Last weekend, Nick was delighted to join colleagues Pat McGinn (Small Change Ltd) and David Batten (CFCFE member Hoot Credit Union) to present to ABCUL conference attendees on measuring social impact. The presentation did not get into the details of the toolkit we are developing in this area, but aimed to stimulate credit union thinking on why they should consider reporting on social impact – could it be an illustration of the credit union difference?
The discussion sought to get beyond standard credit union metrics such as interest saved compared with high cost lenders, and to considering how this actually impacts on members lives: for example, what happens to the money saved by members in this way? Is it spent locally? Does it go into to savings? David spoke eloquently about how for him what had initially seemed to be simply a management information exercise had become a fundamental re-examining of the purpose of the credit union, and this had been hugely energising.
The presentation is available here. The toolkit is on its way (but will be a few weeks)!
