really interesting meeting yesterday. Met with a publisher and financial capability outreach worker and educator to scope out the content of a forthcoming publication. The brief was to work out the main topics and style in a 32 page booklet . We all agreed that accessible language was important, and how difficult it was to express complicated concepts in simple but not patronising language. Also all agreed that many people are not numerate and so will be put off by complex numbers. Also, finance and debt are sensitive personal topics, and that debt carries stigma.

So, left with the important basic questions ; what are the important points that everyone needs to know in order to be able to cope best with their money, and how can these be well expressed so as to retain people's attention and aid their understanding.

Also a lot of discussion about 'needs' versus 'wants' i.e. is a the latest 32" inch flat screen TV a need or a want ? We disagreed on this as you might expect, with a range of views expressed. Difficult and subjective I think, and strays into the whole area of lifestyle and personal choices. Of course we could all manage our money if we went without electronic goods, cars, holidays, eating out, new furniture, bought our clothes second hand etc etc. But while that may be the lifestyle choice some may go for, its definitely not for all.

I'm sure that however the booklet is written it must not be, or appear to be, judgemental. So I'm going to have a go at drafting one of the sections, probably on 'budgeting'. So if any one has suggestions about how this topic can be put over clearly (why, what, how?) let me know. Incidentally the publication will use visuals / cartoons / diagrams etc, so not reliant on dense and unreadable text.

yours

creditrating

philanthropy

credit unions rely on having capital to lend out to members. Members need the loans, and the credit union needs the (small) earnings that come from charging interest on the loans. Getting started with enough capital is a real problem. Are there philanthropists out there who have money that they don't mind keeping with the credit union for a long time ? If they genuinely don't need the money for a while, then why not put it on deposit with the credit union ?

credit unions - opening a discussion

hi

I work in Cornwall UK. A dispersed rural area with market towns. Its a relatively poor area - low wages and high house prices driven up be second home ownership.

My job is as a development worker for a small credit union, to help the credit union grow. I joined them 10 months ago. It has been run by a small group of good and dedicated people giving their time and effort for free. Their values are good, and they never forget who the Union is for - people who can't access the mainstream banks and credit.

I'm working on ways to make the union better, and I'm really interested in the credit union reaching out to to people for whom life can be difficult. I've got lots of ideas about how to do that, and want to learn from others doing similar. so hope to hear from you wherever you are.

Over and out