Who is eligible for a Partner Account for Individuals?

As we are a charity, any funds you receive from us as funded by your supporters are charitable funds given to fulfil our charity objectives of advancing evangelical Christianity, relieving poverty or distress, advancing education or otherwise promoting charitable work. We therefore have a responsibility as a UK charity to ensure you are eligible to receive such funds and they are used for charitable purposes. 

Funds paid to you from a Stewardship Partner Account for Individuals can ONLY be used for your own personal living costs and any personal ministry expenses we approve in order to enable your Christian work as detailed in your application form. 

Eligibility Criteria

To apply you must fulfil the following criteria. Eligibility and the amount you can receive per year from us, funded by your supporters, can only be confirmed upon assessment of your completed application form:

• Your role is in Christian work
• Your Christian work involves 21 hours per week or more, excluding any study or training
• Your role is for at least six months
• You are accountable to one of the types of organisations listed below for your work (paid or unpaid) or report to a  Support Group if you are independent
• You are either:
  • A British Citizen
  • A non British Citizen living and working and in the UK. This includes the five British nationality types other than British Citizenship.

If you are unsure if you are eligible to apply, feel free to call the team on 020 8418 8195.

Types of organisations an individual can work for

As any funds you receive from us are charitable funds, we can only provide you with an account where you fulfil the above criteria and the organisation you work for is charitable and not a profitable enterprise or pressure group. Please see below for types of organisations we can support and those we can't. 

We are able to provide accounts for individuals who work with: 

• Registered UK charities. These types of charities can include:
  • Churches registered as a UK charity*
  • Charitable Incorporated Organisations (CIO) - as this is a common form of charity structure with trustees, a Support Group is not required
  • Charitable companies limited by guarantee (CCLG) - as this is another form of charity structure with trustees a Support Group is not required
  • Christian schools or Bible Colleges registered as a UK charity
• A UK church not registered as a UK charity (and not 'excepted' - see below) – to have sufficient accountability, you must have a Support Group
• An ‘excepted’ church
• Non-UK charity or church where the work is charitable Christian work and not for-profit
• Sole trader – to have sufficient accountability, you must have a Support Group

Regrettably, we are unable to provide accounts for individuals who work with: 

• Profit-making Companies (including schools operating as a company) – we are unable to support individuals working for a commercial entity as this is not a charitable use of funds. The exception is where working with a commercial entity enables you to be in the country you are based, known as Business as Mission.
• Community Interest Companies (CICs) – while the operations of a CIC may be charitable in nature, as they have the ability to make a profit and to pay dividends to individuals, we unfortunately are not able to support individuals with CICs.
• Company limited by guarantee (not registered as a charity) – as companies limited by guarantee aren’t necessarily recognised as charitable, we cannot support individuals who work for companies limited by guarantee that have not registered as charities.       
• A Christian faith school not registered as a charity
• Political pressure groups - as they seek to influence policy and decision-making, e.g. on topic such as assisted suicide, which is not permitted as charitable work.

Can I apply if I have a salary?

If you fulfil the criteria above, you can still apply if you have a salary. If you apply to receive more than £1,500 per year from us, we ask for details of any income you may have, including salary, in the application form to assess whether your income would be deemed sufficient by our regulators or whether you would be eligible to receive additional charitable funds and at what level.

Couples

We can open one account per household. If both spouses are in Christian work and raising support, you will need to apply for one account in one person's name who will be the primary user. This person must fulfil the eligibility criteria. Once your account has been approved, you will be able to add your spouse as an additional user to give them online access to the account and to be able to contact us by phone or email regarding the account. Please give details about the work of your spouse in the section of the form which asks about your role. We will take this into account when calculating the amount you can receive from us as a household, reflecting both your work. 

You can also add your spouse's name in the preferred name section of the form meaning their name will also appear on your online profile page. 

You can allocate income as you wish for tax purposes. If you require any advice, please contact a tax or financial adviser.

Bible College Students

Regrettably, we no longer accept new applications from Bible College students. If you are working a minimum of 21 hours a week in Christian work as well as studying, please refer to the eligibility for Christian workers above.

Combining Christian Work and Bible Education

If you are in Christian work and studying, our standard eligibility criteria above apply meaning your role must involve a minimum of 21 hours a week of Christian work before any study time.

Courses, Internships or Trainee Programmes 

If you are participating in a Christian course, internship, training programme or similar, our standard eligibility criteria above apply meaning your role must involve a minimum of 21 hours a week of Christian work before any study time.