, which accepts charitable nominations from both its customers and the wider public.

Tim Carrol, chairman for Benefact Trust, said, 'We’re proud of our heritage – supporting the repair, restoration, protection and improvement of places of Christian worship. But as the breadth and depth of our giving has expanded significantly over the last 50 years, our new name will more accurately reflect the wider scope of our charitable giving.

'This now includes supporting churches and Christian charities which work to tackle issues such as homelessness, poverty, and social exclusion. We are excited by the prospect of achieving even more with our beneficiaries over the next 50 years.'

Benefact Group’s giving supports a wide range of causes across different sectors including education and skills, rural, heritage, arts, faith, climate change, animal and wildlife charities.

Mark Hews, Group Chief Executive at Benefact Group, said, 'Benefact Group, the fourth largest corporate donor in the UK, is a very different financial services group. We are owned by a charity which means all our available profits can be given to good causes.

'As a company whose purpose is to contribute to the greater good of society, charitable giving is at the heart of what we do. I’m very proud of our new name which reflects our unique purpose, the breadth of our offering and marks an ambitious new chapter for the Group and our family of specialist businesses.

'As much as our business has grown over the years, our churches and cathedrals will always have a special place in our hearts and our Christian values will continue to influence the way we do our business.'

All of the Group’s trading brands, including Ecclesiastical Insurance the specialist church insurer, will continue to operate under their own names, now part of the Benefact Group. 

For more information and to get in touch with Benefact Trust to apply for a grant, visit benefacttrust.co.uk