Credit unions highlight significant contributions to communities in Social Impact Reports

Tuesday 16 January 2024

Multiple credit unions across Britain have this year published Social Impact Reports which articulate the true value of the services they provide to their members and communities.

Clockwise Credit Union reported it delivers social outcomes worth more than £10m. In other words, for every £1 invested, at least £9 as much value was created for members that experience financial exclusion.

Breaking this down even further:

• Of its 13,000 members, 5,095 increased their financial skills and were better able to manage their money. This represented a total social value of £6,639,230.
• 1,561 of the members were less stressed, resulting in savings of £1,661,720 to the public sector purse.

In a special 20^th anniversary year for HEY Credit Union – one of the UK’s larger credit unions, with over 15,000 members, assets of £14 million and 22 staff – it has issued over 50,000 loans to a value of £40 million to help members to afford their lives, looked after their savings of over 12 million, and made a significant contribution to the regeneration and wellbeing of the region it serves.

East Sussex Credit Union highlighted its support across the county to help fight financial exclusion and poverty by working in partnership with local authorities, agencies, and charities to provide financial services to many vulnerable people in its community. Key highlights from its report include surpassing 8,700 members this year, 31% joining in the last two years, with over £4m in savings and £1.7m lent out in the last year.

Chief Executive of East Sussex Credit Union, Anne Hickey said: “I’m very proud of the work we do supporting the people of East Sussex and Brighton & Hove, and we will continue to build our membership and new partnerships so we can continue to innovate as we move forward.”

ABCUL members can read more about social impact reporting in the members’ area of the website here.