How we are funded

Is the Cathedral funded by the taxpayer?

Ely Cathedral receives no routine state funding, but we remain grateful for emergency grants during the pandemic of 2020/2021.

As a charity, Cathedral does not pay corporation tax (we do not make profits). We do, however, have to add VAT to the price of services we provide and pass that to HM Revenue & Customs. An element of VAT on our costs is a real cost to us, in the same way as it is for private individuals. We pay the same payroll taxes as any other employer. We pay council tax on clergy residences and any vacant residential property in the same way that private individuals do.

We benefit from discounts on paying business rates on property that is owned and in use by the Cathedral for charitable purposes. We also benefit from being able to reclaim gift aid on donations to the Cathedral.

Does the Church of England fund Ely Cathedral?

The Church Commissioners for England pay the stipends (salaries) of the Dean and two of our three Residentiary Canons, and provide some additional grant funding. In total, this was equivalent to around 7% of our income in 2024, and we are very grateful for it.

We do not receive funding from the parishes of the Diocese of Ely, nor from the Ely Diocesan Board of Finance.

We are enormously grateful for stewardship giving and donations from our regular congregations.

How does the Cathedral raise the funds it needs?

We generate all of the income we need for day-to-day costs through a combination of earning the income from the assets and resources available to us, and through our own fundraising efforts and the kind support of many individuals and charitable bodies.

In most years, roughly half of our regular income is generated by:

• making our heritage accessible to the public
• acting as a regional venue for concerts, events and exhibitions
• renting property under our ownership to commercial and residential tenants
• returns on financial investments
• our shop and restaurant.

The other half is secured through traditional fundraising through grants & donations from grant-making trusts and foundations (including from Ely Cathedral Trust), the Church Commissioners, congregational giving and other donations and small legacies.

On top of day-to-day costs, we also fundraise for project-based work.  Several projects each year are generously funded by individual donors, grant-making trusts and foundations, including The Friends of Ely Cathedral.

We are very transparent about where are income comes from. We publish a list of donors and set out a lot of detail in our formal annual reports and financial statements. 
 

From whom will the Cathedral accept money?

We follow Charity Commission guidance about accepting donations. We maintain a detailed policy to ensure that we do not accept donations generated by activities that are contrary to the mission and values of the Church of England.

A statement on our approach to accepting donations is available for download below.

Why does the Cathedral hold financial reserves?

We are expected to exist in perpetuity. It's therefore very important that we are financially resilient. We hold financial reserves for three reasons:

• in the short term, we hold enough cash to meet our day-to-day cash flow needs
• in the medium term, we hold sufficient unrestricted free reserves to address identified uninsurable risks that we face
• in the long term, we hold appropriate total funds within Ely Cathedral Trust to generate income to fund the Cathedral's ministry that cannot otherwise be secured by the Cathedral alone.

In line with Charity Commission guidance, we publish our full reserves policy. This is available for download below.

We explain in our formal annual reports and financial statements the degree to which we are meeting our reserves policy, and the steps we are taking to ensure that we do so in the future.

How does the Cathedral invest its money?

Because the Cathedral holds financial reserves, these are available for investment. The Cathedral Chapter has appointed a professional investment manager to manage its funds.

We require our investment manager to follow our investment policy, which reflects the requirements of our constitution and ethical constraints to ensure that our financial reserves are invested in a way that is consistent with our Christian beliefs.

As part of our commitment to transparency, our investment policy is available for download below. The trustees of Ely Cathedral Trust have an equivalent policy in place for the financial reserves they hold. It contains the same ethical considerations as the Cathedral's policy.