Christians Against Poverty

What Christians Against Poverty does

Christians Against Poverty (CAP) is a UK Christian charitable company founded in 1996 in Bradford and structured as a Company Limited by Guarantee, registered with the Charity Commission for England and Wales (1097217) and the Scottish Charity Regulator (SC038776). It provides four core services free to end-users: CAP Debt Help (face-to-face, FCA-authorised debt counselling with insolvency options such as DMPs and DROs), Money Coaching (video-based financial education delivered through churches), Job Clubs (an eight-week employment support course), and Life Skills (community groups covering budgeting, cooking, health, and relationships). Services are delivered through a decentralised network of more than 600 partner churches — 613 debt centres, 456 money-coaching churches, 165 life-skills groups, and 121 job clubs — with operational offices in Bradford, Glasgow, and Belfast covering England, Scotland, and Northern Ireland respectively.

The technology infrastructure supporting this model is modest and primarily third-party: CPOMS for safeguarding records, Google Analytics, Hotjar, and Google Tag Manager for web analytics, and G-Suite for data hosting. No proprietary platform, mobile application, or API is offered to external developers. Service delivery is fundamentally relational — home visits, church-based group sessions, and a centralised helpline (13,099 calls in 2025) — rather than technology-mediated.

Revenue is generated through individual donations (minimum £1, Direct Debit or card), tiered monthly church partnership subscriptions (starting at £300/month for debt centres, £60/month for job clubs and life skills, £15/month for money coaching), pay-as-you-go coaching fees, and legacy/fundraising appeals. CAP does not disclose income figures publicly, but the operational footprint (251–500 employees, regional offices, FCA-regulated infrastructure) is consistent with a mid-sized UK charity. Independent LSE research has validated a Social Return on Investment of £3.60 per £1 invested, and CAP reports £500M+ of cumulative client debt written off or repaid over its 30-year history, with 2,008 adults becoming debt free in 2025.

Name

Christians Against Poverty

Legal name

Christians Against Poverty

Website

https://capuk.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1996

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

501–1,000 employees

Short description

Christians Against Poverty is a UK Christian charity that delivers free FCA-authorised debt counselling, money coaching, job clubs, and life-skills training through a national network of more than 600 partner churches serving individuals in financial hardship.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Charitable debt counselling and community support services

NAICS

Emergency and Other Relief Services (62423), Religious Organizations (8131), Religious Organizations (813110), Civic and Social Organizations (813410)

SIC

Services-Social Services (8300)

akta.pro primary industry

Faith-Based Humanitarian Aid & Relief Ministries (BPAGAJAF)

akta.pro secondary industry

Emergency Shelter, Camp Coordination & Camp Management (CCCM) (BPADADAB)

Keywords

• Debt counselling services
• Financial education programmes
• Employment support services
• Church-based charity services
• Community poverty support

Headquarters

HQ city

Bradford

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices3 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Individual Donations: Individual supporters make one-off or regular monthly donations to CAP. Donations can be made via Direct Debit, credit/debit card. The minimum donation accepted is £1.
2. Church Partnership Contributions: Churches pay monthly partnership contributions for running CAP services: £60/month for job clubs and life skills groups, starting at £300/month for debt centres. These contributions support the centralised services, training, and support provided by CAP head office.
3. Money Coaching Subscriptions: Churches can subscribe to money coaching for £15/month (up to 3 coaches + £75 worth of printable materials annually), or pay £55 per coach on a pay-as-you-go basis.
4. Social Return on Investment: LSE research concludes that for every £1 invested in CAP, £3.60 of social benefits are delivered, demonstrating significant social impact value.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels7 records

Marketing channels12 records

Core offering

Christians Against Poverty (CAP) provides free, FCA-authorised debt counselling, money coaching, job clubs, and life skills support to individuals and families across the UK. Services are delivered face-to-face through a national network of partner churches, with central professional oversight, training, and safeguarding infrastructure from CAP's Bradford head office.

Product overview

Christians Against Poverty (CAP) offers a suite of free services delivered through a network of local UK churches. The core services include CAP Debt Help (face-to-face professional debt counselling), Money Coaching (video-based financial education), Job Clubs (employment support courses), and Life Skills (community groups for life skills sharing). CAP also runs the Church and Community Transformation (CCT) programme for holistic church-led community development. Supporting digital tools include an online budgeting tool and benefits calculator. CAP is authorized and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority for its debt help services.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• CAP Debt Help: Free, professional debt counselling service delivered through local church partnerships with face-to-face visits and centralized debt counselling.
• CAP Money Coaching
• CAP Life Skills
• CAP Job Clubs
• Church and Community Transformation (CCT)

Products and services

• CAP Debt Help

Quantifiable outcome

• £500 million+ of debt written off or repaid for clients who have become debt free
• +5 more outcomes

Named customers7 records

Segments6 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Partnerships

Twelve partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Acts TrustcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerWorking in partnership with Acts Trust as part of the Church and Community Transformation (CCT) programme ecosystem, helping churches work together to transform communities.
• Gather MovementcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaborating with Gather Movement on the Church and Community Transformation (CCT) programme to help churches work collectively to address community needs.
• TF GlobalcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnering with TF Global as part of the CCT programme to help churches engage meaningfully with their communities.
• Thrive IrelandcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnering with Thrive Ireland and CAP to deliver Church and Community Transformation (CCT) in Northern Ireland, helping local churches work together across denominations.
• Centre for Research in Social Policy (CRSP) at University of LoughboroughcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCAP partnered with CRSP to explore the interaction between living standards, debt and the persistent nature of inadequate income, producing the 'Pushed Under, Pushed Out' research report.
• London School of Economics (LSE) Housing and CommunitiescoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerLSE conducted a 12-month research project on CAP's Social Return of Investment, concluding that for every £1 invested, CAP delivers £3.60 of social benefits.
• OpiniumminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCAP commissions polling research through Opinium, a representative sample of UK adults, to understand debt, poverty and living standards realities.
• Financial Conduct Authority (FCA)coreOthersCAP is authorised and regulated by the FCA for debt counselling activities. The FCA has the right to inspect CAP's files to ensure compliance with their rules. FCA regulation ensures consumer protection.
• Department for Work and Pensions (DWP)coreOthersThe Department of Work and Pensions (DWP) highly recommends CAP's job club service as part of employment support provision.
• Advice Services AllianceminorOthersThe Advice Services Alliance may audit CAP's Debt Help service as part of quality assurance for advice services.
• Money and Pensions Service (MaPS)minorOthersThe Money and Pensions Service may audit CAP's Debt Help service to ensure quality standards are maintained.
• CPOMScoreTechnology or IntegrationCAP uses CPOMS, a cloud-based safeguarding recording system, for recording and managing safeguarding incidents and concerns across debt operations and frontline staff.

Scale indicators14 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Others

• Advice UK: Membership body for independent advice charities in the UK, including debt advice providers. Relevant as a sector body and quality framework partner rather than a direct service competitor.

Direct peers

• Money Advice Trust: UK charity that runs National Debtline and Business Debtline, providing free debt advice. Directly comparable mission and FCA-regulated debt counselling, though delivered predominantly via telephone rather than face-to-face church visits.
• PayPlan: Free, FCA-authorised debt advice service offering Debt Management Plans and insolvency solutions. Direct competitor for clients seeking free debt counselling, particularly via online and phone channels.
• National Debtline (Money Advice Trust): Free telephone and online debt advice service run by the Money Advice Trust. Closely comparable free debt counselling offering for individuals in financial difficulty.
• StepChange Debt Charity: The largest UK specialist debt advice charity, providing free debt counselling and Debt Management Plans via phone and online. Most direct comparator to CAP's debt help service and primary competitor for FCA-regulated free debt advice demand.
• Church Action on Poverty: UK ecumenical Christian charity tackling poverty through churches, campaigns, and research. Closely aligned faith-based anti-poverty mission with overlapping church partnership model.

Broad incumbents

• Money and Pensions Service (MaPS): UK government-backed body providing free, impartial money and pensions guidance. Broader mandate than CAP but overlapping in budgeting and debt guidance; also a potential funder and quality auditor of CAP's debt help service.
• Citizens Advice: National network offering free advice including debt, benefits, and employment across multiple channels. Overlaps with CAP on debt advice and life skills, but operates much more broadly as a generalist advice provider.

Emerging players

• Toynbee Hall: London-based charity tackling poverty through advice, employment support, and community programmes. Smaller scale than CAP but overlapping mission in debt advice and life skills for people on low incomes.
• The Trussell Trust: UK charity supporting a nationwide network of food banks. Different immediate service (food vs debt) but comparable scale, faith-affiliated origins, and reliance on a local church/partner volunteer delivery model addressing UK poverty.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/CAPuk
• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UCs_xMCD1ykGf-wnIQT2UJ1g
• Facebookfacebook.com/CAPuk
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/christians-against-poverty
• Instagraminstagram.com/capuk_org
• TikToktiktok.com/@christiansagainstpoverty

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Christians Against Poverty