Inspiring Better Futures

Read more about what we’re doing to support our members and communities in our report

Our vision

Our Inspiring Better Futures vision underpins our commitment to supporting our members and customers, creating an inclusive and diverse work environment and making a real difference in our communities.

We've built our vision on three pillars to make sure that we stay focused on the right areas

Members and customers

Doing right by our members and customers through offering affordable and accessible products to suit their needs, while providing outstanding customer service and support.

Colleagues

Supporting our colleagues' development and making our workplaces somewhere they can be themselves and thrive.

Communities

Giving back to our communities through our charity partnerships and employee volunteering, promoting a culture of making a positive impact.

A girl wearing a yellow coat, celebrating in a bamboo forest

We're focused on 3 key areas to support our Inspiring Better Futures vision:

Financial wellbeing - Offering affordable products that give more people the opportunity to save, and partnering with a charity that delivers financial education to children
Access to education and training – Removing barriers to education through Young Person’s Education Grants, and supporting charities that are making access to education available to young people from disadvantaged backgrounds
Improving life chances – Giving back to our communities through colleague volunteering, and working with charities that are levelling the playing field and helping people to succeed in work and life

Supporting our members and customers

We’re here for our members and customers, creating value for them as well as supporting them with their financial wellbeing through our products, services and member benefits.

We believe that access to education is key to unlocking future opportunities. So we offer our customers the opportunity to apply for a Young Person's Education Grant for someone aged 15-19, to help with essential costs such as technology, travel and equipment.

In 2023 we awarded over £28k to 111 young people, helping them to invest in a better future.

Find out more about our education grants.

Helping our colleagues to thrive

Giving back to our communities

Playing an active role in our communities has always been part of our mutual ethos. And that doesn’t just amount to donating funding to good causes – we get involved on a practical level as well.

We’ve created long-term partnerships with charities that share our goals to support financial wellbeing, provide access to education and improve life chances for people from disadvantaged backgrounds.

Our colleagues took part in 257 volunteering sessions in 2023, including mentoring young people, sorting toy and food donations, gardening and fundraising for our charity partners.

Climate-focused funds

We’re working towards providing responsible investment opportunities and supporting businesses striving to be better for the environment.

Our Stocks and Shares ISA and Lifetime ISA both come with the option to put your money in a fund that considers the environment when selecting where to invest: Global Equity fund.

Our Global Equity fund buys shares in companies that are overall less damaging to the environment compared to similar companies in their sector.

Global Equity chooses where to invest your money based partly on how companies rank on our climate-focused scoring system, which looks at things like how much of a company’s money is made through environmentally damaging activities and how much comes from carbon neutral or carbon negative activities.

If you choose the Global Mixed fund, up to 35% of your money is invested in company shares via the Global Equity fund, while the rest is invested in lower-risk, fixed interest assets which aren't chosen based on their climate credentials.

Find out more about how our climate-focused fund selects where to invest.