Irish social finance organisation Clann Credo has provided over €215 million in finance to community and voluntary groups, sports clubs, climate action initiatives, social enterprises as well as social housing in Ireland since 1996.

As the largest social finance provider in Ireland, Clann Credo has a current loan book of over €50.3 million, providing capital to community and voluntary groups around the country.

Working like a social bank, Clann Credo has supported more than 1,500 organisations in the community, providing lending that focuses on the social impact potential of a project.

Clann Credo CEO Mary Lawlor said, “Clann Credo is strategically positioned to respond effectively to evolving community needs and ambition. The feedback from the 250 delegates at our conference signals an increase in community ambition throughout Ireland which gives us confidence to scale our work and reach more communities who share our mission for positive social change.”

Over 250 community and voluntary organisations from around Ireland attended the conference, held at Croke Park on September 13.

According to the latest Clann Credo Impact Report, 65% of Clann Credo’s social finance lending in 2023 reached communities with a below-average score on the Pobal Deprivation Index.

Specifically, Clann Credo demonstrated an increase in their lending to communities classified as disadvantaged (11%) or extremely
disadvantaged (4%) during that year. This level of lending in underserved communities demonstrates the need for social finance in Ireland, now and into the future.

Clann Credo finance supports sporting clubs (38.9%), community playgrounds, community centres and facilities in the community (16.7%)
as well as disability projects (9.9%), enterprise centres (8.4%), and social sheltered housing (6.6%) among other projects.

It also aims to support environmental and climate action initiatives in communities. For instance, its support helped to transform a disused,
overgrown site at the heart of Carlow Town into an urban variant of the allotment idea called An Gairdín Beo.

Speaking at the conference, Minister for Finance Jack Chambers said, “It’s clear Clann Credo are making a real social impact on the ground around the country, through their support of community, sporting and voluntary groups. I have seen this first hand. The level of social finance required in Ireland over the last number of years demonstrates the need for this type of finance, and reflects the huge ambition of local community groups.”