Butterfield Bank is to donate $25,000 to a different Bermuda charity each month as part of a scheme launched yesterday.The Butterfield Hope Award programme was created to assist charities with “humanitarian causes” the first donation will be made next month.Charities must submit applications for consideration by 5pm on the last Friday of each month.Butterfield president and CEO Bradford Kopp said each award would go to “one deserving humanitarian assistance service” selected from the applicants.“This will include areas such as family services, counselling, meals programmes, addiction management and the like,” he said.“This isn’t a short-term proposal. We’ll be donating $25,000 each month for at least the next couple of years.”Mr Kopp said the decision to focus on “humanitarian causes” reflected the bank’s concern at the present economic climate.“These are challenging times for many people in our community, and, more than ever, Island residents are seeking assistance and support from local charities just to make ends meet,” he said.“A bank is only as good as the community where it does business, and as a Bermuda’s bank we simply want to reiterate our focus on our community.”Senior executive vice president Michael Collins said the awards scheme would go beyond donation: “We’re going to have our employee volunteers getting involved, hands on, and getting staff to debate how our money is to be spent each month.”Executive director of the Centre on Philanthropy Pamela Barit Nolan was present for yesterday’s announcement.She said she welcomed the scheme for getting employees to volunteer.“With more people facing difficulties in Bermuda, it’s a great time for this initiative to be launched, and I applaud Butterfield for this more focused and directed approach to giving.”Charities are now invited to make a pitch for the first award. The deadline is on January 28.Applications should be made in writing to www.bm.butterfieldgroup.com, or by contacting Edwina Bowen on 298-5543.