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Volunteering Victoria is the state peak body for volunteering. We are a member-based, not-for-profit, non-government organisation. We are funded by the state and federal governments and we also receive private funding and donations for specific programs. We have a small, core group of paid and voluntary staff. A voluntary professional board of management leads the organisation’s governance. We are one of eight state/territory members of the national peak body, Volunteering Australia. Volunteering Victoria is one of the founding members of VA, along with the other state bodies.
Our Work We work for the sustainability of volunteering through our activities and the services that we provide. We endeavour to achieve sustainability by - Promoting community development and social inclusion through civic participation; Building the capacity of our members and the volunteer support networks in Victoria; Supporting a network of regional volunteer resource and referral agencies across the state; Forging strong relationships and partnerships across the not-for-profit, community, government and private sectors; Focusing on advancing volunteering through our core activities; and Collaborating with other state, national and international peak volunteering bodies.
Our core activities and services include - Offering skills education and training services for volunteer managers and supervisors through flexible modes of delivery such as seminars, workshops and online, for example ‘Everyone Ready’, a 12-month online training program for volunteer managers and supervisors; Giving advice and consultancy support to our members, registered organisations and other volunteer-involving organisations on best practice in policy development; Producing written resources and information materials on volunteer management; Information- and knowledge-sharing with those in the volunteer support network; Enabling new volunteers to become involved via quality information and referral services; Providing existing volunteers information and services to enhance their volunteering experience; Advising on best practice policy development for organisations; Undertaking government and private sector advocacy to ensure decision-makers are well informed about volunteering issues; Working for recognition by the community, the government and business sectors concerning the importance of highly-skilled and experienced volunteer managers, the professional needs they have and issues they face in managing volunteer programs; Communicating regularly with our members and contacts through e-newsletters, the Volunteering Victoria website, e-bulletins, dialogue at meetings, gatherings and other events; Promoting volunteering to the wider Victorian community by engaging with members of the media and through networking beyond the not-for-profit, community and volunteering groups; Facilitating forums for raising issues relevant to volunteering; and Representing volunteering in Victoria in national and international forums.
Our History We trace our beginnings as far back as 1973. As the ‘Volunteer Centre of Victoria’, we were incorporated in 1987 and established as the state peak body representing the volunteer movement at that time. In 1997, we became Volunteering Victoria Inc. Our Members Our members are volunteer-involving not-for-profit and community organisations. They represent a broad, cross-section that reflects the diversity of the sector. Commonwealth and state government departments, local governments, state peak organisations, local sports clubs and religious groups as well as those in health, arts, environment, Culturally and Linguistically Diverse (CALD), indigenous, youth, disabled, and aged care are represented in our membership base. |
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