There’s nothing wrong with some old-fashioned competition, especially when it comes to raising money for a cause.

The Dowagiac Honor Credit Union branch demonstrated this on Tuesday, presenting a check for $1,500 to Cass County Animal Control. The branch raised $750 in donations as part of the credit union’s recent fundraiser for local humane societies and animal shelters, which was matched by the company’s charity organization, Powered by Honor.

The local staff collected more dollars for the fundraiser than any other branch across southwest Michigan, said Manager Janie Reifenberg.

“I would say that we won by a landslide,” she said. “We beat out branches even from larger markets like St. Joseph and Niles.”

Employees held several fundraisers to help them reach their goal, including selling bags of popcorn and decorative paw prints. The most popular means of generating donations came from the two bake sales the staff held inside the office, selling $550 to customers.

“One hundred percent of the staff participated,” Reifenberg said. “They either baked something or had their grandmothers and family help them out.”

Reifenberg said she and her staff have been playing their cards close the chest for the fundraiser, keeping promotion of their bake sales low key.

“We didn’t want anyone else to catch on to our plans,” she joked.

All donations collected by Honor branches in Berrien County went toward the county’s animal control department, which is currently constructing a new building. For branches outside of Berrien, the staff had their choice of which organization they wished to contribute to. Reifenberg and her staff decided to keep their customer’s money local, offering it to Cass County Animal Control.

“Everybody who works here owns a pet,” she said. “We’re all animal lovers, so this was an easy choice for us to make.”

Accepting the check for the county was Mike Grice, the county’s animal control director. The credit union didn’t notify the county about the donation drive until it was nearly completed, he said.

“It was a pleasant surprise,” Grice said. “We feel really blessed for this.”

Grice said he plans on “paying the donation forward,” toward a unique project in the future, he said.

Besides thanking her branch her staff for the amount of time and energy they poured into the fundraiser, the branch manager said she was grateful for strong support the local community has given them and the county animal control.

“Our members are fantastic, and they really, really stepped up for us on this,” Reifenberg said.