52%
of income goes to carers.
Helping you create community-led co-operative solutions to being well in rural England
A multistakeholder co-operative.
The Foster Care Co-operative is the only not-for-profit fostering agency operating as a co-operative in the UK. Founded in 1999, it has grown steadily and organically. It now has teams situated throughout England and Wales, with offices in Malvern, Cardiff and Manchester.
Carers live in rural and city areas and come from a wide range of social and cultural backgrounds. What they all have in common is a commitment to the children. The stability of the placements with FCC is 6.5 times higher than the national average. It is currently 2 years, 2 months and 22 days. Many families have achieved more than double this time.
I wanted to give more children the chance of family life. I instinctively did not wish to start a ‘for profit’ company and after meetings with my Chamber of Commerce and invaluable advice from Co-operatives UK, I chose the model of multi-stakeholder and common ownership and registered the company. We have grown slowly by bringing new people to fostering.
Laurie Gregory, founder