CMA Update
The next chapter of the CMA journey
Community Money Advice is coming alongside the charity Christians Against Poverty (CAP) under the umbrella of a newly formed CAP Group. Find out more and get answers to your questions here.
Bringing Freedom From Debt, Hope for the Future
For almost 30 years, CMA has worked with churches, charities and community groups to bring hope and freedom to those trapped in debt and poverty in the UK, restoring all that it has stolen. In the past year alone 7,377 people began their journey out of debt with the support of CMA Centres doing incredible work in their communities.1
However, we know that poverty is deepening. There are around eight million adults in the UK trapped in crisis debt.2 Now more than ever, free, compassionate, face-to-face debt help is vital to respond to the growing need in the UK.
The newly formed CAP Group
In our next chapter, we’re determined to reach more people struggling with debt and offer the support that can change lives and bring hope. That's why we’re excited to share that CMA is coming alongside the charity Christians Against Poverty (CAP) under the umbrella of a newly formed CAP Group. Both will remain as their own independent charity, led by CAP’s existing CEO, Stewart McCulloch, who will become CAP Group CEO.
The CAP Group will mean that we can collaborate to bring hope to more families, as we’ll have a combined network of over 1,000 trained debt advisors, mentors and coaches in 380 centres across the UK. This means more lives reached and more families supported. This collaboration will also bring more choice to partner churches and enhance the support we provide to our networks.
While CMA and CAP are two distinctive charities, both have very similar Christian values, serve similar clients and share the same commitment to give compassionate, face-to-face debt help, serving people with integrity and dignity in local communities.
Both CMA and CAP bring unique approaches to serving people in debt and poverty, and those differences are something we’re excited to celebrate. Together under the CAP Group, we can grow into a more effective national movement rooted in church and community, becoming the leading face-to-face debt advice service across the sector. We’ll be able to serve more people, in more places, meeting their individual needs while staying true to the mission and values that matter so much to you.
You might have a few questions about what this means in practice. We’ve answered some of the most common ones below.
Answering your key questions:
Why are we doing this?
CMA and CAP are the two primary Christian organisations who are inspiring and equipping churches and community organisations to provide debt help. As such we are both part of the same church-based movement against poverty. We both specialise in serving the same clients on low incomes and with high vulnerability. These are challenging days and so we believe we will be stronger together than apart. We believe that this will provide a more stable platform for churches and others to get the support they need to meet growing client needs for face-to-face, community-based advice.
What problem does this decision to join together solve?
This is a true coming together of two highly related organisations who both provide vital support to churches and community organisations to help those most in need. Both models and teams are very strong, and we know from CAP's data and insights that a face-to-face debt service is critical for helping those who are often more deeply trapped in debt and poverty. However, a recent decline in centre numbers has had a detrimental effect on CMA's financial situation. This meant the Trustees needed to look at a range of strategic options to resolve something that cost cutting could not fix. In making this decision, we are protecting the availability of debt advice to communities all over the UK that would otherwise lose this provision.
What do you see the first 12 months looking like?
The first 12 months will be a period of learning about each other and growing together. We will proactively build relationships between our teams and look for ways to share best practice, develop culture, grow income streams and help as many clients as we can. It will be an exciting time of discovery, building sustainability and finding renewed passion for our joint mission to free people from debt and poverty.
Pray with us
As we step into this next chapter together, we’re grateful for your support, prayers and encouragement. As always, we place this work in God’s hands and trust Him to guide the path ahead.
Please join us in the prayer below.
Heavenly Father, we lift up this new chapter for CMA and CAP. We pray for unity and wisdom, helping teams and leaders to use the skills you have given them to collaborate well and learn from each other. Thank you to every worker in local communities and supporters who are bringing light into the darkness and hope to those who need it the most. Please bless this alliance so that it will be a catalyst for change for those of us most vulnerable to debt and poverty in the UK.
Amen.
1CMA Centres supported 7,377 new clients in 2025 and similar numbers in previous years
2Statistic taken from Money and Pensions Service, MoneyView 2025
Press Release
Christians Against Poverty and Community Money Advice unite to combat a national debt crisis - March 2026
Christians Against Poverty (CAP) and Community Money Advice (CMA) today announced that they are uniting as a group to form the UK’s largest specialist community-based debt advice charity. The combined organisation, which will maintain both the CAP and CMA identities, is now poised to offer free, regulated and compassionate debt advice through an expansive network of 380 dedicated centres hosted in local churches and community organisations across the entire UK.
This landmark moment, announced following Debt Awareness Week, arrives in the midst of unprecedented financial hardship nationwide. By uniting and consolidating their services alongside each other, the two charities aim to create a comprehensive support system to help those struggling in poverty across the UK, providing continued services to those experiencing debt and poverty at a time when it is urgently needed. Government data shows that around 8 million adults in the UK are currently trapped in crisis levels of debt, with a significant portion, up to a third, actively seeking face-to-face, community-based debt advice to find freedom from both their financial problems and the profound emotional distress they face.
UK poverty has deepened in recent years, affecting increasing numbers of children and employed adults. The incomes of the lowest 20% of earners have flatlined, while the essential costs for food, warmth, shelter, and clothing have escalated sharply. This unjust imbalance is forcing millions to face impossible options such as heating their homes or eating, while undermining their financial resilience. As a result, multitudes are falling into a downward spiral to financial crisis. At the same time, both charities are seeing a rise in chronic physical and mental illness among those they serve. CAP and CMA believe that, by working together, they can better support the most vulnerable people who are currently facing deeper levels of hardship than either have seen in their histories.
Consumer specialist Martin Lewis, founder of MoneySavingExpert.com, commented, “Christians Against Poverty has long been a force for good in debt counselling – I get great feedback from people who’ve used it. It tends to spend far longer with its clients than many other similar agencies, enabling it to help with the emotional fallout as well as the financial practicalities. I hope the scale and community reach of this combined charity will be a lifeline for many more people struggling with debt.”
David Nussbaum, Chair of CAP highlighted the vision behind the move: “Coming alongside CMA allows us to ensure continued access to the expert help people need. We can now reach thousands more people trapped in deep financial crises, extreme anxiety, and isolation that leaves them feeling crushed. This partnership is a big boost for hope and practical assistance.”
The combined charity group maintains a strong commitment to working in partnership with local churches, with CMA’s additional support for a number of community organisations also continuing. This collaborative model is structured to empower local partners to deliver comprehensive face-to-face financial help through three core models of support:
- Financial education: Equipping partners to provide people with the skills to manage their money effectively and to optimise their income.
- Expert debt advice: Providing regulated, in-depth advice through partners supported by expert debt advice hubs.
- Charity support: Supporting partners who are regulated debt advice charities in their own right.
Julian Mander, Chair of CMA, reflected on the strength of the union: “In coming together, we will enhance all of the support models we currently offer to our partner churches and community organisations. The shared expertise and resources will ensure our local partners are better equipped than ever to meet the complex needs of their communities.”
Stewart McCulloch, CEO of CAP, who will become CAP Group Chief Executive to lead the newly combined group, shared his vision for the future: “Together we have a powerful and united front against debt. We now have over a thousand highly trained debt advisors, mentors and coaches based in communities across the UK, dedicated to bringing hope where there was fear, support where there was isolation and the warmth of community into cold homes. We are also supported by a similar number of amazing people delivering money coaching, life skills, and job clubs.”
He concluded, “Over the last 30 years, over a quarter of a million people have already benefited from our work. Our unified vision is clear: that anyone in financial crisis and emotional distress will be able to get the support they need in their community, ensuring no one has to face the devastating impact of debt alone.”
END