The cause
akt (formerly the Albert Kennedy Trust) is a nationwide charity dedicated to supporting LGBTQ+ people aged 16-25 who are at risk of or are experiencing homelessness. Coming out, or being outed, can lead to young people losing the roof over their head. Three quarters of the young people akt works with believe coming out at home was the main factor in causing their homelessness.
Since the charity was founded in 1989, akt has supported over 50,000 young LGBTQ+ people. It works to help them stay safe in a crisis, find emergency and long term accommodation, provide access to specialist support, and help them develop their skills, identity and achieve their life goals.
The charity has seen significant growth in recent years, supported by a quadrupling of its workforce since 2018.
Our support
Having built up significant cash reserves, akt were looking to grow interest income, while depositing their savings with different banks to manage any risk. As a CAF Bank customer, akt had heard about the
CAF Charity Deposit Platform, where charities can open a range of savings accounts with a single application.
Provided by Flagstone Investment Management (Flagstone), with introductions made by CAF Financial Solutions Limited (CFSL), the Platform: “sounded ideal for us as we could deposit our cash into lots of different accounts at the £85,000 limit and get the FSCS protection that we needed if anything happened,” said Joanne McKenna, akt’s Director of Finance.
The CAF Charity Deposit Platform offers access to more than 90 notice and fixed term accounts on a fully digital platform. With just one application you can move your savings around securely according to the rates and terms that suit you.
“The set-up was fairly easy and straightforward, and I can go in on a regular basis and spread the money over different accounts with different lenses. We’ve been able to build up our cash reserves and move more money into it,” says Joanne.
“I keep my eye on Platform updates to see the new accounts coming in and consider which ones we’d want to use with the various filters you can add, such as time, bank accounts, terms and percentages, which is really helpful.”
Joanne McKenna, Director of Finance, akt
One of the main benefits of the CAF Charity Deposit Platform is the ease of moving money around a wide range of accounts and providers within one platform. “The administration of the site is really easy to use,” says Joanne, “and if I had to set up multiple bank accounts regularly to move money around, it would be a really difficult process.”
Another attraction for akt’s trustees is the deposit protection. Each of the UK banks on the Platform are members of the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS), which means that eligible deposits of up to £85,000 per depositor are protected.
“For us it spreads the risk of where we’re keeping our money, without us tying it in for too long,” says Joanne. “We’ve definitely made full use of it. I’ve moved money around to make better use of some of the higher interest rates that are on the Platform. It means we earn a bit more interest and spreads the risk of where we’re leaving the cash.”