GOVERNORS OF THE CHARITY FOR RELIEF OF THE POOR WIDOWS AND CHILDREN OF CLERGYMEN (COMMONLY CALLED CLERGY SUPPORT TRUST)

Registered charity 207736 · accounts filings on the Charity Commission register · also known as CLERGY ORPHAN CORPORATION, CLERGY SUPPORT TRUST, CORPORATION OF THE SONS OF THE CLERGY, GOVERNORS OF THE CHARITY FOR RELIEF OF THE POOR WIDOWS AND CHILDREN OF CLERGYMEN (COMMONLY CALLED SONS AND FRIENDS OF THE CLERGY), GOVERNORS OF THE CHARITY FOR RELIEF OF THE POOR WIDOWS AND CHILDREN OF CLERGYMEN (COMMONLY CALLED THE CORPORATION OF THE SONS OF THE CLERGY), GOVERNORS OF THE CHARITY FOR THE RELIEF OF POOR WIDOWS AND CHILDREN OF CLERGYMEN (COMMONLY CALLED THE CORPORATION OF THE SONS OF THE CLERGY)

Clergy Support Trust, formerly Sons & Friends of the Clergy, is a clergy support charity established in 1655. Our mission is to support Anglican clergy families through difficult times, whether caused by financial hardship, health problems or other difficulties. We do this mainly through cash grants to individual beneficiaries and through working with other clergy wellbeing organisations.

Causes: The Advancement Of Health Or Saving Of Lives · The Prevention Or Relief Of Poverty · Grant history (this charity is a funder) · website · Get email alerts

Latest income

£4.5m

Latest spending

£9.0m

Registered

1963

Accounts read

FY2024

Financial health, per its FY2024 accounts

The accounts state that the charity reported a net deficit of £4.48m for the year, driven by a policy of operating deficits after many years of surpluses, although total funds remained healthy at £115.6m. The charity holds free reserves of £1.5m, which the trustees note is below their stated policy target of three months of forecast operating costs.

Automated summary of the FY2024 accounts; the evidenced findings below carry the verbatim passages.

What the accounts disclose

Reserves position: below the charity's own stated reserves policy (held: £1.5m; policy: three months of forecast operating costs)

“As at 31 December 2024 the Charity held free reserves of £1.5m (2023: £1.4m), equivalent to approximately 1.8 months of expected operating costs, (2023: 2.2 months). The trustees are monitoring the reserves position with a view to returning this to 3 months of operating costs in the future.”

Per its FY2024 accounts as filed with the Charity Commission.

Related-party transaction: Six Trustees made donations totalling £655 to the Charity.

“During the year six Trustees made donations totalling £655 (2023: none) to the Charity.” — page 19

Per its FY2024 accounts as filed with the Charity Commission.

Accounts audited by Buzzacott Audit LLP. Discloses 4 of 6 completeness components.

Leadership, per the charity’s website

The Reverend Ben Cahill-Nicholls — Chief Executive (source)
Richard Farmbrough — Senior Treasurer (Chair) (source)

Listed on the charity’s own website when we last crawled it; roles may have changed. Pay-band disclosures above are anonymous statutory disclosures and are not attributed to any named individual.

Funders the charity credits

Named as funders/supporters on the charity’s own website (the charity’s claim, distinct from accounts-verified grants).

The Mind and Soul Foundation — “Concluding their work after twenty years, The Mind and Soul Foundation have generously gifted us many of their blog posts, articles and reso…” (source page)
National Ministry Team of the Church of England — “The National Ministry Team of the Church of England has increased the support available to those taking their first steps in ministry.” (source page)

Public profiles (found on the charity’s own website): facebook · instagram

Structured financials (annual return, FY ending 31/12/2024)

Total income

£4.5m

Total spending

£9.0m

Cost of raising funds

£613k

Reserves (reported)

£114.6m

Employees

Reported reserves equal ~153.2 months of spending — in the top quarter for charities its size (median 4.8 months; benchmarks).

Per its annual return, cost of raising funds: 13.6% of total income — above the median for charities its size (5.2%) (benchmarks).

Register events

Received assets from another charity (16/09/2026) — per the register’s event history; asset transfers typically record mergers or reorganisations.

Trustees · trustee networks

RICHARD DAVID FARMBROUGHchair
Anna McDonald
Canon Simon Butler · trustee of 4 other charities
JEREMY ARTHUR HARGREAVES
MARTIN LUKE COOPER · trustee of 2 other charities
Patience Mary Thody
Peter John Curtis Warren · trustee of 2 other charities
STEPHEN SLACK CBE · trustee of 2 other charities
THE REVD NANCY ELISABETH GOODRICH
THE VEN ANTONY CHARLES MACROW-WOOD · trustee of 2 other charities
The Most Revd Patricia Louise Storey

Trustee list from the Charity Commission register (current, not historical).

Operates in: Ireland · Northern Ireland · Scotland · Throughout England And Wales

Income and spending

Financial year end	Income	Spending
31/12/2024	£4.5m	£9.0m
31/12/2023	£4.6m	£8.5m
31/12/2022	£4.7m	£6.9m
31/12/2021	£4.3m	£4.6m
31/12/2020	£3.7m	£3.7m

Common questions

Is GOVERNORS OF THE CHARITY FOR RELIEF OF THE POOR WIDOWS AND CHILDREN OF CLERGYMEN (COMMONLY CALLED CLERGY SUPPORT TRUST) financially healthy?

Per its FY2024 accounts: The accounts state that the charity reported a net deficit of £4.48m for the year, driven by a policy of operating deficits after many years of surpluses, although total funds remained healthy at £115.6m. The charity holds free reserves of £1.5m, which the trustees note is below their stated policy target of three months of forecast operating costs. Its FY2024 accounts were audited by Buzzacott Audit LLP.

Who funds GOVERNORS OF THE CHARITY FOR RELIEF OF THE POOR WIDOWS AND CHILDREN OF CLERGYMEN (COMMONLY CALLED CLERGY SUPPORT TRUST)?

Funders whose own accounts filings name GOVERNORS OF THE CHARITY FOR RELIEF OF THE POOR WIDOWS AND CHILDREN OF CLERGYMEN (COMMONLY CALLED CLERGY SUPPORT TRUST) as a grant recipient include WORSHIPFUL COMPANY OF NEEDLEMAKERS CHARITABLE FUND, CHARTERED ACCOUNTANTS' LIVERY CHARITY, CORDWAINERS CHARITABLE TRUST, THE TOBACCO PIPE MAKERS AND TOBACCO TRADE BENEVOLENT FUND, SIR JOHN PRIESTMAN CHARITY TRUST.

Known funders

Grants to this charity found in funders’ own accounts filings.

Funder	Year	Amount	Purpose (as stated by the funder)
WORSHIPFUL COMPANY OF NEEDLEMAKERS CHARITABLE FUND	FY2022	£12k	Welfare
CHARTERED ACCOUNTANTS' LIVERY CHARITY	FY2022	£5k	Causes related to the City and its surrounding boroughs
CHARTERED ACCOUNTANTS' LIVERY CHARITY	FY2024	£3k	Causes related to the City and its surrounding boroughs
CORDWAINERS CHARITABLE TRUST	FY2024	£3k	Clergymen's Widows Fund
THE TOBACCO PIPE MAKERS AND TOBACCO TRADE BENEVOLENT FUND	FY2022	£3k	Corporation of the Sons of the Clergy
SIR JOHN PRIESTMAN CHARITY TRUST	FY2024	£2k	Section 2(f)
The Merchant Taylors' Foundation	FY2022	£2k	Miscellaneous donations
THE SHIPWRIGHTS CHARITABLE FUND	FY2024	£2k	Standard Donation
SIR JOHN PRIESTMAN CHARITY TRUST	FY2022	£2k	Section 2 f Charitable Organisations
SIR JOHN PRIESTMAN CHARITY TRUST	FY2021	£2k	Charitable Or anisations
THE PAROCHIAL CHURCH COUNCIL OF THE ECCLESIASTICAL PARISH OF ST PETER, COLCHESTER	FY2022	£1k	Mission giving and donations
THE TOBACCO PIPE MAKERS AND TOBACCO TRADE BENEVOLENT FUND	FY2023	£1k	Education/Youth
THE TOBACCO PIPE MAKERS AND TOBACCO TRADE BENEVOLENT FUND	FY2024	£500
THE TOBACCO PIPE MAKERS AND TOBACCO TRADE BENEVOLENT FUND	FY2025	£500	other relief
CORDWAINERS CHARITABLE TRUST	FY2022	£300	Clergymen’s Widows
CORDWAINERS CHARITABLE TRUST	FY2023	£300	Clergymen’s Widows
CHARTERED ACCOUNTANTS' LIVERY CHARITY	FY2023	£250	Causes related to the City of London
WORSHIPFUL COMPANY OF NEEDLEMAKERS CHARITABLE FUND	FY2023	£200	Welfare
THE SHIPWRIGHTS CHARITABLE FUND	FY2023	£200	Standard Annual Donation
THE SHIPWRIGHTS CHARITABLE FUND	FY2022	£200
THE PAROCHIAL CHURCH COUNCIL OF THE ECCLESIASTICAL PARISH OF ST PETER, COLCHESTER	FY2024	£100	Missionary and charitable giving
THE CLOCKMAKERS' CHARITY	FY2024	£100	Donation

Funders of similar charities

Funders whose accounts show grants to charities similar to this one (and no recorded grant to this charity) — a starting list for fundraisers.

Funder	Similar charities funded	Amount to them
THE ARCHBISHOPS' COUNCIL	1	£21.2m
THE HOME OF DEVENISH	1	£135k
TOGETHER FOR CHANGE COVENTRY AND WARWICKSHIRE	1	£30k
MRS R P TINDALL'S CHARITABLE TRUST	1	£18k
THE PAROCHIAL CHURCH COUNCIL OF THE ECCLESIASTICAL PARISH OF ST PETER WEST HARROW	1	£2k

Charities like this

Semantically similar by activities and financial character, from our analysed corpus. Compare with THE WIDOWS, ORPHANS AND DEPENDANTS SOCIETY OF THE CHURCH IN WALES.

THE WIDOWS, ORPHANS AND DEPENDANTS SOCIETY OF THE CHURCH IN WALES income £143k
SECULAR CLERGY COMMON FUND income £1.7m
THE QUEEN VICTORIA CLERGY FUND income £139k
THE COVENTRY DIOCESAN BOARD OF FINANCE LTD income £11.0m
THE CHURCH OF ENGLAND PENSIONS BOARD income £42.0m
THE PAROCHIAL CHURCH COUNCIL OF THE ECCLESIASTICAL PARISH OF HOLY TRINITY, NAILSEA income £534k

Side by side with its peers

Charity	Income	Top pay band	Staff >£60k	Reserves vs policy	Fundraising cost	Going concern
GOVERNORS OF THE CHARITY FOR RELIEF OF THE POOR WIDOWS AND CHILDREN OF CLERGYMEN (COMMONLY CALLED CLERGY SUPPORT TRUST)	£4.5m	—	—	below	—	no doubt
THE WIDOWS, ORPHANS AND DEPENDANTS SOCIETY OF THE CHURCH IN WALES FY2025	£143k	—	0	above	—	no doubt
SECULAR CLERGY COMMON FUND FY2025	£1.7m	—	0	unclear	—	no doubt
THE QUEEN VICTORIA CLERGY FUND FY2025	£139k	—	0	unclear	—	no doubt
THE COVENTRY DIOCESAN BOARD OF FINANCE LTD FY2024	£11.0m	—	—	below	—	no doubt
THE CHURCH OF ENGLAND PENSIONS BOARD FY2025	£42.0m	£276,000	—	unclear	—	no doubt

Each row is that charity’s latest analysed filing; every value is quote-backed on its own page.