Sector Support
The majority of the sector support Volunteering WA provided was to Volunteer Resource Centres, Hubs and Volunteer Involving Organisations. This support helps strengthen sector development by building capacity and enables organisations to deliver efficient and effective services which positively impact on the communities they serve. With our large and diverse membership base, our training programs are tailored to suit beginners to advanced volunteer managers by providing valuable leadership training, we help build and strengthen the knowledge and capacity of the volunteering sector.
Training
Volunteering WA is committed to delivering high-quality training for volunteers and volunteer managers incorporating a wide range of topics and we are committed to developing new training to address the changing needs of the sector. This year we said farewell to Gilda Davies who had been in this role for over 7 years and welcomed Louise Giles.
Volunteering WA training is currently delivered via workshops (onsite/offsite for individuals, large and smaller groups), online and through the provision of resources. Moving forward our training will have a greater focus on online learning, webinars and guest presenters to offer lots of exciting new opportunities for our members. We will also be introducing a new Continuous Professional Development (CPD) program as well as the option to complete a Cert IV in Coordination of Volunteer Programs online.
53 sessions and forums were delivered to representatives from 469 organisations
Feedback from training continues to be overwhelmingly positive and demonstrates that people take the learnings back and apply to their own programs. Read more about Volunteering WA training here.
New Services
Volunteering WA introduced two new services to support our members and the sector during 2019-20: A pro bono legal service and a helpline for queries about volunteer management issues and practice.
Pro Bono Legal Service
Volunteering WA partnered with Hall & Wilcox to provide a range of pro bono legal services to our members:
(i) telephone legal advice on an ‘as needs’ basis (i.e. phone a friend service);
(ii) high level issue identification and document review (i.e. triage service); and
(iii) written legal advice,
in respect of commercial legal issues.
During the year, lawyers from Hall & Wilcox took on three cases on matters relating to employment law and constitutional issues. This amounted to 47.7 hours of work with a value of over $12,000.
“The legal team at Hall & Wilcox who provided advice and assistance were excellent. I couldn’t have expected more if I was a paying client! I very much appreciated all the support I received from both VWA and Hall & Wilcox.” Rosie Brown, Chief Executive Officer, Busselton Hospice Care Inc.
Helpline
From 1 January 2020, Volunteering WA introduced a formal helpline for queries about volunteer management issues and practice. Since launch we have assisted 80 organisations and 15 individuals, with 95 enquiries (43 non-members and 52 members) providing over 1,000 minutes of assistance.
Areas covered included insurance, policies, volunteer roles, health and safety, setting up a volunteer program, bullying and unfair dismissal, and volunteer reimbursements.
Consultancy
Throughout the year, Volunteering WA has successfully completed five consultancy projects for Volunteer Involving Organisations (VIOs). These projects involved facilitating workshops to develop a volunteer strategy, drafting a volunteer hand book, and developing a volunteer recruitment strategy. One further project to develop a volunteer strategy is ongoing.
All consultancy work allows us to work at a grassroots level with VIOs to really understand their needs and ways in which we can assist both them and the wider sector. Through a Peaks Forum Emerging Issues Grant, work was also carried out looking at the impact of NDIS on volunteering in WA. The results of this work has been shared with the sector and is available here.
“Our team enjoyed working collaboratively with the Volunteering WA team to create new volunteer resources. We found the process efficient and are happy with the end result.” Cystic Fibrosis
“Volunteering WA worked closely with the EdConnect Australia team to develop a volunteer recruitment strategy. During the project the COVID-19 pandemic effected our ability to continue with what the consultant had scheduled, however her flexible and responsive approach ensured that we could continue to progress with the work. The overall experience was very positive and our final strategy is reflective of the organisations needs moving forward. We would highly recommend Volunteering WA’s Consultancy services” EdConnect