Volunteering Australia is asking help to retain designated funding for Volunteering Support Services.
Sign the petition today and defend volunteering in your community.
The petition asks the Senate to:
- Recognise the important role that Volunteering Support Services have in building strong and resilient communities;
- Retain funding for volunteer management and Volunteering Support Services at the current level of between $6 – $7.5 million in the 2017/18 budget
Volunteering – a tower of strength in our communities
Volunteering is a tower of strength in our communities with 5.8 million Australians or 31 per cent of the population volunteering, making an estimated annual contribution of $290 billion to our economic and social good.
Volunteering touches every section of Australian society including, but not limited to education, emergency services, sport and recreation, arts and heritage as well as the social services. The far-reaching contribution volunteering makes builds strong and resilient Australian communities.
The redesign of the Strong and Resilient Communities grants to take effect from 1 January 2018 does not include a volunteer management stream of funding specifically allocated to Volunteering Support Services meaning volunteering will be forced to compete alongside other worthwhile projects from across the community services for broader pools of funding that respond to themes of disadvantage.
These proposed changes to funding have the potential to rip the heart out of place based Volunteering Support Services. This year, the Strong and Resilient Communities grants are delivering between $6-$7.5 million in funding to on-the-ground programs as part of the volunteer management stream of funding. To lose this would be an enormous blow to communities who rely on the volunteering programs that this funding delivers.
*Volunteering Support Services (also known as Volunteer Resource Centres or Volunteering Support Organisations) provide place-based volunteering support services to volunteers and volunteer involving organisations in their locality.
