Vision Building a stronger community one member at a time. Mission To exist as a viable financial institution directed and owned by members for their personal and financial development and that of the wider community.

The idea of a Credit Union commenced in the year 1962 with Father Ludovic Chauvet who was the catholic parish priest of Choiseul at the time. The priest encouraged thrift amongst Catholics securing their funds for them so that they can use these funds in difficult times. Every Sunday after mass, persons would take their monies to the priest for safe keeping. The priest would keep records on the amount of funds belonging to each person. The priest then invited other persons from the Catholic Church to form a group to manage these funds. Most of those persons are deceased now but because of their initiative, there is a credit union in Choiseul today. The society began operating as an organization on 08th December, 1963 and was registered on 6th October, 1970.

One Eleuthera Foundation is a non-profit development organization incorporated in the Commonwealth of the Bahamas. Led by a committed Board of Directors and Staff Members, OEF is an organic coming together of different community actors and organizations that have recognized the island's challenges, opportunities, and assets and have committed to developing a comprehensive, sustainable plan for Eleuthera. We represent a gathering of professionals and organizations that share a commitment to a future that is built on the responsible development of our island’s many assets. The Shared Vision for South Eleuthera, which was first commissioned by Friends of Lighthouse Point to develop a sustainable plan for Lighthouse Point and other special heritage and conservation sites on Eleuthera, inspired the formation of One Eleuthera. We recognize that Eleuthera has a unique opportunity to build an economy based on our unique and rich cultural and heritage assets. This requires moving from a fragmented development approach to creating a structured plan that makes the natural and relevant links among communities and projects, measures success through monitoring and evaluation, and addresses any implementation challenges. The role of OEF in all of this is to connect people and organizations to the resource needed to find, develop or expand projects and activities that will allow Eleuthera and Eleutherans to be successful.

GBCCU is the only community based credit union in the Bahamas! Community based means that members may joined solely by being a resident of The Bahamas! We have proudly served the residents of Grand Bahama for 39 years.

Under the presidency of Mr. Arlington Miller, the Bahamas Public Services Union (BPSU) saw the need to assist in making life better for its members. It was felt that this concept could be achieved through the establishment of a credit union. The officers of the BPSU met in 1979 and formed a Steering Committee, consisting of the following persons: Mr. Arlington Miller- Chairman; Mr. William McDonald- Vice-Chairman; Mr. George Lafleur- Trustee; Mrs. Gertrude Rahming- Treasurer; Mr. Patrick Ingraham-Secretary; Mrs. Juliette J. Barnwell-Assistant Secretary; Mr. Basil Sears-Trustee and Mr. Edward Gardiner-Trustee. The Steering Committee spent many hours with Mr. Roosevelt Finlayson, Director of Co-operatives, in formulating the bye-laws of The Credit Union. After the bye-laws were completed, an application was made to the Department of Co-operatives for registration of The Public Workers’ Co-operative Credit Union Limited, whose bond would encompass all Government employees and Government Boards and Public Corporations. The Public Workers’ Co-operative Credit Union Limited was registered on December 28th, 1979 and presented with its Registration Certificate in February 1980. At the time of its registration, forty-four persons had signed up to become members.

The first group to be registered under the new legislation was the National Women’s Co-operative Society Limited with the aim of providing housing for members. The registration date was January 10, 1975. Prior to this time there had been sporadic attempts to form co-operatives. One of the earliest was in the 1940’s when the late Fr J. P. Sullivan helped establish a credit union at St Francis Xaviers Cathedral that was active until the early 1960’s. In 1954 a community coconut farm was established at Fernandez Bay on Cat Island whose vestiges are still evident today. Also in the 1950’s a government-sponsored Madeira tree plantation was set up at Dean’s to harvest timber for furniture-making. This farm was also abandoned. In 1963 Rudolph Burgzorg was instrumental in forming NEED (for National Education and Economic Development) which was registered in 1965 under the Companies Act by the late labour leader and parliamentarian Sir Randol Fawkes. In 1967 Burgzorg, together with King and Shirley Nixon, Tony Christie, Anthony Carey, Stephanie Carey, Peter Galanis, Arthur Richardson, Chalam Miller, Peter Bowe and Clement Maynard, formed the first co-operative food store located on Palm Tree Street. This venture closed in 1970. “ I was, and still am, thoroughly convinced that cooperative democracy is the kind of economic activity that Christians should pursue,” Mr Burgzorg wrote in a recent account. “So I decided to make an effort to form a consumer co-operative society. It was on our recommendation and continued prodding that the government decided to enact co-operative legislation.”

National Workers Co-Operative Credit Union Limited was the first registered Credit Union in the Bahamas. It was registered with the Department of Co-operatives on November 17, 1976. Mr. Edward "Bobby" Glinton who was an active Trade Unionist at the time initiated the formation of NWCCU after returning from an ILO (International Labor Organization) sponsored course in Geneva. Mr. Glinton served as the first Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Credit Union. Our Main Office is located on Harold Road on the Workers House Compound on the Island of New Providence. We have two other full Branches, one located on Poinciana Drive also in New Providence, and the other in the Workers House Complex on East Settlers Way in Freeport, Grand Bahama. National Workers Co-Operative Credit Union Limited has an asset base in excess of $26,000,000.00 and is considered one of the larger Credit Unions in the Bahamas. The Credit Union has taken a more aggressive approach in the local market and has launched several new products and services recently. We are a progressive institution providing sound financial services and products to our members.

Our name, Bahama Islands Co-operative Credit Union Limited, reflects the proud history of our organization. First known as ‘Paradise Island Resort & Casino Co-operative Credit Union Limited’ in 1986, then as Bahama Islands Resorts & Casinos Co-operative Credit Union Limited in 2007 and now BICCU since August 2014, we were established to address certain needs among employees of the Paradise Island Resort (now superseded by the mega vacation complex Atlantis. Casino workers who at the time did not have medical and pension benefits were the initial driving force behind establishing an organization that could provide medical, pension and other financial benefits for them and their colleagues. Founding members included Eugene Cooper, Anthony Balfour (deceased), Bruce Delancy, Trevor Grant (Deceased), Wendy Quant, Linda Symonette and Michael Munroe. We changed our name in 2007 to reflect a purpose that had expanded to embrace and serve the needs of many others, particularly employees of Family Island resorts and casinos. In 2009, BICCU made a transition to offer its services to not just all casino and resort employees but to their immediate family member as well. The most recent change to our license resulted from the wishes of our member at the 28th AGM – the approval for the regulatory authority to expand our license came in August 2014. We excitedly welcome the families of the Bahamas from virtually every industry – government and the private sector! We are actively involved in our community by the donations we make annually to various civic groups.