Our mission is to provide grants to those considering ordination.
Ordination Candidates Training Fund
Our mission
The Ordination Candidates Training Fund was established in 1937 by the Revd Henry (Pa) Salmon who saw a need to support young people for Ordained Ministry in the Church of England. Today the Fund continues to support people exploring or training for ordination in the Church of England, pursuing theological education or training for overseas mission work, in line with Pa Salmon’s aims.
We do this by helping those considering ordination to come to the stage of attending a Stage Two Panel, when the financial responsibility of their subsequent training will be undertaken by the Dioceses and the Ministry Division of the Archbishops’ Council. To this end we award Salmon Bursaries of up to £8,820 a year (as at September 2025), which can make a real difference to a student who might otherwise not be able to afford a preparatory course.
In appropriate cases we make book grants of £75 to students in the discernment process.
We also make one-off grants (usually in the hundreds of pounds) to ordinands or potential ordinands who because of a particular set of exceptional circumstances have run into financial difficulties.
In addition, we make up to five one-off grants of a maximum of £2,500 available to applicants who wish to take part in the Ministry Experience Scheme, but who might have difficulty in assembling the finance enabling them to do so.
In accordance with our trust deed grants are awarded to candidates “holding distinctly … evangelical views.” Our grants are limited to students based in Britain.
Who we are
We are a registered charity number 313817. The Ordination Candidates Training Fund Incorporated Trust Ltd is a company limited by guarantee registered in England and Wales no. 00333693.
The Trustees are:
The Revd John Risdon – Chair
The Revd Canon Peter Hall
Edward Peacock – Hon Secretary
The Revd Calvert Prentis
The Revd Debra Turley
The Hon Treasurer is Douglas Gibb.