Local non-profits have raked in big bucks through the Boiling Springs Savings Bank’s Community Alliance Program. About eight Mahwah groups and 39 township girls scout troops collectively made over $1500 last year alone.

According to Mahwah’s Boiling Springs Branch Manager Patty Langdale, organizations that sign up to participate in the Community Alliance Program ask individuals in the community to “pledge” their support to the group. Once the group gets 20 people to pledge support, an interest payment on their accounts will be paid to the charity every quarter.

“Basically, you get people who either already bank with us, or people who are willing to open up an account, to say they want to support your organization,” Langdale said. In addition to the interest payment Boiling Springs makes to the supporter’s account, it also makes a donation to the charity. No money is taken from the supporters accounts, but according to Langdale, they have helped their favorite charities get a lot of donations since the program’s foundation in 2006.

The Rutherford Senior Citizens Center was the first non-profit to sign on to the Community Alliance Program when it launched at Boiling Springs’s Rutherford branch in 2006. Last year, the RSCC made $27,617 from Boiling Springs. Over the course of its six years, the organization has made nearly $126K from the bank.

Overall, 87 organizations are signed up across Boiling Springs Bergen, Passaic and Morris County service area. In the last quarter of 2011, the bank paid them $70,000. Since the programs inception, it has given away over $787K.

According to Langdale, the amount paid into the charity’s account, which it gets for free as a member of the Community Alliance, depends on how much its supporters have in their accounts. The bank pays out different rates for the different types of eligible accounts – checking, savings, CDs, etc.

“This program was actually one of the things that made me want to work for Boiling Springs,” Langdale said. “We say we are a community bank and I really feel that we are.” The branch manager said she spends a lot of time in the community signing groups up to take part in the Alliance. Langdale gives presentations to non-profits and their supporters, and does on-site sign-ups for people who want to pledge their support to charities on the spot. “We try to make it as easy and convenient as possible for people to help their favorite non-profits,” she said.

And groups in the Mahwah community have been responding. The Mahwah Museum, Fire Co. 1, Holy Cross Church and Nursery School, Mahwah Regional Chamber of Commerce, Mahwah Schools Foundation, Mahwah Girl Scouts and Fire Co. 2 all have Community Alliance accounts at the bank, have at least 20 supporters, and have been collecting donation payments from the bank every quarter since signing up.

“Our experience so far has been great,” Janet Puzo of the Mahwah Schools Foundation, which signed up last fall, said. “Boiling Springs is very committed to the community and very service oriented.”

According to Langdale, two other recent sign-ups – the Mahwah PBA and the Mahwah Full Gospel Church – are still working to reach their 20 supporters. “Once you get to 20, we start paying every quarter, and what we pay goes up as you get more and more supporters.” Curret bankers can pledge support for any group they wish, at no cost to them, she said.

More information about the Community Alliance Program for non-profits that may want to sign up and individuals or businesses who want to pledge support, is available on the Boiling Springs website.