REGINA, Saskatchewan–Several groups and organizations in this province are enjoying new physical facilities after Conexus Credit Union opted to give away a number of branches it is closing rather than sell them.
Among those that have been selected for a new branch has been The Circle Project, which applied for a building as part of the process Conexus CU set up.
“We worked hard to put our best foot forward and our best offer … We did not realize that they were going to gift us the building,” Executive Director Ann Perry told the Leader Post. “It’s great for us as a community organization to get a gift of this magnitude because we can build on it and build something really good for the community … We are just so happy.”
As CUToday.info reported earlier, Conexus announced in June plans to close nine of its branches in Saskatchewan in October, many in smaller communities. The credit union cited an increase in the use of online banking as one reason for the closures.
Jacques DeCorby, executive vice-president of retail banking for Conexus, told the Leader Post when the institution first faced the reality of closing some branches, “it wanted to find a more community-minded way to use the buildings than just selling to the highest bidder.”
A ‘Request for Offers’
It opted to create a “Request for Offers” in which it encouraged community organizations to apply and further announced financial help would be available if price was a concern. While the Request for Offers said nothing about potentially donating a building, “we knew that we might be willing to do that for the right community organizations,” DeCorby told the Leader Post.
Another organization selected includes Ignite Adult Learning, where one person told the publication a new building has been a “dream” of the organization for decades.
A particularly appealing feature for Ignite Adult Learning has been the vault inside the branch in which it plans to convert into a library to store books.