Since its foundation in 1904 the aim of RMSA has been to provide grants for Readers, or their equivalent, training for ordained ministry in the Anglican Church overseas. In the early days of the association grants were principally to Readers from Great Britain who would serve the Church in distant lands – today we invariably make grants to Reader ordinands in less affluent lands. Because of the poverty of many overseas dioceses our grants often provide the life-line to ordination training and are key in the provision of much needed priests.

Applications for grants are received together with the recommendation of the applicant’s Bishop or College Principal and supported by a copy of the Readers’ Licence or Admission Certificate. We endeavour to correspond with those we support throughout the year. At the time of writing (July 2008) RMSA has assisted 493 Readers in their training for ordination studying in over 70 colleges and over 100 different parts of the world, from Antigua to the Arctic – Zambia to Zimbabwe. Once accepted we normally support candidates for the duration of their course so our commitment may last for up to 3 years ahead. Our current grant level of £500pa represents a significant proportion of College fees in the third world and the increasing number of new applications encourages us to continue our efforts to meet this high demand. The level and number of grants made is agreed by the Annual General Meeting held during the Selwyn Readers’ Course at the beginning of August each year.

Following our centenary in 2004 the number of candidates supported each year rose to 44, falling back to 36 in 2007. The high number of candidates could only be supported through the use of our reserves and reluctantly for the last two years we have had to refuse support to a number of applicants in order to be sure we could meet existing commitments. Our principal income derives from the chapel collection taken during the Readers’ Selwyn Course, Diocesan Readers Boards, and Deanery Associations, Parochial Church Councils of parishes appreciative of the services of their Readers, and from the personal gifts of Readers and others. Many of these gifts are made regularly and donors authorise the Association to re-claim Income Tax from the Government through the Gift Aid Scheme. Donations can also be made online via the association’s website; gifts made by this method can also be ‘gift-aided’. Bequests and interest on our modest capital adds to our annual income.