At The Co-operative Bank, we are committed to supporting community groups that improve the lives of local people and transform their neighbourhoods. So we are proud to be working with the Tees Valley Community Foundation.

When you work hard to raise funds, we know that every penny counts. Our Community Directplus account gives charities, community groups, voluntary organisations and social enterprises an ethical way to bank for free. Instead of paying unnecessary bank charges, you will have more money to spend on projects that benefit your company.

The Community Directplus account offers:

• free banking*on all standard transactions- that means there's no charge for cheques, standing orders, Direct Debits or cash deposits and withdrawls
• interest on credit balances of £2,000 or more to help boost your savings
• the freedom to manage your account however it suits you-online, over the phone, at the Post Office or by post
• the chance to apply for extra funding from our Customer Donation Fund.

The Co-operative Bank Customer Donation Fund:

 As a Community Directplus account holder, you can apply for a donation of up to £1,000 from our Customer Donation Fund. This is how the fund grows. For every £100 deposited collectively by account holders, we add 20p. Then every year we donate between £500 and £1,000 to successful applicants.

So far we've donated £328,000 to 393 organisations, and we promise to award a minimum of £5,000 twice a year.

Our ethics in action:

We have been looking after our customer's money since 1872. Uniquely, we are still the only high street bank with a customer-led Ethical Policy, which gives our customers a say in how we will, and will not, invest their money. It's one of the reasons we were named as 'Europe's Most Sustainable Bank 2011' by the Financial Times.

What's more, we run our business responsibly according to the Co-operative principles of value, fairness and social responsibility. So you can be confident that your organisation-and its finances-are in safe hands.

Find Out more

Call us on 0800 783 4741 quoting reference 35300.

We are here from 8:30am-6pm Monday to Thursday, 8:30am-5pm on Fridays and 9am-midday Saturday.

Or you can visit communitydirectplus.co.uk

Our Free banking relates to standard transactions. We reserve the right to review the account tariff for customers whose credit turnover exceeds £1m per annum, who deposit more than £100,000 cash per annum, or who deposit more than 5,000 cheques per annum.

The Co-operative Bank is authorised and regulated by the Financial Services Authority (No. 1211885), subscribes to the Lending Code and the Financial Ombudsman Service and is licensed by the Office of Fair Trading (No. 006110). Calls may be monitored or recorded for security and training purposes. For BT customers calls to 0800 numbers are free. Call charges from other providers may vary and you may wish to check this with your service provider.

The Co-operative Bank p.l.c., P.O. Box 101, 1 Balloon Street, Manchester, M60 4EP.

Registered in England and Wales No. 990937.

 

Kirsten Potter, PR & Communications Manager (PD Ports)

"PD Ports has supported the excellent work of the Tees Valley Community Foundation since 1993. In 2008/9, we assisted in providing financial support for the compilation of a local book which focuses on the activities and the people of the old Smith’s Dock in Grangetown. This particular subject is significant to the Port’s history and that of the town of Middlesbrough. Whilst there are many exciting new projects taking shape at the Port, we felt it was also important to preserve the origins of the industry, which laid the foundations for the success we achieve today. It is very encouraging to see the work of Tees Valley Community Foundation creating opportunities, establishing links and strengthening relationships to enable this to happen across the region."

Paul Atkinson, Plant Manager, Teesside Power Station

"Tees Valley Community Foundation has managed the Teesside Power Fund since it's inception in the early nineties, since when it has grown to be the largest endowment fund in the region. The Foundation has helped the Teesside Power Station provide targetted support for projects run by and for local residents to the benefit of the whole community. With the continued support of the Foundation's expertise and guidance, we look forward to building on this successful relationship."