{"id":186591,"date":"2017-08-10T23:37:07","date_gmt":"2017-08-10T13:37:07","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/southburnett.com.au\/news2\/?p=186591"},"modified":"2020-08-18T15:27:46","modified_gmt":"2020-08-18T05:27:46","slug":"heritage-announces-300000-grants","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/southburnett.com.au\/news2\/2017\/08\/10\/heritage-announces-300000-grants\/","title":{"rendered":"Heritage Announces $300,000 Grants"},"content":{"rendered":"
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‘Thank you Heritage!’ … happy Heritage Nanango Community Grant recipients waved their envelopes on the steps of Ringsfield House at last year’s event (Photo: Clive Lowe Photography)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

August 11, 2017<\/strong><\/p>\n

Heritage Nanango Community Branch is putting more than $300,000 back into the community this year.<\/p>\n

Heritage Nanango Community Funding (HNCF) announced its 2017 round of funding grants to community organisations on Wednesday.<\/p>\n

Twenty local organisations will be receiving funding this year, while $100,000 has also been put aside into a new “Future Fund” to ensure the longevity of benefits to the community.<\/p>\n

The Heritage Nanango Community Branch is a joint venture between Heritage Bank and Heritage Nanango Community Funding (HNCF), a not-for-profit organization that represents the local community to provide banking services to the Nanango district.<\/p>\n

Profits from the Heritage Nanango Community Branch are shared between Heritage and HNCF.<\/p>\n

HNCF\u2019s share of the profits then goes back to the community via grants to deserving local organisations and events.<\/p>\n

“Our 2017 Funding Round has once again resulted in substantial funding for organisations and events for Nanango and surrounding districts,” HNCF Chairman Wendy Zerbst said.<\/p>\n

“Combined with our latest contribution to the Heritage Lodge housing project, we will have funded more than $300,000 of projects and events this year.<\/p>\n

“This would not have been possible without the support of residents and businesses who bank at Heritage Bank Nanango.<\/p>\n

“The more people who choose to bank with us, the more HNCF can do to help community organisations with substantial projects like these, which benefit us all.”<\/p>\n

Ms Zerbst said this year HNCF had attempted to prioritise sustainable and new initiatives that they hoped would have long term benefits for the wider community.<\/strong><\/p>\n

“This includes remaining committed to Stage Three of the CTC\/HNCF joint venture Heritage Lodge Housing Project, as well as a contribution of just over $120,000 for the fourth duplex.<\/p>\n

“We are also committed to supporting a pilot program to give sport and recreational opportunities to people with a disability.”<\/p>\n

Ms Zerbst said the HNCF Board also intends to set aside a portion of its funds each year for a longer term Future Fund.<\/p>\n

“Our aim will be to build this amount up to a substantial balance, which we will then be able to allocate to worthwhile projects,” she said.<\/p>\n

“In this way, we hope to safeguard into the future some of the benefits the Nanango community is receiving from its Community Branch.<\/p>\n

“Another project we are excited about is the Nanango Little Athletics. We are contributing $15,000 this year to fund the purchase of equipment.<\/p>\n

“Along with the grant received recently from the Gambling Fund for storage, we are sure this group can be a huge success.”<\/p>\n

Ms Zerbst said HNCF are contributing nearly $25,000 for much-needed repairs to the 100-year-old station master\u2019s house.<\/p>\n

“This project was proposed to us by the Nanango Lutheran church in a previous funding round, however work is now required urgently to protect this historic building.<\/p>\n

“The Nanango State School will also receive more than $27,000 to equip their hall with AV equipment similar to what we funded for the High School a few years ago.<\/p>\n

“These sorts of investments in our local schools are very important to give our children every possible advantage.”<\/p>\n

Heritage Bank CEO Mr Peter Lock said the Nanango Community Branch embodied what the concept was all about.<\/strong><\/p>\n

“We set up the Community Branch as a joint venture both to provide banking services to the people of Nanango, and also to give back to the community,” he said.<\/p>\n

“Heritage Nanango has been very successful in both those areas, and supports many deserving local organisations that play a key role in making this area such a great place to live.”<\/p>\n

The Nanango branch will be celebrating its 16th year of operations in December.<\/p>\n

2017 grants have gone to the following organisations:<\/strong><\/p>\n