ABCUL’s Bounce Forward Fund

Friday 26 January 2024

In early 2022, ABCUL committed to creating a Bounce Forward Fund, which would make finances available to applicants to use on business development and profitability, where credit unions’ profitability and business model were impacted by the pandemic.

Following a rigorous application process, more than 30 credit unions were granted a total of close to £80,000. These grants were funded by recent ABCUL surpluses, and Forums from London to Scotland made voluntary contributions towards the fund. “Supporting credit unions across the country is the single motive for all the work we do at ABCUL,” says ABCUL CEO, Robert Kelly.  “We do this in a number of ways, and we took on even greater responsibility during the COVID-19 pandemic. The Bounce Forward Fund was created to help credit unions recover from the impact of COVID-19, and the fund has been incredibly successful in achieving that goal.

“As a body representing credit unions across Great Britain, we were delighted to have voluntary contributions from a diverse range of geographic regions, including Scotland, London & the South East, the South West, and the West Midlands.”

The grants were used largely for raising the public profile of the recipients, with 68% of applications being used for marketing, social media awareness, or a rebrand. With marketing and social media presence high on the agenda for recipients of the fund, we are proud to say that we are representing credit unions that are looking to embrace modern technologies in the ways in which we reach the communities that need us.

Some of the success stories from the fund include increases in the number of new loans, new memberships, and an increase in online traffic of 434.38% reported, following proper investment of the fund.

The evidence of the success of the fund is not only through empirical data and statistics, though. Representatives from the recipient credit unions have seen anecdotal improvements, noting the real impact of the Bounce Forward Fund.

The CEO of Churches Mutual, who received funding for member outreach and a comprehensive survey, said “As a result of the research and recommendations Churches Mutual believe we are better equipped to target our potential membership within our common bond. We are not a wealthy credit union and are deeply appreciative of the grant support we received from ABCUL to carry out this research. We have limited resources for marketing but believe that due to the research carried out in the last financial year, the money available this year will be better spent.”

Westcountry Savings & Loans spent their grant on social media research & subsequent content creation. A representative commented that “all of this activity will lead to an increase in membership, existing members utilising other products and services, a greater awareness of the role of the Credit Union and a better understanding of who we are, what makes us different, and how we can help”.

The Bounce Forward Fund, and its impact on credit unions across the country, has underlined the reasons that we do what we do at ABCUL. We’re delighted to have been able to support our members in this way.

ABCUL represent around 70% of credit unions in Great Britain, and these members enjoy a wide variety of benefits that being part of the association brings. If you represent a credit union that is part of the 30% who aren’t currently members, get in contact today regarding joining the largest association of credit unions in the country. Contact ABCUL via the form on our website, or by calling 0161 832 3694.