Saving children with savings
Howard Lake | 16 September 1997 | News
Amid the windfall mania of this summer’s demutualisation of Building Societies, the Skipton Building Society has come up with an innovative scheme to keep carpetbaggers at bay and raise money for charity.
To deter those wishing to become a member simply to grab any potential windfall and run, the Society has pitched its minimum opening balance at £2,000. Unless you deposit at least £5,000, however, you have to make a £25 donation to the National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children. The scheme has so far raised £200,000 for the charity.
“The question is why more of the so-called die-hard mutuals don’t do this, rather than the farce of excluding small savers – their traditional customer – with high opening balances, or simply turning people away”, says Steve Lodge, Personal Finance Editor of The Independent. “This is a nice idea for which the Skipton should be applauded”.
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About Howard Lake
Howard Lake is consultant editor of UK Fundraising. He founded the site in 1994 and successfully sold it in 2022. As director of Giving X Ltd he is exploring growing giving on a massive scale.
He is the founder of Fundraising Camp and co-founder of GoodJobs.