Mandy Porter31 Oct 2024
Back in March, we shared our reflections on 5 years of Money Movers. It was a time for pause and recalibration. A few months on, we are launching our new Money Movers resource hub during #TalkMoney week to make the resources available to as many people as possible.
What is Money Movers?
Money Movers is a movement of people who come together and create their own peer-led learning groups to move their money for the good of the planet. By training up facilitators (not financial experts), Money Movers helps bring people together in a safe environment to explore issues and barriers related to using their personal finances for good – whether around the kitchen table, in a café, or at work.
Introducing the Money Movers Resource Hub
Now, thanks to the support of ethical bank Triodos Bank UK, we have transformed these tried and tested peer-learning tactics into downloadable materials, videos and digestible tips. We’ve made Money Movers publicly and freely accessible on the Friends of the Earth website, to enable even more individuals and communities to take climate action together.
How has Money Movers evolved?
We ran our first kitchen table prototypes in 2018 on a shoestring and then brought in peer-learning specialists Huddlecraft to design and pilot the project. The idea was to train ‘hosts’ to gather their peers in a friendly and supportive environment. Together they would discuss their understanding about personal finance issues to try to get a handle on how their money could contribute to a better future for the planet and start committing to taking action.
Since then, over 375 women and allies who’ve been on the Money Movers journey have switched £3.3 million into more ethical and planet-positive investments and pledged to move a further £7.3 million.
We’ve learned so much from Huddlecraft who ran the programme on our behalf from 2020 until earlier this year. In particular we want to pay tribute to the role of Anneka Deva whose vision and enthusiasm drove the programme. Thanks to the generous support of Triodos Bank UK we have now been able to take the resources developed and tested by Huddlecraft and make them more widely available. This will make it easy for anyone to host their own group, without having to wait for the next scheduled training.
And although we still believe that women are a core audience for Money Movers, the resources are now available to anyone who would benefit from a confidence boost when it comes to engaging with sustainable finance.
Plans for the future
The online open-access hub represents a new chapter for Money Movers. We’d love to see Money Movers groups taking off in more places: community hubs and halls, places of worship, parent-and-baby groups. Or supporting different life stages: students making some of their first independent financial decisions, or new parents, or people planning for retirement.
We are still experimenting. In November, we’re taking part in a ‘buildathon’ with coding school 42 London to learn if an AI co-host for Money Movers could support more people – perhaps those nervous about facilitating groups or lacking confidence in their financial knowledge – to host a group.
Our vision is a movement that changes the conversation and the market around savings and investment, so that the ‘green’ option becomes the default. Right now, we’re excited to see how the new hub goes.
Spread the word
Do you know people or networks who would like to use their money to build a better future for the planet and could benefit from these resources? Please forward them this exciting opportunity.
Whether it’s a quick email, a social media post or a conversation with colleagues we need your help to get the word out and inspire more people to take part in Money Movers.