Media Release
November 30, 2012
The treasurers of a small coastal energy group in Victoria, a NSW Islamic women's welfare association and a Queensland mental illness service provider have been crowned the winners of the 2012 Westpac Community Treasurers' Awards.
The announcement was made by Federal Finance Minister Penny Wong at the Board Builder Conference in Melbourne on November 30, with the awards presented by Westpac Victoria State General Manager, Retail & Regional Banking, Julie Rynski.
The winners were:
- Anne-Maree Sullivan, Surf Coast Energy Group (VIC) - small organisation category winner
- Waheeda Bulladin, Islamic Womens' Welfare Association (NSW) - medium organisation category winner
- Cameron Smith, Mental Illness Fellowship Queensland (QLD) - large organisation category winner
Making the announcement, Senator Wong said she knew first hand both the importance of treasurers and the difficulties they faced in choosing the best worthy causes to support.
"(Treasurers) are critical to the capacity of an organisation to deliver positive community outcomes; that is why these awards are so important," Senator Wong said.
Now in their fourth year, the Westpac Community Treasurers' Awards, which are run by Our Community and proudly supported by Westpac, celebrate the thousands of Australians who volunteer their time to manage the finances of community organisations across the nation.
"Community organisations provide the glue that binds our society together - and treasurers provide the expertise and financial know-how that ensure those groups are healthy and sustainable," said Our Community Group Managing Director Denis Moriarty. "We are all in their debt."
Head of Social Sector Banking at Westpac Matthew Muller said not-for-profit organisations relied heavily on the hard work of voluntary community treasurers to manage and maintain a host of financial operations.
"We are honoured to be partnering with Our Community for our fourth year of this fantastic initiative," Mr Muller said.
"These individual treasurers have shown outstanding commitment and diligence to the organisation in which they volunteer and it is with great pride we acknowledge them with this award of recognition."
About the 2012 Westpac Community Treasurers' Awards
The Westpac Community Treasurers' Award were established to show appreciation of the immense contribution voluntary community treasurers make to their community groups and to Australia as a whole.
The 2012 awards included three categories:
- Small: For the voluntary treasurers of organisations with an annual income of less than $100,000 per annum.
- Medium: For the voluntary treasurers of organisations with an annual income between $100,000 and $1 million per annum.
- Large: For the voluntary treasurers of organisations with an annual income of more than $1 million per annum.
A total of 487 nominations were received for the 2012 awards. Nominations came from a huge range of not-for-profit groups: sports clubs, youth groups, environmental, religious and arts organisations, fire brigades, economic development and safety groups, preschools, neighbourhood houses and many more.
The three winning treasurers were selected on the basis of their work to ensure good financial management, good financial governance and good financial outcomes. The winners receive a $5000 for their organisation courtesy of Westpac, and $5000 in tools and training from Our Community.
About the Westpac and Our Community alliance
Our Community is a world-leading social enterprise that provides advice, tools and training for Australia's 600,000 community groups and schools, and practical linkages between the community sector and the general public, business and government.
Westpac has a long history of supporting the communities where the company's people live and work.
Our Community and Westpac are working together help community groups improve their financial management by providing help with financial literacy and access to better and more cost-effective banking services and products. The Westpac Community Treasurers' Awards are just one product of this alliance.
More information:
03 9320 6800 | service@ourcommunity.com.au