FCA launches Financial Counselling Foundation
MEDIA RELEASE: FCA is excited to announce the launch today of the Financial Counselling Foundation.
The Foundation is a charitable trust set up to provide grants for financial counselling casework and help build the capacity of the sector.
Many businesses – including banks, credit unions, telecommunication companies, utility companies and debt collectors – benefit from the work financial counsellors do in the community and thus refer on their customers. Our hope is that these sectors, and others, will make voluntary donations to the foundation.
The charitable trust structure is important as it heads off any potential issues around conflicts of interest that may arise if creditors directly funded financial counselling jobs or agencies.
Financial counsellors have for many years talked about setting up a Foundation. Demand for financial counselling services continues to exceed supply. The Financial Counselling Foundation is one way of increasing funding and hence the capacity of financial counselling agencies to assist people experiencing financial stress.
Without any seed funding however this Foundation would have remained just an idea. We therefore sincerely thank ANZ for the initial funding of $250,000 (provided as part of a remediation program).
We also thank Scott Pape, author of “The Barefoot Investor: the only money guide you’ll ever need” who has donated a portion of the royalties from this book to the Foundation. Scott is a long-time supporter of financial counselling.
The directors of the Foundation are:
• George Brouwer (Chair)—formerly Victorian State Ombudsman
• Carolyn Bond AO, Consumer advocate, former co-CEO of the Consumer Action Law Centre
• Greg Tanzer – Most recently a Commissioner at the Australian Securities and Investments Commission. Greg is also a board member of Financial Counselling Australia.
• Dr Betty Weule AM – Well known financial counsellor and founder of the first financial counselling service in NSW
Financial Counselling Australia will provide initial administrative support to the Foundation.
Media Contact:
Fiona Guthrie
CEO Financial Counselling Australia
0402 426 835
[email protected]