Please note that entries for the 2011 National Credit Union Awards are now closed. 

Now in its second year, the National Credit Union Awards for Excellence from Unity Trust Bank is a new set of awards to recognise the outstanding contribution to credit unions.

Credit unions are co-operative financial institutions, owned and controlled by their members and operated for the purpose of promoting thrift, providing credit at reasonable rates, and providing other financial services to their members.

Credit unions differ from banks and other financial institutions in that the members who have accounts in the credit union own the credit union, electing their board of directors on the basis of one-person-one-vote, irrespective of the amount of money invested in the credit union.

Since July 2002, UK credit unions are regulated by the Financial Services Authority.

National Credit Union Awards for Excellence

These awards have been devised by Unity and modelled on similar schemes in the United States and Canada.

They are designed to champion and pay tribute to the extraordinary work of the countless unsung individuals who give their time and expertise to the credit union movement. The winners of the awards will be selected by an eminent panel of judges including Stephen Robertson (Big Issue Foundation), Steve Johnson (Advice UK), Nigel Fawcett (ex-FSA credit union regulator) and Baroness Thornton (ex-chair of the Social Enterprise Coalition).

Neither you nor your nominee have to bank with Unity Trust to either nominate or be the winner of one of these awards, as they’re open to every registered credit union and credit union member in the UK. There will be 11 categories, recognising excellence in the areas of:

• Active partnerships;
• Community mobilisation;
• Credit union education;
• Credit union innovation - award sponsored by MasterCard;
• Fundraising - raising additional capital;
• Fundraising - on behalf of a charity;
• Marketing;
• Photography;
• Single benefactor;
• Young leader of the year (17 - 35); and
• Young saver of the year (under 16).

The winners will be announced at a ceremony hosted in the Houses of Parliament, and will receive a trophy to keep and £150.

Filene Award

The judges will choose an overall winner from one of these categories to be the recipient of the Filene Award for Social Entrepreneurship, named in honour of Edward Filene, one of the ‘founders and benefactors’ of the credit union movement. This award will be presented to the person or credit union who has done the most to promote the concept of credit unions, and the winner will receive a trophy and £250.

About Unity Trust Bank

At Unity our support for credit unions has been a long term commitment and a fundamental building block in our strategy of promoting key social initiatives such as tackling financial and social exclusion.  For more than 25 years we have worked with our credit union customers and trade bodies to develop initiatives, some of which are highlighted in the publication Credit Union spotlight, to help make a positive and lasting difference. 

Our unfailing commitment to credit unions is evidenced by the fact that almost 45% of all credit unions choose to bank with us, and a number of Unity staff are both members of and on the board of credit unions in their own right. We were proud when, in 1997, we joined with one of our trade union shareholders, the Bakers Food and Allied Workers Union, to help them form a credit union of their own. This successful credit union was the first trade union credit union in the UK to have a national common bond. Since then, we have advised a number of other trades unions such as the GMB, PCS and RMT on how to establish credit unions of their own. And, since it was launched in 1998, our Credit Union Development Fund has put more than £100,000 in to the movement through grants to individual credit unions.

Awards Entry 

Entry is open to all Credit Unions* in the UK, their employees and bone-fide volunteers. There is no requirement to bank with Unity Trust Bank. Find out more about how to enter, the judging process, and categories and criteria of the awards.

*Credit Unions must be registered with the FSA, or the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Investment (DETI) in Northern Ireland, at the time of the award submission.

Eligibility

Entry to the awards must be based on work substantially completed during the period 1 October 2010 to 30 November 2011. In exceptional circumstances, work started before this date, but which has been significantly developed during the period above will be considered. Entries will need to specify the reasons in the appropriate section on the application form.