Support for women when they need it most

“I don’t feel like we have done much to promote this at all and look what we have achieved - I feel like I could do so much more,”
-  Margie Berlin, The Coffs Harbour Pink Cocktail Party Club

The Coffs Harbour Pink Cocktail Party Club received a donation of $4066 after becoming a recipient organisation in BCU’s Community Saver Account (CSA) program.

Club organiser, Margie Berlin, said the money would go towards the Young and the Breastless, a group which supports women battling breast cancer on the Coffs Coast.

Margie said in the past few years the Club had received $20,000 thanks to BCU.

Emergency Response

“It’s great that you don’t have to keep asking people for money - that’s the best part,” - Ron Wade, president Mountain Heartstart.

Mountain Heartstart is a group of volunteers who coordinate emergency response to remote accidents in a tiny rural community west of Coffs Harbour.

This year, the group received a donation from BCU which Mountain Heartstart President, Ron Wade, says will go a long way towards maintaining a special phone service which allows volunteers to coordinate their response quickly and efficiently after a Triple O call is received.

“It costs us $2000 a year for the phone system,” Ron said. “We’ve only got eight serving members and there’s not a lot of money lying around in our small community, so raising money is never easy.”

Kids and sport - a great mix

“This money will help us keep our fees down, so we can encourage more youngsters to get out there and participate in sport,” Charlie Templeton, president Stuarts Point and District Little As & Seniors.

The Stuarts Point and District Little Athletics Club and Seniors accepted a donation of $544 from BCU after joining the Community Saver Account Program.

Club President, Charlie Templeton said the money would go towards keeping the club’s annual fees among the lowest in NSW. Club members pay just $44 while other clubs charge up to $80 for a yearly membership.

“A donation like this gets us off on the right foot for the next year," Mr Templeton said.

With low annual fees and a positive outlook, the group has managed to attract more than 80 members - incredible for a town with a population of around 790 people!

CSAs: Make them work for you

Breast cancer support groups, schools, surf lifesaving groups and sporting clubs from Port Macquarie to Beaudesert are saying goodbye to cake stalls and raffle tickets thanks to BCU’s Community Saver Account program.

BCU has just sent out $24,000 in donations to more than 50 organisations. A breast cancer support group earned the most money this year, receiving more than $4000.

BCU’s community saver program allows individuals to support non-profit groups, clubs or schools without making a financial commitment.

The program is based on an initiative developed in the UK to raise funds for football clubs and was adopted in Australia by Wagga Mutual seven years ago. To date, Wagga Mutual has given $665,000 away to local groups and its highest earning recipient is a football club that has received donations totalling $85,000. Fantastic results are possible!

After just 18 months of running the program, BCU has already donated $24,000! The sky’s the limit!

In a nutshell, open a Community Saver Account with BCU and nominate a recipient group. Each year BCU will donate an amount equivalent to 1% of your average annual balance to that group on your behalf. The more you save and the more people who nominate a recipient organisation, the larger the donation they’ll receive.