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Newsletter June 2019 |
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e-news member,
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CEO's WelcomeWelcome to the June edition of eNews. With preparations for the National Volunteering Conference now in full swing, we’ve recruited experts from around Australia who are contributing great work through insights, innovative ideas and working knowledge to bring the best conference to Perth. It’s been twenty five years since the National Volunteering Conference was held here and we are already starting to sense the excitement from all around the country to attend this exceptional event in our incredible state. From Monday, we will be accepting expressions of interest for those wanting to submit an abstract and I encourage you all to subscribe to https://volunteering2020.org/ to be kept up to date and purchase early bird conference tickets. More information on the conference is here. With the financial year closing, planning has started for our annual report. According to research, few organisations actually report on their volunteering services/programs within their reports and therefore it’s no wonder that volunteer management is often overlooked and under resourced in budgeting. I’d like to encourage all our volunteering involving organisations to give their volunteers greater visibility and acknowledgement within the annual report and include results from satisfaction surveys, measurements of their value and contributions across service and program areas and their stories and achievements. Please save the date for our Annual General Meeting which has been confirmed for Wednesday 16 October when we will reveal our own annual report. Lastly, I’d like to encourage you all to get involved in NAIDOC week from 7-14 July with the theme of Voice.Treaty.Truth. There’s many events being held around WA during the week and can be found here. Happy Volunteering, Tina |
National Volunteering ConferenceThe National Volunteering Conference is a biennial opportunity for not-for-profit and government leaders, managers of volunteers, researchers, policy makers, and corporate social responsibility professionals to come together to advance volunteering. Held over three days in the beautiful city of Perth, the Conference provides a platform for delegates to exchange ideas, share knowledge, build networks and create change. With the theme of ‘Diversity, Power and Purpose’, the Conference will challenge delegates to leverage the diversity of the volunteering sector and harness its power to address some of the most significant issues faced by the community. Delegates will be inspired to learn, collaborate and shape the future of volunteering in Australia. The Conference will advance volunteering by providing Australia’s principal forum for people researching and working in the sector. For more information please visit https://volunteering2020.org/. |
National Student Volunteer WeekChallenge Yourself - Be the Change - Celebrate Each Other That's the theme for National Student Volunteer Week 2019! Now in its sixth year, NSVW will take place between 13-19 August 2019 and will celebrate a wide variety of nationwide events, activities, forums and awareness-raising campaigns led by higher education providers and schools. As part of National Student Volunteer Week, UWA, Curtin, Notre Dame, ECU and Murdoch universities will join forces to undertake a beach clean-up at C Y O'Connor Beach on 17th August. Under the expert guidance of Perth NRM, the inter-university team of 100 student volunteers will remove common pervasive weeds from the dunes and clear up litter and marine debris, creating once again a pristine environment in this beautiful coastal area. We look forward to celebrating the week with our wonderful WA student volunteers! For more information visit http://nationalstudentvolunteerweek.org.au/ and follow us on Facebook to find out about the planned activities that we’ll announce soon. |
Sector NewsImpact Investing: Making it happen 2019 Impact investing is growing in Australia and around the world. For some charities, this offers new ways of achieving their purpose with a different form of investment. However, few charities have investment ready proposals. This report shares the findings from a series of CEO forums run by Community Council of Australia and Life Without Barriers in 2018. The aim was to explore options for addressing the gap between investor interest and readiness for investment amongst charities. It provides recommendations for not-for-profit organisations and identifies areas where government should act to support capacity development and growth in the impact investment ecosystem. The report is available here. Industry Insights: The Volunteer Perspective Verified Volunteers surveyed over 7,000 volunteers to get their thoughts and opinions on a wide range of important topics facing not-for-profits, including: background checks, recognition, donations, finding opportunities and much more. Sign up to access the full report here. Mission Australia Youth Survey The Mission Australia Youth Survey is Australia’s largest online youth survey, providing a platform for young people aged 15 to 19 to ‘speak up’ about the issues that really concern them. There were many interesting findings in 2018, one of which was the activities with high youth participation. Volunteering was among the top three activities for young people: sports as a participant (63.2%), sports as a spectator (40.6 %) and volunteer work (36.8%). Please share the survey with your networks – the deadline is 31 July 2019. |
WA Mental Health Awards 2019The Western Australian Mental Health Awards 2019 will celebrate individuals and organisations that made an outstanding contribution to mental health in the calendar year of 2018. The awards aim to recognise and reward the achievements of those who demonstrate excellence, innovation, and initiative in supporting consumers of mental health services, their families, and carers; and showcase best practice in WA’s mental health sector to inspire others. The Awards are hosted by the Western Australian Association for Mental Health, with the support of the WA Mental Health Commission. For more information or to submit a nomination visit https://waamh.org.au/awards/. |
Grants & FundingMental Health Week 2019 Grants Applications are now open for the Western Australian Association for Mental Health's (WAAMH) grant program providing grants up to $1,000 to help you hold your own event or activity in your community during Mental Health Week 2019. We encourage people who represent not-for-profits and community-based organisations all around the State to spread awareness and resources throughout their immediate spheres of influence so we can tackle mental health challenges together and support one another where we live, learn, work and play. To see if your organisation is eligible and for more information click here. Fish Scholarship Fish Community Solutions is once again offering the Fish Scholarship for small charities to win a place in the Fundraising Institute of Australia’s Fundraising Essentials course which is delivered both in face-to-face mode or in an online mode for those living further afield. Applications for the 2019 Fish Scholarship are now open to applicants from charities with annual revenue of less than $1m. The Fish Scholarship is open until 14th July 2019. For more information, or to apply, visit their website. Emergency Services Volunteer Fuel Card Scheme 2019 Applications for the Government’s Emergency Services Volunteer Fuel Card scheme are now open and will close on Monday 15 July 2019. All Brigades are encouraged to make use of this small “gift” in recognition of some of the out of pocket expenses incurred by the amazing volunteers who do what they do to keep our communities safe. Click here for more information. |
Training & EventsWe have some fantastic training coming up in the next few weeks. Please visit our website here for a full schedule of upcoming sessions however we bring your attention to two that are very popular and filling up fast.
Risk Management Fundamentals Run by our industry partner, Bankwest, this interactive session will help you identify and assess the impact of risks within your organisation and determine suitable ways to record, manage and monitor your risks. This is a FREE session for both members and non-members thanks to Bankwest! As a special bonus, if you attend this workshop it will count towards your Volunteer Manager Endorsement. Register here.
Evaluating Outcomes Masterclass Are your volunteers achieving organisational objectives and also satisfying their own inner motivation? This can be tricky and daunting to manage and involves planning, monitoring and reviewing work objectives and overall contribution to your organisation. This workshop counts towards your Volunteer Manager Endorsement. The cost is $88/$145. Register here.
Communications Masterclass Have you ever wondered why some people seem so hard to work with? In this Masterclass you’ll learn to understand and deal with differing communication styles, especially important as cross-cultural workplaces become the new norm. We’ll look into team communication, communication choices as well as the skill of listening. Imagine being able to confidently and assertively communicate to get the funding and support you need! This workshop counts towards your Volunteer Manager Endorsement. The cost is $88/$145. Register here.
Volunteer Manager Networking We continue our Taboo Topics series with a discussion about former inmates and volunteering. What are your concerns taking former prisoners as volunteers? We will have an open discussion with two guest speakers from Boronia Pre-release Centre for Women about creating volunteer opportunities for people not normally given a chance. Register here. |
Introducing our BoardIn this regular feature of the eNews we showcase one of our hardworking and dedicated Board Members. Without their leadership and guidance, we wouldn’t be able to achieve all the successes we do. Thank you to our Board. Tony Friday Partner at Brainbox | Board Volunteering WA Tony is a past director of Volunteering WA, serving the organisation for many years and across a number of committees, and rejoined the Board in 2016. He is well acquainted with the challenges that face the sector and has a diverse range of interests and experiences. Specific areas of professional expertise include political advocacy, strategic risk and corporate planning. Tony is currently a partner at Brainbox, providing advisory services to take care of compliance, resolve issues and deliver outstanding performance for their clients. |
Corporate CornerVolunteering WA members can access skilled corporate volunteers and teams of corporate volunteers. The Corporate Volunteering Program tailors to your organisation's needs. Here's a couple of our latest activities: Wheelie Wonderful! Making a difference at Dismantle A team of volunteers from Woodside recently volunteered at Dismantle to assist the BikeRescue program which uses bicycle mechanic activities and mentors to help young people develop social skills, build confidence and connect to educational and vocational opportunities. The volunteering effort, which includes stripping bikes, re-cabling and fixing brakes meant that Dismantle staff were freed up to focus on other work. Skilled Volunteer assists North Perth Community Garden develop a Policy and Procedure Manual North Perth Community Garden (NPCG) strives to be an integral part of the local community by being a hub for people to meet, share, socialise and learn. As its member base was growing, NPCG identified a need for the creation of crucial policy and procedural documentation. With no capacity to undertake this task, they engaged Volunteering WA’s corporate team to find a skilled volunteer to help out. Catherine Driussi, Lead Process Safety Engineer at Woodside, had the skills and background required for the project and also demonstrated a keen interest in gardening. At the end of the project, six detailed manuals were completed. Emma from NPCG explained that these documents made it easier to attract NPCG’s members to take on more responsibilities and easily troubleshoot problems based on the information contained. Volunteering WA’s corporate volunteering team can support your organisation with project activities. They can help you scope projects and manage logistics from start to finish. Email the team to find out more: corporate@volunteeringwa.org.au. |
VIRA/VIKTORHave you being considering VIRA as a volunteer management tool? You’ll be amazed at how many things VIRA can do for you: record volunteers’ details, contribution in hours, services provided, recognition, reimbursement and training undertaken. Plus VIRA is useful for internal and external management with committees, funding submissions, organisational strategic planning and funding reports. This week Manager IT Robert Solomon delivered an online presentation which easily explained just how much time you can save yourself by utilising VIRA. If you don’t reside in Perth, where Robert conducts face-to-face training, the online sessions may just be perfect for you. And once you sign up, our help desk is always available for any questions you may have. Our next training session in Perth is on Thursday 11 July and you can register here and our next online session is on 24 July and you can register here. |
Meet the team behind VIRA/VIKTORLast month we featured Robert and today we introduce to you Felicity Smith. Felicity is part of the team which manage the support desk. If you're having issues, she knows how to overcome them. She listens to those who are having difficulties and escalates their problems to create an easier-to-use application for everyone. Felicity keeps both the sector informed of everything that happens in the VIKTOR world and the web team at Eduka on call to make sure any software issues are resolved immediately. Joining the VIKTOR team in 2012, Felicity took on the sole responsibility of supporting our broad range of users. Before then, she was volunteering and has always loved the art of giving. With a background in hospitality Felicity is the ultimate customer service person. She will not rest until every person that contacts us with a problem receives a helpful answer or outcome. |
Member of the Month - Everyday LeaderWe present to you this month our member Everyday Leader, a for purpose organisation founded in 2015. The organisation believes that every young person irrespective of their background, academic ability or social label has the ability to make a positive impact in the world, and aims to create the opportunity, without barriers, for students to explore their limitless potential. Everyday Leader has trained facilitators who deliver scientifically validated Social Emotional Learning (SEL) interventions and methods to support and facilitate the growth and development of Perth high school students, at no cost to the school.
The many programs the organisation runs wouldn’t be possible without the support, commitment, enthusiasm and hard work of their volunteer community. Over the last few years, over 250 volunteers have been involved in delivering their programs. Most recently, they ran their 4th Annual ‘Thrive’, Australia’s largest free youth conference held at the Perth Convention Centre. |
New MembersA warm welcome to our new and returning members:
We look forward to working with you. |
Shout out SaturdayDo you need help finding volunteers to fill a position in your organisation? Our Saturday feature, only for members, advertises your position on our Facebook page which is followed by over 4,900 followers. Email nazreen@volunteeringwa.org.au to promote your volunteer vacancies. Please ensure your volunteering role is on VIKTOR so that we can link the Facebook post straight through to the Volunteering WA website. |
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The information and materials presented in this newsletter and at the web site are distributed by Volunteering WA as an information source only. While every effort has been made to ensure the accuracy and completeness of the information, no guarantee is given nor responsibility taken by Volunteering WA for errors or omissions.