The Slavanka Trust

The history of The Slavanka Trust begins with Madame Tchertkoff, a Russian Countess who was born in 1831. Born of a prominent family, she was acquainted with four of the Tsars including Tsar Alexander II, the liberator of the serfs. He was often the guest of the Countess and her husband, who was his Aide-de-Camp. The Countess, who visited Britain regularly, was also well acquainted with Queen Victoria and King Edward VII. The Countess formed a friendship with the evangelist Lord Radstock and became the first convert from the Russian aristocracy under his ministry. In about 1875 she invited him to Russia and as a result of that visit a large number of the Russian aristocracy were converted. The Countess opened her house near the Winter Palace in St Petersburg to the poor and hungry of the city. Eventually, she gave up the house and went to live in the midst of the slums to be with those women she was helping, whom she called her sisters.

With the advent of the Revolution, along with thousands of others, the Countess fled Russia to Finland penniless. The only thing remaining to her was her house Slavanka (place of glory) in Southbourne, Bournemouth, which she had purchased some years before to be near to her only son, who had been banished from Russia because of his Tolstoist views. In 1921 a group of Madame Tchertkoff’s friends proposed that the house could be used as a Christian Conference Centre. The funds were raised and the house purchased from the Countess, who continued to live there until her death. The Bournemouth Conference Centre as the house became known, was extended mainly in the 1950s and 1960s and provided accommodation for up to 100 people. Church groups and individuals were entertained in comfortable surroundings close to the beautiful seven miles of Bournemouth sandy beaches.

In 1995 the then trustees of The Bournemouth Conference Centre approached John Simmons, as chairman of Scripture Union, asking if SU would accept the Conference Centre as a gift. Unfortunately it had been substantially run down, but had cash balances which would form a first contribution towards a recovery programme. Scripture Union decided to decline the offer and a group of individuals under John’s Chairmanship, agreed to take on the challenge of trying to bring the Conference Centre up-to-date. Scripture Union agreed to regard the Conference Centre informally as an associate, and The Bournemouth Conference Centre adopted SU’s beliefs and working principles. New trustees were appointed, both from within SU and from outside.

In 2005 the Trustees of The Bournemouth Conference Centre decided that the ministry in the Bournemouth premises was no longer viable, and agreed to sell, planning to apply the proceeds either to form a grant making trust or to partner with others in Christian residential ministry. A sale at the top of the market was achieved in September 2006, and the Trustees agreed to accept both alternatives, dividing the net sale receipts (after a special tithe) between a grant making invested fund and a partnership fund. Due to the history of the connection with SU it was subsequently agreed that SU projects would receive a degree of priority. After the sale, the name was changed from The Bournemouth Conference Centre to The Slavanka Trust, in honour of the Countess.

Since 2006, The Slavanka Trust has been able to partner with other Christian organisations and provide essential assistance with their development. Also, The Slavanka Trust has been able to provide vital support for Christian residential and educational projects in the UK and throughout the world.

In 2011 The Slavanka Trust was offered and accepted 100% of the shares in a company and has been able to expand its Christian ministry through this gift.

The Trustees echo the words of the Countess from ninety years ago:

How good the Lord has been. Praise Him. Praise Him.

GOD AND THE HUMAN RACE:

• We hold that the Lord our God is one, Father, Son and Holy Spirit; and that He fulfils His sovereign purposes – in creation, revelation, redemption, judgement, and the coming of His Kingdom – by calling out from the world a people united to Himself and to each other in love.
• We acknowledge that though God made us in His own likeness and image, conferring on us dignity and worth, and enabling us to respond to Him, we are members of a fallen race; we have sinned and come short of His glory.
• We believe that the Father has shown us His holy love in giving Jesus Christ, His only Son, for us, while through our sinfulness and guilt we were subject to His wrath and condemnation; and has shown His grace by putting sinners right with Him, when they place their trust in His Son.
• We confess Jesus Christ as Lord and God; as truly human, born of the virgin Mary; as Servant, sinless, full of grace and truth; as only Mediator and Saviour, dying on the cross in our place, representing us to God, redeeming us from the grip, guilt and punishment of sin; as Victor over Satan and his forces, rising from death with a glorious body; being taken up to be with His Father, one day returning personally in glory and judgement to establish His Kingdom.
• We believe in the Holy Spirit, who convicts the world of guilt in regard to sin, righteousness and judgement; who makes the death of Christ effective to sinners, declaring that they must turn to Christ in repentance, and directing their trust toward the Lord Jesus Christ; who through the new birth makes us partake in the life of the risen Christ, and who is present within all believers, illuminating their minds to the grasp of Scripture, producing in them His fruit, granting them His gifts, and empowering them for witness in the world.

THE SCRIPTURES:

• We believe that the Old and New Testament Scriptures are God breathed, since their writers were moved from God by the Holy Spirit; therefore they are fully trustworthy in all that they affirm, and are our highest authority for faith and life.

THE CHURCH AND ITS MISSION:

• We recognise the Church as the body of Christ held together and growing in Him; both as a total fellowship throughout the world and as the local congregation in which believers gather.
• We acknowledge the commission of Christ to proclaim the Good News to all people, making them disciples and teaching them to obey Him.
• We acknowledge the command of Christ to love our neighbours, resulting in service to the Church and society; in seeking reconciliation for all with God and their fellows; in proclaiming liberty from every kind of oppression; and in spreading Christ’s justice in an unjust world

...UNTIL HE COMES AGAIN.

THE SLAVANKA TRUST

The Object of The Slavanka Trust is to advance Christianity by the establishment and running of Christian Conference Centres and other residential Christian activities and the provision of Christian education (“the Objects”)

General Guidelines to Grant Applicants

Grant applicants should note that grants will be made only to or through UK registered charities or charitable trusts where the Objects meet all or a significant part of those of The Slavanka Trust. Grants will be made only in £ Sterling and through a UK based bank.

The Slavanka Trust does not issue an application form, but all applicants for grants should use the following guidelines:

1. Grant applications should not be longer than four sides of A4 and should include a budget and audited annual accounts. In addition, there must be a one half-page summary.

2. Grant applications must:

• clearly state for which registered charity or charitable trust (the applicant) the application is made, what the applicant does and whom it serves
• provide the registered charity number and the company number (where appropriate)
• provide a description of the project for which the grant is sought (include the needs for it; the results it is expected to produce; where appropriate, the number of people benefiting and the cost effectiveness; what stage the project has reached)
• enclose a budget for the project together with a copy of the most recent audited accounts
• provide the names of the applicants’ Trustees and those who will have charge of the project and their qualifications to undertake it
• give a brief history of the applicant’s ministry and provide the names and addresses of two UK based independent referees to whom The Slavanka Trust may apply for a recommendation
• agree the Privacy Notice (GDPR)
• ensure that the two independent referees are informed that they will be contacted by The Slavanka Trust for a reference and ensure that they receive a copy of the Privacy Notice (GDPR) in advance
• provide information of other grant applications made and other funding raised
• explain where on-going funding (if required) will be obtained when any grant that may be provided by The Slavanka Trust has been exhausted
• state how the project will be monitored, evaluated and how the results will be made known to interested parties

3. The grant application must be for a specific amount.

4. It is helpful if the grant application is made as simple as possible and the use of technical terms and jargon is avoided.

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Please note the following:

All grant applications must focus on the Christian ministry and Christian education for which the grant request is made. It will not be possible to award a grant for general activity and education even when it is within a Christian context. The sharing of the Christian Faith and how it is undertaken is essential.

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All grant applications must include the following:

• A four-page grant application
• A one-page grant application summary
• A budget for the grant application
• The latest available audited Annual Accounts
• The names and e-mail details of two UK based independent referees
• Other grant applications being sought
• Details of future grant applications to be made

Any grant applications that do not include all the above will not be considered.

Please read through the Grant Information Form and contact us (preferably by e-mail) if you have any questions prior to submitting an application. The majority of grants will be up to £5,000 in any one year.

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Privacy Notice (GDPR) can be viewed here.