Fifteen hundred ‘quiet achiever’ treasurers working for community groups across Australia have been recognised in the annual Commonwealth Bank Not-for-Profit Treasurers' Awards. A further three treasurers took home awards from the competition for sharing their practical knowledge of not-for-profit finances.
Sinead Glennon from the Genetic and Rare Disease Network, Western Australia won for best financial template. She said she was thrilled to be an award winner.
“I’m excited my submission has been so well received and I hope it continues to be of use to other treasurers, especially those who find the financial analysis aspect of their role daunting.”
Bruce Clarke from the Melbourne Mustangs Ice Hockey Club, Victoria won the best outline and summary of a finance webinar category. Kaveen Bachoo from Hepatitis Queensland took out the best financial policy award.
Outgoing Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commissioner Susan Pascoe AM and Group Treasurer of CommBank, Paolo Tonucci, presented this year’s three winning treasurers with a $5,000 donation for their respective community group.
Now in their third year, the awards encourage the ongoing development of tools and guides to better support not-for-profit sector work.
Julienne Price, Head of Not-for-Profit Sector Banking at CommBank, said some of the projects resulting from the awards included financial literacy guides; cyber security training; and a toolkit to bring to life design thinking and applied innovation.
“The willingness of not-for-profits to share information and insights to help others is a remarkable trait of the sector. It speaks volumes about their deep understanding that, in sharing knowledge with each other, it’s the wider Australian community that ultimately reaps the benefits,” Julienne said.
In a continuing partnership between Commonwealth Bank and leading not-for-profit specialist organisation, Our Community, the awards were created to show appreciation for the immense contribution community treasurers make to their own groups, the not-for-profit sector as a whole, and to Australian society.
Denis Moriarty, Group Managing Director of Our Community said, “There are many people who contribute to the success of a not-for-profit group, but treasurers are incredibly important.
“The health and sustainability of every not-for-profit organisation depends on whether their treasurer is knowledgeable, whether they're skilful and creative, but perhaps most importantly, whether they're energised and engaged.”
The announcement of the awards is a key highlight of Not-for-Profit Finance Week, which focuses on enhancing financial literacy within the not-for-profit sector.