Rye & District Community Financial Services Limited – Community Funding

Welcome to the Rye & District Community Financial Services Limited Community Funding site.

You may be more familiar with our other name –  Community Bank Southern Peninsula – which encapsulates our three branches, being: Community Bank Rye, Community Bank Rosebud and Community Bank Dromana.

We offer two community funding tranches every year. Tranche 1 is held from 1 – 31 March and Tranche 2, from 2 – 30 September. Tranche 1 will close at 5.00pm on 31st March and Tranche 2 will close at 5.00pm on 30th September.

Please note that outside of these designated tranches, the site is not being actively monitored and applications for community funding will not be accepted or reviewed.

Contact Sarah Marshall, Company Secretary on sarah.marshall@ryedistrict.com.au for any further enquiries.

Be sure to follow us on Facebook for further updates and information regarding our Community Funding program.

The Community Funding Guide is also a great resource for details on brand and logo usage.

More Information

Rye & District Community Financial Services Limited.

Community Bank Southern Peninsula: Rye, Rosebud and Dromana

Welcome to the Funding Portal for Community Bank Southern Peninsula. This site is intended to explain to you the process and requirements for submitting your applications for community funding from your local Community Bank. Please read all the information carefully before submitting your application.

But first, a little about who we are and what we do. A Community Bank branch is a locally owned and operated company functioning as a franchise of Bendigo Bank. Our company is Rye & District Community Financial Services Limited. and is operated by a Board of Directors. We opened our first branch in Rye over 20 years ago, and have since grown to include Dromana and Rosebud. These 3 branches enable us to service most of the Southern Peninsula from Safety Beach to Portsea and into the hinterland of Red Hill and Main Ridge.

We operate on a unique banking model that is designed to contribute to the communities we are all a part of. Once a local company makes an operating surplus, around 80 percent of profits are reinvested back into the local community. We like to refer to this as the “virtuous circle” – the more people bank with us, the more we are able to give back to the community.

Rye & District Community Financial Services Limited has a vision of helping build a thriving community on the Southern Mornington Peninsula. One of the key ways we aim to do this by providing Community Funding in support of local community organisations and initiatives.

Community Funding:

Community Funding plays a valuable role in financially supporting local community organisations while also promoting local Community Bank branches.

Rye & District Community Financial Services Limited provide funds to a wide range local organisations for a variety of purposes. In return, we ask that you support your local bank with promotional opportunities. This could be signage on your grounds, Facebook posts, inviting one our of directors or managers to come and speak to your members or many other ideas. (See the Community Funding Guide for further information.)

We need you to help us to spread the word on how banking local can contribute to a thriving community. The more people that choose to bank with Community Bank Southern Peninsula: Rye, Rosebud and Dromana, the more funds we will have available to invest back into the teams, groups and activities that mean the most to you.

To apply for Community Funding for your organisation, please use the Community Funding Application Form

Community funding strategy

Please note that in alignment with the Company’s current strategic plan, areas of particular focus for community funding include:

  • Community events; and 
  • Projects/programs which aim to increase food security in our region

The strategic focus may alter in the future, in which case we will update the website accordingly.

The Application Process

The allocation of funding to community groups occurs twice a year.

The first round of applications open: 1st March and close: 31st March

The second round of applications open: 1st September and close: 30th September

Applicants will be notified whether they have been successful or not usually within a month of the closing date.

Application forms should be completed in full.

For more information visit the Community Bank Southern Peninsula Facebook page  contact admin@ryedistrict.com.au or speak to your local Community Bank Branch Manager at Rye, Rosebud or Dromana.

Conditions of Funding

Rye & District Community Financial Services Limited funding will only be provided to organisations that meet the following criteria:

  • operate on the Southern Mornington Peninsula;
  • be of a not-for profit nature;
  • maintain banking status with Community Bank Southern Peninsula Branches.

In receiving funding, organisations agree to:

  • apply for funding no more than once per year;
  • attend the allocated funding awards ceremony;
  • only use the funds as outlined in the relevant application form;
  • spend the allocated funds within 12 months of receipt;
  • report on the use of funds at the conclusion of the 12 month period;
  • return any funds unused in the 12 month period;
  • provide mutually agreed opportunities to promote the Community Bank Southern Peninsula branches to stakeholders through speaking engagements, etc.;
  • be included in various promotional material and mediums;
  • ensure that any person associated with the organisation consents (or has a parent/guardian consent on their behalf) for their image or likeness to appear in media;
  • receive correspondence from Rye & District Community Financial Services Limited;
  • participate in any surveys conducted by Rye & District Community Financial Services Limited regarding the funding.