This October, Revival had the honour of welcoming 15 senior leaders from social banks across Europe, in a visit organised by Charity Bank UK. It was more than just a meeting, it was a celebration of possibility, impact, and shared purpose.
Charity Bank is not your ordinary bank. Entirely owned by charitable foundations, trusts, and social purpose organisations, it operates with a mission to use money for good. It lends to charities, social enterprises, and mission-driven organisations, structuring its terms around impact rather than profit. It is also one of the few banks in Europe to hold B Corporation status, a rigorous certification that affirms its commitment to high standards of social and environmental performance, accountability, and transparency.
Why They Came to Revival
The delegation’s visit was more than a “show us around”, it was an exchange of learning, ideas, and inspiration. They came to see how Revival blends commercial viability with social purpose, how we run our mental health hub, café operations, peer support, and community mental health programme. They were particularly interested in how we have grown a stable model from small beginnings, and how the mental health support infrastructure underpins everything we do.
They were impressed by the depth of our mission, the authenticity of our work, and the dedication of our people. The CEO of Mind in Bexley, David Palmer, presented a short talk from their perspective of setting up the Revival initiative covering everything from financial management, community engagement and governance. This was followed by a talk by our Revival Executive Director, Deborah Haylett, focusing on bridging the gap in services, non-clinical support environments, community collaboration and partnerships, impact tracking and more.
Revival’s Hospitality
It wouldn’t have been a proper visit without our Revival hospitality, and our café team delivered. We served up a grazing table menu showcasing fresh, local, seasonal produce. It was a feast not just for the body, but for connections: guests lingered, chatted, and walked away uplifted in both mind and body.
What This Means Beyond Our Walls
Our visitors now carry Revival’s story back to banks across Europe, looking at how models like ours can help social impact organisations thrive in their communities. They saw how a café can be a wellbeing hub; how peer support, creativity, social enterprise and hospitality can reinforce one another.
We hope some of them will return as partners, collaborators, or even investors in similar projects in their own countries.
Grateful, Energised, Moving Forward
We’re deeply grateful to Charity Bank for helping to make Revival happen and for facilitating this visit, sharing good practice and the importance of what we are building. This kind of day reminds us that innovation doesn’t need to be distant or grand, it can be local, warm, grounded, and human. It starts in places like Revival, where community, craft, courage and care come together.
