Heritage starts charity
$2 million placed into new fund
TOOWOOMBA-based Heritage Bank has launched a new foundation that will donate funds to charities across Queensland and Australia.
Bank chairman Kerry Betros announced the Heritage Bank Charitable Foundation yesterday at the bank’s annual general meeting.
“Throughout our 143-year history, Heritage Bank has prided itself on giving back to the community in many different ways,” Mr Betros said.
“We’re taking that community support to another level via the Heritage Bank Charitable Foundation.
“Through the foundation, we are establishing a tangible mechanism that will ensure we continue to build on the lasting legacy we have created.
“The structure of the foundation means it will also be able to accept donations from the public. That gives us scope to harness the goodwill of others in the community to support worthy courses in an even more meaningful way.”
Mr Betros said Heritage Bank would allocate $2 million in seed funding to establish the foundation in the 2018/19 financial year and would make regular contributions to the foundation in subsequent years.
Company secretary Bill Armagnacq, who will chair the new foundation, said the bank was still going through the process of setting up the foundation and getting regulatory approval.
“We’re looking to make the first contribution in the next financial year, so mid 2019,” he said.
“There will be an application process (for funds).
“Depending on the amount of money we’ve got, as there are so many charities and worthwhile causes, we’ll probably have some hard decisions to make.”
Mr Betros said the new foundation would not take away from the current sponsoring and charitable work the bank was already involved in.
When the foundation is fully operational, it is expected to call for submissions and announce grant recipients twice a year.