Co-op Bank's Community Directplus makes first donations

Howard Lake | 18 December 2003 | News

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• finance
• Research / statistics

Seven charitable and community-based organisations in the UK are the first to benefit from an innovative donation fund launched by The Co-operative Bank.

Charities from across the country are receiving donations of between £500 and £1000 to fund special projects ranging from the installation of wind generators to the creation of murals in inner city schools.

The fund is part of The Co-operative Bank’s Community Directplus, a new bank account for community organisations, charities and voluntary groups. All customers of the Community Directplus account have the opportunity to apply for financial support from a fund that grows in relation to deposits.

The first wave of this year’s successful applicants have been announced with seven groups receiving their share of £5,000.

The Community Directplus account was set up earlier in 2003 specifically to suit the needs of community organisations, charities, voluntary organisations, social enterprises and co-operatives. The low cost 24-hour telephone, Internet and postal banking service will offer free banking, with no charges for cheques, standing orders, direct debits or cash deposits/withdrawals.

In addition, for every £100 deposited in Community Directplus, 10 pence is added to the donation fund which is then made available for customers to apply for.

The Customer Donation Fund will distribute a minimum of £5,000 every six months to customers that successfully apply for project funding.

About Howard Lake
Howard Lake is consultant editor of UK Fundraising. He founded the site in 1994 and successfully sold it in 2022. As director of Giving X Ltd he is exploring growing giving on a massive scale. He is the founder of Fundraising Camp and co-founder of GoodJobs.