Nestling at the foot of Edinburgh Castle, the Church of St. John the Evangelist is a landmark listed building, bringing together a vibrant community with an outward-looking ethos.
While a beautiful place of worship, the church’s facilities have struggled in recent years to keep pace with the needs of the growing number of building users; church staff, charities, support bodies and children’s groups, to name a few.
The church’s vision of creating a welcoming community hub, called the Cornerstone Centre, underpinned plans to upgrade and expand the building. Designed to be flexible, disability friendly and kind to the environment, this new facility houses a multi-purpose events hall, meeting and office space, café and shops, central staircase and lift, and upgraded heating system.
FUNDING MIX
Fundraising for the project started in 2008, following the church’s consultations on its plans with members and users. Supporters’ donations and grants funded most of the £3.5 million project costs. A secured loan from CAF Bank enabled St John’s to complete the project in early 2018.
Wren Hoskyns-Abrahall, Treasurer of St John’s, explains why the church approached CAF Bank to secure the remaining funding required:
“Our fundraising had been very successful thanks to the efforts of the members of St John’s and the generosity of donors, but we realised that we would need a commercial loan to give us the confidence to give the go ahead to start building work. Our first port of call was our bankers, one of which was CAF Bank. We liked the supportive approach they took to the project, so when we received their offer of finance we were able to press the button”.