Peter McMahon from the Phillip Island Aquatic Centre Fund announced in December of last year that if the community could raise $2M then the rest of the funding may be attained from other sources. Mr McMahon now reports “We are delighted to support another fundraising option in 2016, with an initiative that household within our area can get behind. It’s a great chance for us to raise substantial funds for the project” while everyone benefits in the savings.
Goodwill Bills is an innovative way to buy electricity, which generates a return to the communities that get behind the scheme, while at the same time saving householders money on their bills. Goodwill Bills connects customers with better deals, while redirecting the marketing spend of participating retailers to create a donation to the preferred charity of each participating customer.
So far, Goodwill Bills members are saving an average of $436 per year on their energy bills, while at the same time creating up to $64 per year in donations to their preferred cause.
Mr McMahon explained how the program works. “Supporters of the Aquatic Centre simply go online to GoodWillBills, register and then select from two nominated energy retailers, it’s easy, and quick”.
Goodwill Bills has selected two leading energy retailers: online retailer Click Energy - Australia’s highest rating retail energy provider based on customer satisfaction; and Powershop - Ranked by Greenpeace as Australia’s greenest power company. Both offer market leading deals, and give customers choice on the type of retailer that they want to buy from.
While large charities like Amnesty, Beyond Blue and The Reach Foundation have already got on board, the program is open to any charity, including local organisations like the PIACF.
Goodwill Bills members get access to some of the best deals in the energy market through retailers willing to support local communities.
Goodwill Bills founder Mark Donaldson said that while the impetus to start the venture was to help raise funds for charity, so far, every Goodwill Bills member had also made a saving on their bill, with some saving as much as $1200 per year. “There are substantial savings available, and the idea of buying energy from a company that will also put something back into their customers’ communities is getting a great response.”
“We believe that there is a better way for energy companies to interact with customers. We want to disrupt what they do now, and give them an option to paying companies like i-Select and instead funnel that money back into great causes. It is exciting to see two companies with great pricing get behind this idea”.
“Importantly, there is no contract or exit fees involved so if you are not satisfied, there is no obligation to stay. And customers can double check the savings they are likely to see by either using an online calculator or simply sending us a photo of a recent bill. We’ve developed Goodwill Bills to help grassroots organisations tap into a new source of funding, and we’re thrilled to be able to get behind the Phillip Island Aquatic Centre as part of our first community campaign.”
Potential benefit to the Phillip Island community and economy
With some 14,000 rateable dwellings recorded on Phillip Island/San Remo in 2015, the opportunity is huge. If each of those dwellings switched their energy provider, it would result in total savings of ~$4.6M going back into peoples' pockets based on current average savings rates, and an additional $423,000 donated each year to the PIACF.
Don Turner has been a long-time supporter of the Aquatic Centre project.“I’m amazed at the savings that are available, its easy to think that switching is too hard, and people end up paying too much, saving money and helping a project as important as the Aquatic Centre is a fantastic opportunity”.
Families wanting to sign up to the campaign, or find out more details about the offer, should visit the website GoodWillBills to register and choose a new energy supplier.