‘Bonds of hope’ focuses on Citylife’s previous Bonds in Sheffield but also mentions the East London Bond as a way to encourage investment in communities.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/2010/jul/14/local-bond-invest-job-creation

Wates Group, who have pledged £1m to the East London Bond; explain why they are committed to the East London Bond as part of their CSR strategy.

http://www.financialdirector.co.uk/financial-director/comment/2265797/winners

Geraldine Blake, Chief Executive at Community Links explains the Bond and their work

http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/joepublic/2010/jun/03/community-links-east-london-bond

Poplar HARCA is a registered social landlord which owns and manages around 8,500 homes in Poplar, East London that were transferred from the London Borough of Tower Hamlets between 1998 and 2009. To date the landlord has spent over £250 million refurbishing homes to bring them up to the decent homes standard.

Although their work is centered around Poplar, it works closely with partners such as the Bromley by Bow Centre who is one of the charities benefiting from the Bond to deliver community, urban and economic regeneration projects in the area.

Jane Thompson, Communications Manager for Citylife (the issuer of the Bond) commented; ‘We are very grateful to Poplar HARCA – their donation demonstrates they are a social housing provider with foresight in supporting the East London Bond’.

For more information on Poplar HARCA see www.poplarharca.co.uk

Apax joins other high profile investors such as Wates Group, Vitabiotics and Winterflood Securities and we are very grateful for their support.

Companies and individuals alike can invest in the Bond with a minimum investment of £500. Find out how to invest here

Tim Jones, CEO of Citylife

Citylife’s own CEO, Tim Jones, is so committed to this Bond that he is to invest his own sweat equity: he has agreed (foolishly!) to run the inaugural Brighton marathon alongside the Bromley by Bow team. 

You can click here to go straight through to his Just Giving page and make a donation – your support at any level will be very much appreciated!

But in a rare twist on marathon sponsorship Tim is thinking that many individuals and companies in the current economic climate will want to keep their assets safe and buy a fully refundable Charitable Bond instead.

Every £1000 raised through the East London Bond is not only kept safe and returned intact after 5 years but includes, at current rates, an upfront gift of £200 to charity – £100 goes immediately to Bromley by Bow Centre AND a further £100 goes right away to fellow east London charity Community Links!

To make a donation go to Tim’s Just Giving page here. To pledge £500 or more to Tim’s Marathon and the East London Bond please complete a pledge form. Thank you for your support.

Brian Winterflood, Life President of Winterflood Securities is an Ambassador for the East London Bond and is delighted that Winterflood Securities has committed £100,000. “We think the Bond is a smart, safe and great value way to inject funds for this particular City initiative” Brian said.

Vitabiotics , the UK’s leading and fastest growing major vitamin supplement company, has also pledged £100,000 to support the Bond’s vital work in the most deprived parts of our community. Dr Kartar Lalvani, President of Vitabiotics Ltd, said “The East London Bond is a fantastic way of supporting charitable objectives that your company is passionate about, whilst the investment is secure and remains on your company’s balance sheet.”

The East London Bond is now open for investment until the end of April 2010.

The East London Bond has opened for investment, with a cast of prominent supporters and over £1 million already pledged.

The Bond is being offered by Citylife, a national charity that issues charitable bonds like this as a unique way of raising funds for social causes. The yield generated by the East London Bond will be given to the Bromley by Bow Centre and Community Links: two community-based charities working in some of the most deprived areas in England.

At a time when recession has squeezed the budgets of donors – but increased the need for funds to help those who are most vulnerable – the charitable bond mechanism provides an innovative solution. It allows individuals and companies to use their capital to support charity without even giving it away.

The Bond works like this: around 20 per cent of the money raised by the East London Bond will go immediately to charity. The other 80 per cent is loaned to a housing provider to develop affordable housing. After five years the housing provider repays the loan with interest, taking the fund back to its original 100 per cent level, and investors get all their money back.

The combination of a high-value yield for charity and security for the investor was one of the key factors that led Wates Group Ltd to make the first pledge of support for the East London Bond. Paul Drechsler, chairman and chief executive of Wates, explains:

“Wates is proud to have pledged £1 million in the East London Bond” says Paul. “We’re strongly committed to supporting the communities where we work and live and the Bond is an effective and high impact way for us to do that. As the first investor in the East London Bond our ambition is to inspire confidence in other potential investors and see many more companies follow our lead.”

An array of other senior figures have also lined up to give their backing to the East London Bond. Brian Winterflood, life president of Winterflood Securities and one of the Bond ambassadors, says:

“As someone who has invested in a charitable bond with Citylife before – and received all my money back, I can personally vouch for this excellent, tried and tested mechanism. The Bond is a smart, safe and great value way to release funds for charity and to satisfy our social responsibilities.”

Other ambassadors for the East London Bond include Baroness Ford (chair of the 2012 legacy delivery company), Stephen Howard (chief executive, Business in the Community), Sir Bob Kerslake (chief executive, Homes and Communities Agency), Baroness Valentine (chief executive, London First), and Sir David Varney (former executive chairman of HMRC and former chairman of O2).

Tim Jones, chief executive of Citylife, says:

“The charitable bond adds a whole new dimension of philanthropy and corporate social responsibility. It’s no longer just about how much you can afford to give away. With a bond you can now invest your capital securely and make a social profit.”

Citylife is currently developing a number of further charitable bonds to be offered in 2010 and working on plans to launch a new fundraising service for charities next year.

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NOTES TO EDITORS

About Citylife

Citylife is a national charitable organisation supporting causes that give people a better future. It started in 1999 with a mission to bring communities together to tackle unemployment in major cities by issuing bonds as an innovative fundraising tool. It ran bonds in Sheffield, Newcastle, London and the Welsh Coalfields, raising over £10 million of investment and helping thousands into work, training or out of debt.

Now Citylife is offering charitable bonds on behalf of other charities as a unique and innovative way to raise new funds for social benefit.

For more visit www.citylifeltd.org

About Bromley by Bow Centre

The Bromley by Bow Centre is an innovative community organisation in East London. Working in one of the most deprived wards in the UK, each week it supports families, young people and adults of all ages to learn new skills, improve their health and wellbeing, find employment and develop the confidence to achieve their goals and transform their lives. At the core of the Centre’s thinking is its belief in people and their capacity to achieve amazing things.

For more visit www.bbbc.org.uk

About Community Links

Community Links is an innovative charity running community-based projects in East London. Founded in 1977, it helps thousands of vulnerable children, young people and adults every year, with most of its work delivered in Newham, a borough which ranks highly on the index of deprivation. Its successes influence both community-based organisations nationwide and government policy.

For more visit www.community-links.org

For further press information

Contact Phil Caroe, head of communications and operations, Citylife

phil@citylifeltd.org

07896 122441

01223 323481

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