The power of partnerships

Securing dedicated community partners has helped Beyond Bank address housing affordability challenges in ways it could never have achieved on its own.

Australia’s housing affordability challenge requires agile and innovative thinking. The number of people who are experiencing homelessness, families who are unable to pay the rent, and households that are struggling to pay their regular bills is devastating. 

Access to good quality, affordable housing is fundamental to well-being. It can help reduce poverty and enhance equality of opportunity, social inclusion and mobility. Affordability is essential for Australians wanting to buy a home and for those renting. Our Beyond Bank Foundation is partnering with organisations to effect real change. 

We believe we are stronger together. Housing accessibility is a key pillar of our community commitment. As a financial organisation, we are in a unique position to make a profound and genuine impact. So we choose to partner with organisations that can help us achieve our goals.

Partnerships can be tricky things in life and business! It’s essential to seek out like-minded organisations that align with your business purpose and values. We also look for:

• organisations that demonstrate a long-term commitment to the community
• evidence-based initiatives
• organisations with corporate volunteering opportunities
• organisations that are highly respected within the local community and by our membership base and provide minimal risk to our profile and reputation.

We’ve sought out partners to deliver the best possible outcomes directly to the people who need help. We’re looking for real impact and lasting change.

In 2018, we signed off a three-year partnership with Anglicare SA to support their crisis housing program, Turning Point.

Turning Point provides families who are experiencing homelessness and in crisis with a fully furnished home to help them get back on track. They can simply move in for up to three months and focus on their needs. Support workers help them find employment or training, access financial support and keep the children engaged with school.

The partnership has paid off. Over the last three years, the program has changed lives at the most profound level. It has provided a safe and secure place for 99 families to live. Twenty-three South Australian children under the age of five, including newborns, would have been homeless if not for the program.

So far, the vast majority of families who have come through Turning Point have gone on to secure permanent housing, and in two cases, to purchase their own home.

The program actively cultivates independence, financial well-being and self-sufficiency. It has resulted in AnglicareSA developing a better pathway to long-term stable housing and more permanent solutions. It has also provided significant cost savings by avoiding re-presentation.

The partnership has multiple benefits. The community is stronger, with fewer South Australians at risk of experiencing homelessness. Plus, AnglicareSA benefits from our corporate volunteering program and as a Community Reward Account recipient to assist its fundraising goals.

In Canberra, we’ve partnered with YWCA Canberra, which has been a leading community services provider for over 90 years, responding and supporting those experiencing disadvantage and social exclusion, and being a strong advocate for women’s issues.

In 2018, YWCA Canberra launched a property management service known as the Rentwell Program. This property management service provides affordable rental properties owned by private investors to people struggling to secure and maintain tenancies in the mainstream market.

Rentwell enables YWCA Canberra to further contribute to the pool of affordable housing options in the ACT.

Across our two-year partnership, the program has sourced 46 properties for 113 people resulting in a stronger, more inclusive and liveable Canberra community. Our partnership funds Rentwell’s operational costs.

Not only do partnerships like these help those who need it the most, but they also assist Beyond Bank meet some of its own goals. We can give back to local communities who support us, increase prosperity and financial independence for families and communities and provide corporate volunteering opportunities for our staff.

The challenges are everywhere. Securing dedicated community partners has helped us to address the housing affordability challenges in ways that we could never have achieved on our own.

If you’d like to talk to us about a partnership with Beyond Bank feel free to submit an enquiry here.

About Beyond Bank Australia

Beyond Bank has over 245,000 customers, $7 billion in assets under management and more than 40 branches in New South Wales, South Australia, Western Australia, ACT and Victoria (through its merger with Nexus Mutual).

As one of Australia’s largest customer-owned banks, Beyond Bank partners with more than 4,000 community organisations around the nation and was the first bank in Australia to achieve B Corp certification, a global movement of companies and organisations that use business as a force for good.  

For more information please visit www.beyondbank.com.au