On becoming a member of our bank, you're not just a customer, you're an owner!
We are part of, and involved with, many communities; our members and owners, our staff and others who work with us, the communities where we have a physical or on-line presence, the not-for-profit communities we support in Australia and overseas, the community of co-operatives and mutuals, with whom we share the values of mutuality and, as an Australian company, we are naturally part of the wider Australian community.
We are good citizens, on-line and off, actively supporting domestic and international social responsibility and serving as an ambassador for the mutual sector. To the best of our abilities and resources, we contribute to the wellbeing of our communities and provide a helping hand to those who need it.
While the expression ‘we are all in this together’ has been significantly overused, the fact is that we are. We have a collective responsibility to lift the standards and strengthen the values that make our society a fair and safe place.
Australian Mutual Bank is firmly committed to its social responsibility to the community and support the ideals that the mutual industry is built upon.
The primary purpose of Australian Mutuals Foundation (AMF) to provide a vehicle for Australian Mutual Bank and other mutuals to assist children and youth at risk in Australia and to alleviate poverty in some of the poorest communities in South East Asia and the Pacific by creating sustainable cooperative financial organisations. The AMF will also provide a facility for Australian Mutual Bank members and the general public to accept donations when a natural disaster is declared in Australia, South East Asia, or the South Pacific.
The AMF is a registered charity with the Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission.
Through Barnardos Australia, the AMF’s domestic activities will provide financial support for programs that assist children and youth who are at risk of abuse or neglect, or who are disadvantaged by lack of housing, medical care or education.
Barnardos is Australia’s leading child protection charity providing foster care and children’s family and youth services. Barnardos Australia believes that many children become abused and neglected when parents do not have the resources to raise children. They are often stressed by poverty, social isolation, mental illness, violence in families or drug and alcohol usage. Barnardos programs directly improve the lives of abused and neglected children.
From the 1 January 2017, the AMF has agreed to fund various Barnardos activities with $100,000 per year. This commitment would not be possible without the financial support from Australian Mutual Bank. The AMF is now one of the Major Partners of Barnardos Australia.
The AMF’s international activities are intended to provide financial support to programs that encourage the growth of sustainable cooperative financial systems, using the cooperative credit union model, for developing countries in South East Asia and the South Pacific.
The credit union cooperative model aims to provide a structure for the provision of basic banking services, and education in the value of regular saving and the wise use of credit. The AMF plans to provide financial support to activities conducted by the Asian Confederation of Credit Unions (ACCU). ACCU represents credit unions/co-operatives and have over 31 million members.
For more information on the Australian Mutuals Foundation including how to donate, visit www.australianmf.org.au.
