Bendigo Bank Ends Community Fundraising Partnerships
Bendigo Bank has made headlines after pulling out of long-running fundraising partnerships with community groups across Australia. For more than two decades, these partnerships—known as the “connected communities” program—helped local groups raise money by linking new customer accounts to community projects. But at the end of 2024, notices of termination were issued, and by February this year, the final payments had already gone out.
Now, many of these community enterprise groups have been left struggling. Some have folded altogether, unable to find alternative funding sources to keep their work alive. This decision has come as a heavy blow, especially since Bendigo Bank itself confirmed that more than $18 million had been returned to local projects through the scheme since it began in 2004. Schools, sporting clubs, and grassroots organizations all benefited from funds that were reinvested locally, and the commissions paid on new accounts were often the difference between surviving and thriving.
The bank has said that, after reviewing this part of its business, the contributions were deemed “not sustainable.” No official number has been released on how many community enterprises have been affected, but the program was national, so its impact is being felt in towns and regions right across the country.
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What stings even more for many is the timing of the announcement. Just as these community ties were being severed, Bendigo Bank reported a profit of $514.6 million. Alongside that, news broke that 10 branches and 28 agencies would soon close, leaving 22 more regional towns without any banking services.
Since Richard Fennell took over Bendigo’s consumer banking division in 2018, the bank has shut down 95 branches and 70 agencies. That has left 56 towns without a bank altogether—more than even the National Australia Bank, which has long been criticized for its record of leaving towns “bankless.”
For many in regional and rural Australia, this isn’t just a story about numbers. It’s about connection. These partnerships gave communities a sense of ownership, knowing that their banking choices could support local projects directly. The sudden withdrawal has created a gap that will not be easily filled.
At a time when face-to-face banking is already disappearing from smaller towns, the loss of these programs adds to a growing sense of isolation. While Bendigo Bank points to sustainability and business efficiency, the communities that helped support its growth for decades are left asking: at what cost?
The story is part of a broader pattern seen across the banking sector, where profits climb, but regional services decline. And for the towns that relied on these connections, the fallout is still unfolding.
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