Leading Christian debt counselling charity, Christians Against Poverty (CAP), has scooped the prestigious award of Sunday Times Best Small Company to Work For 2009, following its success the previous year.

In an unprecedented development, the charity fought off stiff competition from nearly 1,000 other companies to claim the award, meaning that it is the first small company to win two years in a row since the Best Small Companies awards were launched six years ago.

The accolade comes shortly after the charity opened an additional 13 debt counselling centres across the UK, bringing to 92 the total church-based centres now in operation in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.

CAP won the award based on responses to anonymous questionnaires that were sent to all employees. Responses to questions surrounding many aspects of working environment, including ongoing training, career prospects and quality of leadership placed the Christian charity above the competition.

According to responses, 97 per cent of employees felt proud to work for CAP, with 93 per cent also stating that working for the charity was good for personal growth. In addition, 99 per cent felt that the company made a positive difference to the world we live in.

Matt Barlow, UK Chief Executive, said: “The results we got from the anonymous questionnaires have given us much to celebrate but most of all we’re proud that a Christian charity, offering churches the chance to reach out to their communities with God’s love, has come out tops.

“Christian organisations need not be amateurish and this award is proof that we can offer a world-beating service, whilst still holding fast to the beliefs that caused us to be founded in the first place. Hopefully this will show others that Christians can be at the forefront of all that is good in the workplace too.

“Ultimately, we should give God glory for giving us the privilege to win two years in a row; without Him, we wouldn’t do the work we do, nor would we see the life-changing effect in our clients lives and that is what makes it all worthwhile.”



For more information visit www.capuk.org or call 0800 328 0006