The Church of England’s Social Impact Investment Programme (The Archbishops' Council) has made a £1.1m equity investment in Charity Bank, an ethical bank that uses its savers' money to lend to charities, social enterprises, and faith based organisations.
By leveraging this investment with deposits, Charity Bank will be able to make more than £8.8m in new loans at a time when the social sector is in acute need of sustainable financing solutions.
Charity Bank is uniquely owned by charitable trusts and foundations and other social purpose organisations. By investing in Charity Bank, the Church of England’s Social Investment Programme joins this esteemed group as they continue to enable the bank to support UK organisations working to drive positive social change – bringing benefits for people, communities, and the environment.
Ed Siegel, CEO at Charity Bank said, “Investment capital is vital to our mission. It underpins our lending activity and enables us to leverage our savers’ money. For every £1m of capital, we can make more than £8m of loans to the charities and social enterprises that are tackling some of the most challenging issues facing UK society today.
“We are very excited about the potential of this partnership, particularly as we seek to grow our activities in the ‘green lending’ space, which is a specific area of interest for the Church, and as we continue to expand our lending to housing and social care providers, Christian charities and other faith based organisations. We look forward to working together to use our financial resources to build a better world.”
Vanessa Morphet, Head of Social Impact Investment at the Church of England said, “Charities, social enterprises and faith based organisations provide key services to local communities in areas such as housing, social care, food banks, skills development and tackling loneliness. Charity Bank loans are a vital part of the funding landscape for these organisations enabling them to sustain, improve and grow their services. We are delighted that our equity investment will enable Charity Bank to support more of these organisations across the UK.”
Charity Bank have over £315m in deposits from a wide range of, charities, social enterprises, faith based organisations and ethically conscious individuals.
To learn more about Charity Bank and its approach to loans and savings visit www.charitybank.org