The Centre's Annual Report and Review 2008

The Centre for Volunteering's Annual Report and Review for the 2007–08 financial year includes:

• Message from the Chair
• Message from the CEO
• Volunteer Referral Service
• Corporate volunteering
• Membership
• School of Volunteer Management
• Communications and information
• NSW Volunteer of the Year Award
• Directors' Report for the year ended 30 June 2008
• Acknowledgements

Download and read The Centre's Annual Report and Review 2008

Message from the Chair, Joy Woodhouse

In my sixth year as a Board member of The Centre for Volunteering and third as Chair, I am pleased to report that The Centre goes from strength to strength in its programs and activities and its achievements in supporting volunteering and volunteers in NSW. The credit for our success sits squarely with our own dedicated team of volunteers and staff.

In consultation with key stakeholders, this year the Board has reviewed what The Centre does as the peak body for volunteering in NSW. Agreement has been reached that our focus is to:

• Advocate for volunteers and the voluntary sector
• Undertake research and policy development in volunteering (on own or in partnership with organisations or government)
• Promote volunteering in society
  
• Provide member services
  
• Set and implement standards in volunteering.
  

Within the context of The Centre's role as the peak body, I would like to highlight for 2007/2008 the various business units within The Centre and their achievements:

• Membership numbers reached over 550, a milestone in our history. Our members come from over 190 postcodes across NSW, showing an increase in the location of organisations and individuals with whom we partner to support volunteers and volunteering.
• Our Volunteer Referral Service (VRS) and Corporate Volunteering team launched the Employee Volunteer Programs (EVPs) Toolkit and Guide and the C3P – Creating Community Corporate Partnerships program. C3P acts as a broker to connect corporations with NFPs in beneficial EVP projects and activities. A phenomenal number of people have been assisted towards volunteering through the VRS this year, work made easier through updating the functionality of the
  VRS database.
• Research is an important part of our role as a peak body and a highlight of this year was a research project into Corporate EVPs in NSW in partnership with the Westpac Foundation. The aim of the research was to determine the critical success factors of engagement between corporate EVPs and small-to-medium not-for-profit (NFP) organisations.
• Youth Volunteering continues to be a key focus of our work and I am pleased to report that the number of students engaged in SCIP increased by more than 100% this year with the number of participating students growing from 1600 in 2006/2007 to 3476. To further strengthen youth participation levels, we have assisted the Department of Education to develop a strategy for the engagement of schools in the student volunteering program.
• The School of Volunteer Management website has been re-designed and updated, an exciting development. We have increased our focus on the Accredited Courses (certificates and diplomas) and the management and support of students undertaking those courses. A major activity in the first half of 2008 was the extensive preparation required for the VETAB re-accreditation of the School as a Registered Training Authority due in early July 2008.
• A major achievement for the Communications and Marketing team this year was the success of the inaugural 2007 NSW Volunteer of the Year Award and the launch of the 2008 NSW Volunteer of the Year Award at Government House. The amount of media coverage achieved by the Awards demonstrates that the objective of increasing awareness of volunteering is being achieved. We had one of the busiest National Volunteer Weeks in years, with The Centre for Volunteering hosting a number of events including a volunteer thank you party and an Introduction to Volunteering Seminar for 150 people at Parliament House, Sydney.

The Centre has worked to strengthen our relationship with Government and the newly formed Volunteering Unit in Department of Premier & Cabinet by working collaboratively with staff of the unit through assistance with resources and advice and by providing feedback on the issues which directly affect volunteers and volunteering in NSW.

Throughout the year we have continued our solid relationship with the Minister for Volunteering, Hon Linda Burney and The Centre is grateful for her support and promotion of the voluntary sector in NSW. The Minister's tireless effort in attending and speaking at functions throughout the State as well as hosting discussion forums for volunteer agencies has been very much appreciated by the sector.

Our Board Members have been a great support throughout the year and I thank you all sincerely. Professor Tracy Taylor resigned from the Board at the end of the year due to work commitments and substantial future overseas travel and will be missed. Tracy has agreed to continue to support the SVM and assist The Centre with her skills as required. I must particularly thank the Audit Committee made up of Treasurer Bruce Edwards and external adviser Calvert Duffy. The Committee oversees The Centre's financial, audit and risk management policies and procedures on behalf of the Board.

We were recently advised that Jessie Hollingsworth, one of the founding members of The Centre, passed away last year. Jessie was a life member and she volunteered her time to the original management committee that formed The Volunteer Bureau of NSW Actions Centre in late 1976. Reports from the archives state that Jessie "became a most valued assistant, working long hours in difficult conditions" and had "always given
loyal and generous service". She took up a secretarial role as a volunteer working closely with the then Executive Officer and was to continue her volunteer work for the next twenty years. We extend our sincere condolences to Jessie's family.

Joy Woodhouse – Chair