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Charity Bank Lends £50,000 to Big Brothers & Sisters UK

Charity Bank Lends £50,000 to Big Brothers & Sisters UK

Published 01-06-04

Submitted by Charity Bank

Charity Bank today announced a loan of £50,000 to assist the UK Big Brothers & Sisters charity manage its cash flow. This will enable the charity to develop its mentoring programme to enrich the lives of children from single parent families.

Big Brothers & Sisters UK provides adult volunteer mentors who give time, encouragement, and friendship to children and young people aged 6-16. It has grown rapidly since matching the first mentee and mentor in Bristol in July 2001, with services now in Bristol, Birmingham, Edinburgh, Glasgow and London. It already has a pool of 136 approved mentors and 419 applicants awaiting screening. It has been developed from a very successful model operating in the USA.

The rapid growth of Big Brothers & Sisters put additional pressure on the charity's cash flow. By working with Charity Bank, Big Brothers & Sisters identified that it could afford a £50,000 loan to bridge grants and tide over short-term fundraising prospects.

Big Brothers & Sisters, Chief Executive, Beverly Cohen said: "Figures from the U.S show that young people from a single parent background are twice as likely to graduate and 40% less likely to take drugs if they have a Big Brothers & Sisters mentor. We're very keen to replicate this success here in the UK. Such an ambitious project, however, can present cash flow issues. But Charity Bank has proved to be a remarkable source of support, advice, and understanding."

Malcolm Hayday, Charity Bank¹s Chief Executive, added: "Too often charitable organisations lack the funding and encouragement to achieve their goals or to make a step change in their activities. Charity Bank is in the position to help such organisations make the most of their capabilities and assets to fulfil their vision. Big Brothers & Sisters touches the lives of many deserving young people, and Charity Bank is proud to be involved."

About Charity Bank
Charity Bank is a registered charity (no. 1091648).

Charity Bank is authorised and regulated by the Financial Services Authority, and is an independent member of the CAF family.

Charity Bank is born out of almost 80 years of charitable heritage of Charities Aid Foundation, whose pilot loan scheme Investors in Society ran successfully for six years to 2002 and provided the base for Charity Bank.

It¹s backed by a range of financial institutions, charities and individuals including Barclays Bank, Bank of Scotland, Nat West and Deutsche Bank, Tudor Trust, Northern Rock Foundation, Esmee Fairbairn Foundation, the Serve All Trust, NCVO, the Beatrice Laing Charitable Trust and the Nuffield Foundation, as well as CAF itself. The Co-operative Bank is Charity Bank¹s
banker.

From 1996 to 2002, Investors in Society helped fund over 200 charities. £10 million of lending underpinned projects with a capital value of more than £50 million, leveraging millions of pounds for charities across the UK. Charity Bank has continued to build on that heritage, lending some £9 million to a further 88 organisations.

At the end of 2003, a consortium led by Charity Bank was appointed by HM Treasury as preferred provider to manage a new voluntary and community sector £125 million investment fund.

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