Charitable purposes of the Fund
The core charitable purposes of the Fund are:
• to assist in the housing of retired clergy.
• more generally for the benefit of retired clergy.
Eligibility
To be eligible for assistance from the Fund, a person must meet all the following criteria:
A. usually, but not exclusively, be a stipendiary parish priest (including House for Duty posts) at the time of their retirement. It is expected that the priest would be at least 55 years old and taking their Church of England pension.
B. be licensed in Salisbury Diocese at the time of their retirement and for the whole of the previous 5 years.
C. Although attached to the Diocese of Salisbury, the Channel Islands are financially independent, so no applicants from the Channel Islands will be considered.
Types of assistance available from the Fund
Types of assistance available to eligible clergy include:
• Removal grant: pay a fixed grant of £4,000 towards the removal costs of licensed clergy retiring from Salisbury Diocese.
• Short-Term Loan towards purchase or renovation of a retirement home: a short-term interest-free loan usually of up to £50K for a specified term of between 2-3 years. To be eligible for a Short-Term Loan, the licensed member of clergy will have usually worked in Salisbury Diocese for a minimum of 5 years and not have had a serious disciplinary/safeguarding complaint against them upheld within a 5 -year period prior to retirement or have a serious disciplinary/safeguarding complaint against them which is unresolved at the time of retirement. Details of the new property and repayment plan would be agreed with the applicant. A legal agreement would be drawn up.
• Emergency grant: a one-off grant of up to £5,000 to cover emergency property repairs. The recipient would be a retired member of the clergy, including those with Permission to Officiate (PtO), resident in the Diocese.
Procedures for applications and approvals
• Removal grants will be made automatically to members of licensed clergy when they retire.
• Applications for a Short-Term Loan (towards the purchase or renovation of a property for retirement) from the Fund must be made within the timeframe of no more than 3 years prior to retirement and 12 months after retirement. Please complete the Form here.
• Emergency Grant applications may be made at any time. Please complete the Form here.
ONCE THE APPLICATION FORM IS COMPLETED
Please return to: Mrs Elizabeth Wallis, Trust and Property Registration Officer elizabeth.wallis@salisbury.anglican.org (electronic applications are preferred) OR
Salisbury Diocesan Board of Finance, Emmaus House, The Avenue, Wilton, Salisbury SP2 0FG
Updated April 2026