As Trustees, the General Trustees (GTs) are stewards of the Central Fabric Fund, the Consolidated Stipend Fund and the Consolidated Fabric Fund.

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Central Fabric Fund: The fund is comprised of the levies (15%) on all building sales. Used for fabric grants, generally for larger repairs and refurbishment projects but could also be for new builds or extensions to GT Vested or Assembly Control Clause buildings on application to Presbytery and the General Trustees.

Consolidated Stipend Fund: The Fund acts as a depository for the net sale proceeds of glebes and other deposits. The income generated from funds held is used to offset the congregation’s Giving to Grow payments. The funds are held for the benefit of individual congregations.

Consolidated Fabric Fund (CFF): ……

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Who’s money is it?

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• The funds appear on the GTs’ balance sheet, not the congregation’s
• Funds are held in Trust for the benefit of individual congregations - the GTs can’t spend it freely
• The GTs have delegated authority from the General Assembly to administer the Fund.
• Presbytery and the GTs must approve the release of any Capital from the CFF.

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What is the money for?

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• Trust Purpose is the maintenance of the Church of Scotland in the parish
• Funds are primarily applied for fabric purposes but may - if doing so is in accordance with the principles of prudent stewardship – be applied for non-fabric purposes which support the maintenance of the Church in the parish.
• Repair / alteration / refurbishment / demolition / new build / redecoration.

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What is the CFF?

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• The Consolidated Fabric Fund was created in 1995 (Consolidated Fabric Fund Regulations). It is held by the General Trustees (GTs) for the benefit of individual congregations and consists of:
• Capital - sale of redundant properties – GT Vested or Assembly Control Clause (also, the fund can only be used on these properties).
• Revenue - rental receipts and investment income. See Reallocation Schematic.

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How do the GTs control the CFF?

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• If the requested release of funds is in accordance with the trust purposes, the GTs must then exercise judgement as to whether it may have an adverse impact on the trust estate i.e. the remaining assets of the congregation.
• It would not be legitimate (for the GTs) to approve expenditure from the Fund which may leave congregations with financial responsibilities in relation to their buildings but without the means to meet these responsibilities. 
• Put simply – the GTs must ensure that the proposed release doesn’t put the other assets at risk – doesn’t leave them without the means to meet demands from other buildings.

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How Do we access the Capital?

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Requests for release of Capital should relate to works approved by Presbytery and the GTs.

Send requests to GTFinance@churchofscotland.org.uk along with invoices / contract valuations.

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How do we access the CFF for non-fabric purposes?

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Capital:

If a congregation has very few assets, or has significant capital holdings in the fund, then they may choose to apply to have some of these funds released for non-fabric purposes. An application should include;

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• Number of buildings in the congregation.
• Condition of each
• Probability of significant repairs (PBO).
• Availability of alternative means of executing fabric repairs.

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As a guide - contain over £400k, or more than £300k per ecclesiastical building.

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How do we access the CFF for non-fabric purposes?

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Revenue:

Revenue account holdings can be accessed by completing the revenue release form on the General Trustees website and sending it to GTFinance@churchofscotland.org.uk.

The submission should confirm what the proposed use is to be.

Typically the revenue account is used:

• to execute minor repairs,
• pay insurance premiums
• utility bills or cleaning bills
• however, it can also be used more generally in support of the congregation’s mission.

Revenue holdings are approximately £13m. £3m was accessed in 2024.

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Other possible uses for the CFF

• Transfer from one congregation to another, subject to the agreement of the Kirk Session, Presbytery and the GTs.
• Transfer to the Consolidated Stipend Fund to reduce G2G payments.

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CFF Capital investment options – Deposit / Income / Growth

Context

• The total Consolidated Fabric Fund (CFF) holdings may look substantial however so are the fabric demands of the portfolio.  
• The CFF total divided by GT vested buildings is £45k per building (£113m / 2,500 properties).  
• Split evenly by congregation (740) it is in the region of £150k.  
• Note, this is not how the CFF works – it is for the benefit of individual congregations, following building sales, however these figures give context and perspective.  
• These figures are insignificant in comparison to the fabric demands. Many of the applications coming to the GTs are for projects worth many hundreds of £k’s.    
• It should also be noted that Revenue generated from the Capital can be accessed for a wide range of uses but often isn’t. 
• There are 522 congregations with CFF Capital holdings. 42 of these congregation’s holdings are over £0.5m

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Questions..??

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