News Archive
Enrolling now: barefoot training
We are so pleased to see enrolment open for another barefoot training cohort. If we are going to grow the co-op sector its essential we have new Co-op Development Practitioners to support new and developing democratically owned businesses. Could you apply the skills and experience you have developed working in a co-operative or community business […]
Celebrating ICOF 50th birthday – looking back at our early loans – Bookprint Co-op
Another early loan – do we think that’s a printer? Loans to purchase equipment have been a big part of our work and in 1975 we lent to Bookprint Co-op on Neath, South Wales to enable them to buy some cutting edge printing tech. It would look rather different today! Since publishing this article, we’ve […]
CCF Awarded Cyber Essentials Plus certification
We are delighted to announce that we have been awarded the national Cyber Essentials Plus certification. This is the independently audited step beyond the basic Cyber Essentials level. This means that we have all the necessary hardware, software and systems in place to protect our finances – and therefore our ability to support our borrowers – […]
Celebrating ICOF 50th birthday – looking back at our early loans
Here’s another early loan, the first of many to wholefood co-ops! We lent to Green City in 1974 and are delighted that they are still going strong in Glasgow. At the time of writing, they are in fact recruiting – could you be their next Quality Assurance Office, Business Development Member or Buyer?
Proud to be part of new £2.2m fund to help communities take ‘levelling up’ into their own hands
A £2.2 million investment into supporting community businesses has been announced, as a new report reveals that, to date, communities across the UK have themselves raised £210 million to save local assets and services. The new funding from Access – The Foundation for Social Investment will enable further opportunities for harder to reach communities and […]
Celebrating ICOF 50th birthday – looking back to our first loan
Our very first loan! We lent Little Women £500. Our records don’t quite reveal the purpose of it but we believe it was to help with buying the shop, with the flat above, in Sunderland. Did you ever visit?
The celebrations start at Future Coops Conference
We are delighted to be celebrating our 50th birthday this year and we are kicking the celebrations off in style with a drinks reception at Co-operative Futures annual conference A lot has changed in the 50 years since we made our first loan in 1973 but the need for co-operative working and solutions rooted in […]
WORKSHOP: Finance Introduction for co-ops and community businesses
Are you an advisor to co-ops or community businesses with no, or limited, experience of finance? Book now to join Co-op Culture for a must attend workshop on the 17th January The workshop will cover Basic Accounting Concepts and Terms and Jargon Busting, including: An introduction to finance and accounting terms The five different types […]
We lent £1 million in 2022!
What a way to start a year! We’ve totted it all up and are delighted to announce that in 2022, we lent over £1 million, to co-operatives and community-owned businesses building the Britain WE want to see. To everyone who was part of our 2022 we thank you and we can’t want to celebrate our […]
Celebrate our 50th birthday with your memories!
We are going to be 50 in 2023 – if you’ve been part of our story so far, will you join us? Where does the time go? One minute you’re a new social finance provider, lending to co-ops among the wholefood stores, in your 1970s flares, and the next it’s 2022, everyone’s talking about platform […]