Sponsorship — what's it all about? It's about YOU!! That's who.

The Bungendore and Braidwood Community Banks® were set up for two specific reasons. The obvious is to provide secure, broad, banking facilities that were not currently available in either town to the local businesses and residents.

The second, and less obvious reason, was to provide money in the form of sponsorship, to our local communities. There is no other banking system in the world set up like the Bendigo Community Banks® that can and will provide the level of funds that the Community Banks® provide. This is the strength of Bendigo Community Banks®.

In current times, when councils, state and federal governments and other avenues of funding are limited, we can look to our community banks® for sponsorship. If you have the vision, the goal is endless. Below are some of the major projects that Bendigo Community Banks® have been sponsoring in other areas. The money and vision is mindblowing.

Yes, it takes time and effort to change your accounts. Yes, it takes time and effort to bother but the rewards are ongoing and endless. Our community banks® are here to stay and they are here to assist us in getting what we want in our community. Bank with Bendigo and your community, and ultimately you and your family, will enjoy the benefits.

henty COMMUNITY BANK®
opened 6 NOVEMBER 1998

A HUGE AMOUNT OF MONEY!!

It is repeatedly reported that times are tough in rural Australia‚ but don’t bother telling that to the 1,000-strong population of Henty. This rural NSW town has the can do spirit that would put many larger‚ suburban centres to shame. And it all boils down to the locals‚ their strong sense of community spirit and love for their small piece of Australia. Drive five hours north of Melbourne‚ or seven hours south west of Sydney and you will arrive at Henty‚ the “home of the header”.

"What this community has achieved in the past ten years is quite amazing. This town was the first community in NSW to embark on Bendigo Bank’s Community Bank® journey‚ at a time when others in the financial industry were questioning the merit of the model and communities were sitting back‚ waiting to see how this banking model would work.

In 2004‚ after a three year campaign‚ the $6 million Henty Hospital opened its doors — the community raised more than $120‚000 towards the cost of landscaping and extras for the hospital.

In February 2005‚ the community will celebrate the launch of a $1.6 Community Civic Centre. Again‚ the community raised more than $1 million towards the total cost of the centre‚ which is the largest of its kind between the regional cities of Albury and Wagga Wagga.

A Melbourne-based developer‚ based on the growth of the town‚ has recently announced the construction of a $15 million aged care facility in the town‚ with work due to begin in late March 2006.

“Our community has a fighting spirit‚” Community Bank® chairman and long-time resident Milton Taylor said. “We are proud of our town and have never been a town which has simply sat back‚ waiting for Government handouts to further our progress. “In rural Australia‚ we learnt a long time ago that if we don’t help ourselves‚ nobody else will‚” he said. In the two years from 2004 to 2006‚ it is estimated that more than $25 million will be spent in commercial development in the town.

Bendigo Bank Managing Director Rob Hunt will participate in the official opening of the Henty Community Civic Centre on 10 February. “We are proud of our partnership with communities throughout Australia‚ and in particular‚ Henty‚” Mr Hunt said.

“As I travel around the country and meet with not only our staff but other communities‚ I continue to turn to the Henty story as an example of what one community can achieve. “When we launched Community Bank® as an alternative banking model‚ I said that it was always going to be about more than simply banking. It was about mobilising‚ engaging and uniting the community to work as one to achieve great things. “Henty Community Bank is only one example of what the people of Henty have achieved by working together. The Community Bank achievements include:
• Initially contributed from company profits $315‚000 to the Community Civic Centre
  development
• Provided a $700‚000 loan for completion of the project. However‚ has committed a
  further $150‚000 annually to cover the cost of the loan until it has been paid off
• In 2005‚ allocated $150‚000 to a wide range of community projects.

MALDOn and district COMMUNITY BANK®
opened 24 april 1999

$166,000 FOR 2008

$530,000 OVER THE LAST FOUR YEARS

Community groups throughout the Maldon district will have plenty to sing about this week as they share in $166‚000 in funds from their local Community Bank® branch returned $166‚000 to 36 community groups at a ceremony this morning.

Community Bank® Board Chairman Mark Boyd-Graham said projects that had received funding included a children’s playground for Eddington‚ a multi-purpose facility at Newstead Primary School‚ an all-weather pavilion at Maldon Petanque Club and a sound system at Baringhup Community Centre.

“This year‚ a number of programs that have been funded are in keeping with the environmentally sustainable strategy of both Bendigo Bank and our local company – like the Mount Alexander Sustainability Group’s greenhouse reduction project‚ a water-wise project for Maldon Bowls Club and a recycled water pipeline‚” Mr Boyd-Graham said.

This round of grants brings the Community Bank® Company’s total community returns to more than $530‚000 over the past four years.

“We see this as an absolutely tremendous outcome – who would have guessed eight years ago that profits from our community’s banking would see more than half a million dollars pumped into local infrastructure‚ project development and local events?” Mr Boyd-Graham said.

“As Chairman‚ I am extremely proud of our company and also the wider community for putting in the work to reach this milestone.”

Community Enterprise Foundation CEO Natalie Elliott said the contributions milestone proved the true dedication of the Maldon community and was tribute to the hard work put in by the Board‚ staff and customers.

rye and district COMMUNITY BANK®
opened 16 JUNE 2001

$1,800,000 OVER THE LAST six YEARS