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:

1. Recognise the important role that Volunteering Support Services have in building strong and resilient communities;
2. 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.

 

MEDIA RELEASE

7 March

The Andrews Labor Government will provide $125,000 towards an innovative community transport service that will improve access  to health care in the Wimmera region.

Member for Western Victoria Jaala Pulford announced the funding today, which will help the Centre for Participation deliver pilot service where volunteers drive local residents to and from medical appointments.

Under the pilot, volunteers may use their own vehicles or those provided by local council and health providers to transport people who have difficulty accessing medical services to their appointments.

The Labor Government funding will cover the first 12 months of the 24-month pilot, which is set to begin in mid-2017.

The Centre for Participation, as well as local councils and health providers will partner to contribute in kind a further $60,000 towards the service.

It’s the sort of innovative community transport solution outlined in the Labor Government Regional Network Development Plan – Victoria’s first ever long term strategy for better public transport in regional Victoria.

Quotes attributable to Minister for Public Transport  Jacinta Allan

“This community transport service will help people across the Wimmera access the health services they need, when they need them.”

“Innovative local transport solutions like this pilot are identified in the Regional Network Development Plan announced last year, and are part of our vision for a more convenient, responsive services in rural Victoria.”

Quote attributable to Member for Western Victoria Jaala Pulford

“This service will be vital for locals – particularly the elderly and those with disabilities that prevent them from driving.”

 

Funding Changes for Volunteer Resource Centres

An announcement from the Department of Social Services that volunteer support services will no longer be eligible for their own pool of grants funding demonstrates the Federal Government’s continued undervaluing of the role of volunteering in building strong and resilient communities.

Volunteering Australia Chief Executive Officer, Ms Adrienne Picone said that the Strengthening Communities Grants Program is currently the primary source of funding for volunteer support services – but that the changes outlined in today’s DSS meeting would make such funding much harder to access. “What we learned today is the Strong and Resilient Communities grants program does not provide specific funding for volunteer support services,” Ms Picone said. “This is yet another example of the deprioritisation of volunteer management by the Government and a lack of recognition for the role volunteer support services play in promoting, resourcing and supporting volunteering in local communities across Australia.”

“We are concerned that this proposal does not fully consider the impact of not providing discrete grants for the infrastructure that supports volunteering and volunteer involving organisations. Volunteering Australia and the sector as a whole feel their concerns have not been heard and the fact that volunteering contributes more value to the community than many other major industries, which receive substantial funding from Government, continues to be ignored.”

“Effective, safe, productive and efficient volunteering does not “just happen” and it is not free. It requires expertise, leadership and local knowledge, as well as effective workforce management. Volunteer support services provide infrastructure in communities to lead, enable and build capacity to recruit and retain volunteers in a wide variety of organisations and services, from the human services and civil society groups, to environmental, animal welfare and sporting groups.”

 

 

Here is the full motion:

Senators Lambie and Pratt: To move—That the Senate—

(a) notes that:

(i) pursuant to a decision of the 2016-17 Federal Budget, the Department of Social Services is currently undertaking a redesign of the Strengthening Communities Grants, to be known as the Strong and Resilient Communities Grants from 1 January 2018,
(ii) the Strengthening Communities Grants currently provide around $18 million per year to projects which address disadvantage and build opportunity in communities around Australia,
(iii) under the current Grants program, there is a specific funding stream for volunteer management programs, which in 2017 will fund volunteer support services in local communities to a total of around $7.4 million,
(iv) the Department of Social Services has proposed that this volunteer management stream of grants funding will be abolished from 1 January 2018, meaning volunteer support services will be forced to compete with other worthwhile community services and removing any guarantee that they will be funded at all,

(v) this is the latest reduction in funding allocated to volunteer management since the decision was made to transfer responsibility for volunteering from the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet to the Department of Social Services in 2014, a move which volunteering peak bodies and representatives opposed,

(vi) the national peak body for volunteering, Volunteering Australia, states that this move will “rip the heart out of local volunteer support services”, organisations which play an important role in Australian communities by leading, enabling and building capacity to recruit and retain volunteers in a wide variety of organisations and services, from the human services and the arts to environmental, animal welfare and sporting groups,
(vii) approximately 5.8 million Australians, or 31 per cent of the population, volunteer, with Dr Lisel O’Dwyer of Flinders University estimating their annual contribution to Australia as $290 billion,
(viii) volunteering plays an important role in delivering the priorities of the Government, with volunteers contributing many thousands of hours per year to the aged care workforce, the disability services, schools and hospitals, art galleries, libraries and sporting clubs, and with volunteering often acting as a driver in bolstering economic participation, mitigating isolation and loneliness and increasing social inclusion and participation,
(ix) while volunteering is defined as “time willingly given, for the common good and without financial gain”, it does not happen free, and requires the investment of resources in volunteer support services in order to maintain a professional, responsive and efficient volunteer workforce,
(x) the withdrawal of funding to volunteer management services will threaten the viability of the thousands of volunteering organisations and will have a huge impact on the community; and

(b) calls on the Government to:

(i) congratulate community-based volunteer support services for the work that they do to support strong, healthy and resilient Australian communities through an effective and professional volunteer workforce, and
(ii) recognise the importance of funding volunteer management services and Volunteering Australia’s campaign to retain funding for volunteer management as part of the Federal Budget.

The awards celebrate the role volunteers play across the region and brings together individuals and organisations in acknowledging outstanding achievements. This is a great opportunity to recognise the remarkable efforts of volunteers, volunteer programs and volunteer involving organisations that make our communities vibrant.

Nominations are invited from shires of Horsham Rural City, Hindmarsh Shire, Northern Grampians Shire, West Wimmera Shire and Yarriambiack Shire

The Volunteering Recognition Awards with Bendigo Bank will be held at the Horsham Town Hall on Friday 12 May 2017.

 

[vcex_button url=”http://centreforparticipation.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/2017-Nomination-Form.pdf” style=”graphical” align=”center” size=”large” custom_background=”#dc4588″ font_size=”14″]Nomination Form[/vcex_button]

To fill out the nomination form:

1. Download the nomination form and save the pdf to your computer
2. Open in Adobe reader and fill out
3. Save again – making sure not to lose your information
4. Then attach to an email and send to volunteerawards@centreforparticipation.org.au

 

Nomination Information

The awards celebrate the role volunteers play across the region and brings together individuals and organisations in acknowledging outstanding achievements. This is a great opportunity to recognise the remarkable efforts of volunteers, volunteer programs and volunteer involving organisations that make our communities vibrant.

Nominations are invited from shires of Horsham Rural City, Hindmarsh Shire, Northern Grampians Shire, West Wimmera Shire and Yarriambiack Shire

The Volunteering Recognition Awards with Bendigo Bank will be held at the Horsham Town Hall on Friday 12 May 2017.

Centre for Participation encourages individuals, organisations and programs to nominate themselves and others.

If you would like to download a nomination’s open poster please click here

KEY DATES

Nominations Close 15 March 2017
Ticket Sales Open Monday 17 April 2017
Ticket Sales Close Friday 5 May 2017
Awards Night 12 May 2017

AWARDS FOR NOMINATION

Individual Awards

• Young Volunteer Award
• New Resident Award
• Foster Carer Award
• Lifetime Achievement Award

Organisational/Program Awards

• Community Health Award
• Connecting Communities Award
• Celebrating Diversity Award
• Emergency & Recovery Award
• Community Organisation Award

Landcare Awards

• Local Group Award
• Individual Landcarer Award
• Young Landcare Leader Award

OTHER AWARDS

Shire Awards

There are five Shire awards which will be selected from all nominations submitted from the respective Shire (there is no application process for these awards).

The five shire awards are:
a. Hindmarsh Shire Volunteering Leaders
b. Horsham Rural City Volunteering Leaders
c. Northern Grampians Shire Volunteering Leaders
d. West Wimmera Shire Volunteering Leaders
e. Yarriambiack Shire Volunteering Leaders

Overall Leading Volunteer Team 2017 Award

The recipient of this award shall be selected from the winners of the Organisational Awards and the Landcare Local Group Award by the Gold Sponsor, Bendigo Bank.
The recipient of this award will exemplify the ethos of volunteering and community engagement.

 

[vcex_button url=”http://centreforparticipation.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/2017-Nomination-Form.pdf” style=”graphical” align=”center” size=”large” custom_background=”#dc4588″ font_size=”14″]Nomination Form[/vcex_button]

To fill out the nomination form:

1. Download the nomination form and save the pdf to your computer
2. Open in Adobe reader and fill out
3. Save again – making sure not to lose your information
4. Then attach to an email and send to volunteerawards@centreforparticipation.org.au

---

 

To download a poster you can print off please click here

For more information click here

2017-18 Federal Pre-Budget Submission

Volunteering peak body Volunteering Australia has made a 2017-18 Federal Pre-Budget Submission including a series of recommendations to further strengthen the Government’s commitment to volunteering, whilst also greatly strengthening the work of the sector to build strong and resilient communities.

Volunteering continues to play a role central to our identity as a nation, 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. Volunteers are an integral part of the social capital of strong and resilient communities.

The Volunteering Australia submission outlines 13 proposed budget measures and is endorsed by the seven State and Territory volunteering peak bodies.

Click to read the media release

Click to read the submission

Upcoming Not for Profit Webinars with Justice Law