Its playgroup, after school care and day activities proved an immediate success, enabling many local parents to enter full-time employment for the first time. In 2004, the charity moved into a new building thanks to a £125,000 loan from the ACF and £285,000 in mixed grants and loans from other organisations.

The charity earns its income through childcare fees, supported by the Working Families Tax Credit which pays up to 80 per cent of costs for the least well-off people. Its original goal was to achieve financial self-sufficiency by 2007.

But in late 2005, Gaynor realised the business model wasn’t working. “We had the typical mindset of a charity – to charge as little as possible and rely on external funders,” she says. “But we weren’t bringing in enough income and I was working non-stop to get more funding.”

That winter, she asked the ACF to help alleviate the charity’s financial problems. ACF put together a new financial package, comprising the original £125,000 loan and a further £130,000 grant to pay off any outstanding debts.

“It was a lifesaver for us,” says Gaynor. “But rather than just bailing us out financially, which would have been a short-term solution, the ACF also gave us invaluable mentoring support. They looked at the cause of the problem.”

As a result, Lister Steps has modified its business plan to focus on future financial sustainability. Today, the centre takes its profit margins seriously. But even though prices have had to rise, they haven’t lost any clients.

“We all live in the same community and face the same issues,” says Gaynor. “It doesn’t feel like we’re the service provider and the families are the beneficiaries. We’re all in it together.”