Over the last 7 years we have built Churches Mutual into one of the nation’s most successful ecumenical enterprises, providing savings and loans to our members in the Church in Wales, the Church of England, the Church of Scotland, the Methodist Church of Great Britain, the Roman Catholic Church in England and Wales, and in Scotland, the Scottish Episcopal Church and the United Reformed Church and associated church institutions and charities.
Churches Mutual has been built from the ground up by Christian people on Christian principles. At the heart of Churches Mutual is the idea that we are all connected as members of the church family. Those who save with us can be confident that their money will be put to work supporting God’s ministry, while borrowers receive a deeply personalised service from a team that understands the unique circumstances of life in the church. Income from interest on loans pays for the operating costs of Churches Mutual and the surplus is redistributed to members as a dividend, reinforcing that connection. Our directors do not receive any remuneration.
Financial Support for the Future
We have shown that our business model works and is providing significant value to its members. And we have managed this even though we have faced the headwinds of an ultra-low interest rate environment, the Covid pandemic, and now a cost-of-living crisis. The impact of these headwinds has been significant, both in terms of our ability to deliver a sufficient surplus to build on for the future and in our members’ perception of what is a reasonable dividend on their savings
Churches Mutual have reached a plateau. Out net loan book is now relatively static, with new business replacing loans that are paid off. In Spring, we commissioned Accompli, a respected research specialist, to conduct market research to understand how we could unlock growth. Their findings were clear: they found that while our members love what we do, very few people within our potential membership base know who we are.
We are developing a strategy to kick start growth, because we believe the need for what we do is greater than ever. At the heart of the strategy is additional spending on marketing activities to increase awareness and understanding of Churches Mutual amongst church people who are eligible for membership.
However, this is an expensive undertaking. In common with many enterprises, which reach a certain point in their development, we need an injection of finance which is beyond our present ability to fund from our own cashflow.
How you can help
We recognise that not everyone will be able to support us financially, and we thank you for the other ways you continue to support us. However, we know from feedback that some of our members deposited their money in Churches Mutual to support our work and its social impact rather than for financial return. If that resonates with you, we hope you might now go a step further.
You could help by forgoing your dividend and/or donating a cash gift to us. These gifts will specifically contribute to a three-year plan to double our membership. Specifically:
- Build our marketing strategy and collateral to increase awareness and understanding of Churches Mutual
- Improvements to our website to boost its appeal to younger audiences
- Social media campaign
- Training for our staff to upskill them in marketing
- Regular support from a specialist marketing agency
Churches Mutual is a very lean organisation; We operate with one full-time and one part-time staff team. We believe our team can handle twice as much business as they do today, meaning that your contribution will significantly improve our ongoing ability to expand both in membership and services.
Why should you support us?
Helping Churches Mutual to grow will enable us to provide our valuable support more to people. In a time of financial stress, we are a hugely valuable service enabling people to get their finances back in control through ethical, affordable and transparent loans. We are not the solution to peoples’ financial difficulties, but we are definitely part of the solution. The more we get our message out, the more people will be able to benefit from our services. This is, in both senses of the word, a virtuous circle!