Investing in communities in bid to spur new creativity

Lifestyle – Judy Murphy discovers social collaboration is the way forward as a Galway credit union ploughs money into the community it serves

Social collaboration” is the driving force behind an innovative scheme being spearheaded by a Galway credit union, which is benefiting three community groups here at home and one in disease-ravaged West Africa.

Galway Simon Community, Druid Theatre’s Fuel Programme which supports new artistic projects, and the Cúram Centre for Research in Medical Devices at NUIG, as well as the Credit Union movement in Sierra Leone will benefit to the tune of €100,000 over the next five years, via the Community Engagement Programme initiated by St Anthony’s and Claddagh Credit Union.

Access to ongoing funds will allow the groups to plan for the longer term, while the Irish groups can also raise matching funding, says Louise Shields of St Anthony and Claddagh Credit Union, about the scheme.

“We’re involved in the community and are always on the lookout to provide additional services to our members,” she explains.

“The Credit Union would always have given community support to various groups, but it would have been on a more ad hoc basis.  This is about continuing what we have always done but with formal structures and commitment.”

This new programme came about after some soul-searching by the board and employees of St Anthony’s and Claddagh Credit Union. That involved asking themselves “why are we here and where do we want to be in five years’ time?”. For Louise, the answer was simple.

“We feel that social collaboration is the way forward.”

Credit Unions don’t have the skills to deal with homelessness or medical devices, she adds, but they want to participate in society in a way that will benefit their members.

“So, we partner with groups who do have that expertise. It’s all about having a long-term impact on the community and also benefiting the members.”

And since St Anthony’s and Claddagh – with two branches in the city and one in Oughterard – has 43,000 members, “stretching from Abbeygate Street to Maam Cross, across all demographics”, a lot of people stand to benefit.

“Maybe Cúram will come up with a cure for Parkinson’s, Fuel will nurture the next Garry Hynes and someone in Simon will move out of homelessness,” says Louise.

In addition to the €100,000 that has already been committed to four projects over the next five years, St Anthony and Claddagh plan to broaden the scheme next year to include two more community organisations. The scheme is open to groups working in arts, education, sports, community and international development.

This money comes from surplus funds that traditionally would have been dispersed among members in the form of rebates on loans and as dividends. But with interest rates so low at present, that would make little sense, according to Louise.

So, the members made a decision to invest in the community on a long-term basis, bringing a new dimension to the Credit Union’s engagement with society.

“It allows the groups concerned to make a strategic leap and to develop their projects year on year,” says Louise.

For more, read this week’s Connacht Tribune.