Charity to benefit if building society goes private
Howard Lake | 21 May 2014 | News
Northern Ireland’s largest locally owned building society has set up a ‘charitable assignment scheme’ to deter investors who might become members in the hope of making a windfall if the organisation decided to give up its independent status.
Progressive Building Society set up the charitable assignment for anyone who joins the society after 2000 and does not hold an account for at least five years. In effect this means that any benefits from a transfer to a bank or company would go to charity.
Progressive says the Charities Aid Foundation would receive any benefits from a potential windfall. New account holders are not being given any choice in relation to the charitable assignment and the agreement is irrevocable.
The building society says that it has no intention of surrendering its mutual status. In the last financial year Progressive made charitable donations of £43,000 including donating 20p for every postal vote and £1 for every online vote cast at its AGM. This scheme raised money for Northern Ireland Cancer Fund for Children.
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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.