NAB Share Transaction Raises $100,000 for Charity
10 May 2016 at 11:30 am
National Australia Bank (NAB) shareholders have raised $100,000 for charity through the Not for Profit donation portal ShareGift Australia as part of the bank’s demerger of its UK subsidiary, Clydesdale Banking Group in February.
The collaboration between NAB and ShareGift Australia enabled people with small parcels of shares to donate their allocated securities to charity. The move was described as the first time philanthropic giving was structured directly into a sale facility as part of a corporate action of this type in Australia.
NAB said that monies raised would be directed to Community Hubs Australia to fund its National Community Hubs Program, which is supported by the Scanlon Foundation and the Department of Social Services.
NAB executive of governance and reputation Michaela Healey said that NAB was proud to have led the project with ShareGift Australia to raise $100,000 for an initiative that aligns with NAB’s commitment to building more prosperous communities.
“Community Hubs work with migrant and refugee women and children, offering services and support such as skills training, English language classes, breakfast clubs as well as volunteering opportunities and community events,” Healey said.
“This donation will be used specifically to deliver English language tuition to mothers with preschool children across hub locations nationally as part of the existing Mother and Child program.
“This opportunity was a great way to showcase innovative philanthropic giving. We would like to thank NAB shareholders for supporting ShareGift Australia, and we hope the strong result will encourage other ASX listed companies to use ShareGift Australia as part of their corporate transactions.”
Chairman of ShareGift Australia Christopher Thorn said the outcome was an important benchmark that NAB had now set for corporate transactions and the outcome for Community Hubs Australia.
“ShareGift Australia makes it easy for shareholders to support the community by donating their shares. The money raised through this transaction will have a real impact on Community Hubs Australia but also, the deal itself, has established a ground-breaking way for Australian listed entities to incorporate community benefit into new parts of their business,” Thorn said.
He said that to date, more than $1.1 million of charitable giving has been facilitated by ShareGift Australia and donated to over 400 charities.
A list of charities which ShareGift Australia has supported is available online here.