A cooperative is "an autonomous association of persons united voluntarily to meet their common economic, social and cultural needs and aspirations through a jointly owned and democratically-controlled enterprise". Cooperatives are democratically controlled by their members, with each member having one vote in electing the board of directors. Cooperatives may include:
A friendly society is a mutual association for the purposes of insurance, pensions, savings or cooperative banking. It is a mutual organization or benefit society composed of a body of people who join together for a common financial or social purpose. Before modern insurance and the welfare state, friendly societies provided financial and social services to individuals, often according to their religious, political, or trade affiliations. These societies are still widespread in many parts of the developing world, where they are referred to as ROSCAs, ASCAs, burial societies, chit funds, etc.
The Independent Order of Rechabites (IOR), also known as the Sons and Daughters of Rechab, is a fraternal organisation and friendly society founded in England in 1835 as part of the wider temperance movement to promote total abstinence from alcoholic beverages. Always well connected in upper society and involved in financial matters, it gradually transformed into a financial institution which still exists, and still promotes abstinence. The Order has been active in Australia from 1843, promoting temperance and as a benefit society. A branch was established in the United States in 1842, and also flourished for a time. In the United Kingdom, the Order trades under the name of Healthy Investment.
A mutual organization, or mutual society is an organization based on the principle of mutuality and governed by private law. Unlike a true cooperative, members usually do not contribute to the capital of the company by direct investment, but derive their right to profits and votes through their customer relationship. A mutual organization or society is often simply referred to as a mutual.
A benefit society, fraternal benefit society, fraternal benefit order, friendly society, or mutual aid society is a society, an organization or a voluntary association formed to provide mutual aid, benefit, for instance insurance for relief from sundry difficulties. Such organizations may be formally organized with charters and established customs, or may arise ad hoc to meet unique needs of a particular time and place.
Yorkshire Building Society is the third largest building society in the UK, with its headquarters in Bradford, West Yorkshire, England. It is a member of the Building Societies Association.
The United Kingdom is home to a widespread and diverse co-operative movement, with over 7000 registered co-operatives owned by 17 million individual members and which contribute £34bn a year to the British economy. Modern co-operation started with the Rochdale Pioneers' shop in the northern English town of Rochdale in 1844, though the history of co-operation in Britain can be traced back to before 1800. The British co-operative movement is most commonly associated with The Co-operative brand which has been adopted by several large consumers' co-operative societies; however, there are many thousands of registered co-operative businesses operating in the UK. Alongside these consumers' co-operatives, there exist many prominent agricultural co-operatives (621), co-operative housing providers (619), health and social care cooperatives (111), cooperative schools (834), retail co-operatives, co-operatively run community energy projects, football supporters' trusts, credit unions, and worker-owned businesses.
An ethical bank, also known as a social, alternative, civic, or sustainable bank, is a bank concerned with the social and environmental impacts of its investments and loans. The ethical banking movement includes: ethical investment, impact investment, socially responsible investment, corporate social responsibility, and is also related to such movements as the fair trade movement, ethical consumerism, and social enterprise.
Ecology Building Society is a building society in the United Kingdom. It was established in 1981, is based in West Yorkshire, and has over 10,000 open accounts. The Ecology is a member of the Building Societies Association.
Socially responsible investing (SRI), social investment, sustainable socially conscious, "green" or ethical investing, is any investment strategy which seeks to consider both financial return and social/environmental good to bring about social change regarded as positive by proponents. Socially responsible investments often constitute a small percentage of total funds invested by corporations and are riddled with obstacles.
Teachers Building Society is a mutual British financial institution founded in 1966 by the National Union of Teachers. It is a member of the Building Societies Association.
Monmouthshire Building Society,, is a building society based in Newport, Wales. The Society provides typical building society services including: a range of mortgage and savings products. insurance, financial planning, legal services and funeral plans some of which are provided via third-party companies.
The Foresters Friendly Society is a British friendly society which was formed in 1834 as the Ancient Order of Foresters. As of 31 December 2016, the society had approximately 75,000 members. Its head office is located in Southampton, England.
Moneyfacts Group Plc is a financial information company founded in 1988 based in Norwich in the United Kingdom employing over 80 people.
Shepherds Friendly Society is a UK friendly society and one of the oldest mutual insurers in the world.
Eco-investing or green investing, is a form of socially responsible investing where investments are made in companies that support or provide environmentally friendly products and practices. These companies encourage new technologies that support the transition from carbon dependence to more sustainable alternatives. Green finance is "any structured financial activity that has been created to ensure a better environmental outcome."
Engage Mutual Assurance was a financial products provider based in Harrogate, North Yorkshire. It operated as a mutual friendly society with no shareholders, and was owned by its 500,000 members.
Scottish Friendly Assurance Society Limited is a leading UK mutual life and investments organisation. It provides a range of investment and protection products and provides life and investment products and services to other financial organisations. One of the largest life offices in Scotland, Scottish Friendly is based in Glasgow, United Kingdom and operates throughout the UK and Ireland. It has over 712,000 members and over 1 million policyholders. As of 29 December 2019, the society looked after assets worth over £5.3 billion.
Kotak Mahindra Life Insurance Company Limited is a private life insurance company in India. The company was founded in 2001. It caters to 15 million customers and has 232 branches in around 167 cities and towns in India with 99,275 agents.
OneFamily is a financial services provider based in Brighton and Hove, Sussex. It is a mutual society and as such has no shareholders, and is instead owned by its members.
