The Care Workers' Charity and Nationwide (Virgin Money)

In April 2025, Nationwide (Virgin Money) and The Care Workers' Charity (The CWC) launched the first partnership of its kind in the UK social care sector: a structural, self-sustaining giving mechanism built directly into Virgin Money's commercial activity in the sector.

The partnership was born from a shared recognition that the care workforce is under acute and sustained pressure. The CWC's 2025 Wellbeing Report found that 78% of care workers experience work-related stress, 72% do not feel financially secure, and 26% have used a food bank. Virgin Money, through its Specialist Care team, works extensively with care providers and recognised a clear opportunity to give something back.

There are three core aims: to fund crisis grants for care workers facing financial emergencies, expand access to mental health and wellbeing support and demonstrate that a meaningful, replicable model of cross-sector commitment is possible.

By donating a percentage of the arrangement fee on all new and renewed lending, every loan generates direct support for the workforce. At a time when care workers are holding the sector together with very little in return, this partnership proves that the financial services sector has both the means and the responsibility to be part of changing that.