It was decided at the ACW National Meeting in February 1972 to establish a Memorial Bursary Fund for contributions received in tribute to former members of Australian Church Women, and this Fund began with an initial donation of $121.
The Memorial Bursary was to be awarded annually to the successful applicant of the Winifred Kiek Scholarship, and the Fund was specifically for the purchase of study books. Where possible, the award was to be made as an official presentation at the National Committee Meeting. The application forms used to state it was desirable that the successful scholar was present at the National meeting. The presentation took the form of a cheque to an agreed amount together with a certificate setting out the reason and purpose of the award.
In June 1972, $100 of the initial donation was placed on Term Deposit and $2.15 interest was earned.
The first recipient of the Memorial Bursary was Deaconess Terani Aisake of Fiji, and she was invited to attend the 1972 ACW National Meeting. An award certificate was presented to Terani as a permanent record of the bursary as well as a book on Australia, which was a gift from the National Committee.
In 1974, the following qualification was added to clarify the criteria for the Memorial tribute:
‘To honour women who have made a notable contribution as Australian Church Women.'
A Memorial Bursary Book was also established to contain the profiles and photographs of those women who were honoured by the memorial tribute.
Later, the ACW Memorial Bursary was renamed Honouring Australian Church Women, and it is described thus:
Nominations are invited for Christian women whose association with the work of Australian Church Women is noteworthy. Along with the submission a donation is given, and the interest earned from the invested monies is used to provide a book grant to current scholarship holders. A profile and photograph of each woman is then recorded in the Honouring Australian Church Women book held by the National Winifred Kiek Scholarship Convener.
It is a lovely way to honour members of Australian Church Women and benefit the Winifred Kiek Scholars.
