Summary
Clergy Support Trust is the largest and oldest charity focussed on the wellbeing of clergy and their families. In 2024, we supported almost 2,800 households, with more than £6m across over 6,700 grants. This is the highest annual number of people ever supported by the charity.
The Trust, originally founded in 1655, provides confidential help for Anglican clergy and their families across the UK, Ireland, Isle of Man, and Diocese in Europe. The Trust are independent, inclusive, and impartial, and we support clergy from training through to retirement.
For media enquiries, please email our External Relations team at hello@clergysupport.org.uk.
Editor notes
- The charity was established in 1655 by merchants in the City of London and the sons of clergymen, who wanted to support widows and orphans of clergy.
- The charity received a Royal Charter from King Charles II in 1678, and welcomed the royal patronage of King Charles III in 2024.
- For many years, the charity was known as the Sons of the Clergy, and then the Sons & Friends of the Clergy. We changed our name to Clergy Support Trust in March 2019.
- Clergy Support Trust is an independent charity and hence cannot speak on behalf of the Church of England or any other church of the Anglican Communion.
Festival Service
- We have an annual Festival Service at St Paul's Cathedral with three choirs, bringing together the Church and City of London.
- The Festival celebrates both the history and current work of the charity and raises awareness.
- The 370th Festival Service will be held on Tuesday 13 May 2025.
News and press releases
All News and Press Releases (reverse chronological order)
Facts and figures
These figures come from our existing reports, highlighted here for your ease:
- In 2024, we supported almost 2,800 households, with more than £6m across over 6,700 grants. This is the highest annual number of people ever supported by the charity.
- Last year, 23% of serving Church of England clergy were supported by the Trust.
- The Trust is funding many of the basic tools of ministry and family life – such as £140k of laptops, £640k on car repairs, £186k for appliances such as washing machines, and £153k for school uniforms for children of clergy.
- Nearly 90% of clergy helped last year are serving in the Church of England, and we are also supporting their colleagues in Wales, Scotland and Ireland.
Other documents: Annual reports and policies
Contact and interviews
If you would like to arrange an interview or have further questions, please contact our Head of External Relations, Catherine Cashmore at hello@clergysupport.org.uk.
Photos and video
Please do not copy photos and images directly from our website as these are copyrighted, with some from commercial stock libraries. We do have some images of clergy, but would need to ask their permission.
- Short video testimonials from people we help can be found on our YouTube channel and our TikTok channel.
- Photos from our 369th Festival Service can be viewed here. Please contact us at festival@clergysupport.org.uk if you require different photos, or these photos on a different format.
Logos
Two high-resolution versions of our logo are available for use within our Brand Guidelines (PDF):