Non-profit organisations that rely on volunteers have raised concerns the Peel Volunteer Resource Centre (PVRC) might not receive taxpayer funding at a meeting with federal politicians.
The organisation, which recruits, trains and insures volunteers across the region, may have to compete for funding with other non-profits after a review of the Strengthening Communities fund, which funds programs to “support and increase participation in volunteering”.
A meeting of non-profits at PVRC discussed their concerns with Canning MP Andrew Hastie and WA Labor senator Louise Pratt.
PVRC manager Vicki Pollard said the review of the funding had created uncertainty in the organisation and for their members and she was worried any changes would “take away an emphasis on the importance of volunteer management”.
Mr Hastie told the group he understood the concerns of the organisations who might be affected by a decision to move funding away from the PVRC.
“I know the Strengthening Communities program has been very beneficial for a lot of volunteer organisations in Canning and I understand that discrete funding program will now be subsumed under the new program which is the Strong and Resilient Communities program, and I understand the concerns about that,” he said.
“I do want to put this against the backdrop of severe fiscal constraints in both Western Australia, and we have the same problems federally.
”The upside is, while it will be more competitive environment and volunteer organisations will have to demonstrate disadvantage, the grant money goes from $100,000 to $150,000, so there’s potentially more money if you’re successful in achieving a grant.”
Ms Pratt said peak services for volunteering would not have a discrete place in the new program.
“We haven’t yet had any assurances from the government about how this program is going to evolve, which is why I’m working with communities like yours to proactively get a message to the government, and it’s very good to see Andrew Hastie here as your local representative, so that you can talk to him about the importance of this particular funding stream for generating volunteer services here in the Peel region,” she said.
“The Strengthening Communities review may, for example, still retain some capacity for organisations to support volunteering services, but we don’t know yet whether that will be just targeted at the services themselves, for example I know home and community care volunteering is very strong in this region.
“We’re unclear whether it would just be the programs themselves that would be funded or whether the peak services that help you recruit volunteers, train them, support them, insure them, would continue to be funded.”
The federal government is expected to make a final decision about the funding by the end of 2017.
Nathan Hondros
Senior Journalist for the Mandurah Mail, Australian Community Media, and Fairfax Media.
Senior Journalist for the Mandurah Mail, Australian Community Media, and Fairfax Media.
