St. Cuthbert's Church: Corporate Donations

St. Cuthbert's Church is one of the top iconic landmarks and focal points in Darlington, standing proud at the centre of the town for the past 800 years, serving the worship, civic, and community needs of the people.

Inside, it is a majestic building with a large space, capacity for 300+ people, and amazing acoustics. Whilst St. Cuthbert's offers uplifting worship, welcome and hospitality, space and solitude—for the vast majority of the week, its doors remain shut. We have developed a renewed vision based on Opening our Doors.

The total project cost is £2,027,000. Due to recent Government changes, we are no longer able to reclaim VAT. We have already secured the majority of our project costs, but since the VAT scheme has been capped, we are suddenly £250,000 short. This represents a real setback.

A report from the National Churches Trust shows that every £1 invested in a church building brings £16 of benefit to communities. So, this funding gap doesn’t just impact us—it affects the whole Darlington community.

If your company can help us close this funding gap, it will be contributing to:

  • Town centre regeneration: Bringing more people into Darlington via this focal point.
  • Local economy: Supporting employment creation through a café and volunteer skill-building.
  • Skills: Opportunities to learn through community activities and volunteering.
  • Quality of life: Delivering programs to improve both spiritual and secular wellbeing.
  • Inclusion: Expanding access through heritage and social support programming.
  • Accessibility: Tackling physical and psychological barriers to church access.
  • Organisational resilience: Securing a viable and sustainable future for St. Cuthbert’s.
  • Wellbeing: Creating a peaceful space for reflection and community support.
  • Heritage: Showcasing the story of Darlington through the lens of St. Cuthbert’s.
  • Environment: Reducing the church’s carbon footprint.

The church has extensively researched this project through Inspired Futures, and it has received almost unanimous support from the Darlington community through consultation.

All required permissions have been granted to move forward.

Corporate Donations