Issue 9, November 2009

The Centre's Networking Events for Volunteer Managers

Understanding the National Standards for Involving Volunteers in Not-For-Profit Organisations
Tuesday, 17 November 2009, 2pm–4pm
Level 2, 228 Pitt St, Sydney

This networking session will introduce participants to the National Standards for Involving Volunteers in Not-For-Profit Organisations. The National Standards represent Volunteering Australia's benchmark for "best practice" in the management of volunteers. Participants will be able to make an informed decision regarding the implementation of the National Standards within their own organisations. The topics covered are:

• The importance and intent of the National Standards
• Developing an implementation plan
• Key issues and critical success factors to implementation
• Minimising obstacles to implementation

Numbers are limited and booking is essential. Email Odessa O'Brien to RSVP

Social Networking and Volunteering: Surfing the wave and not getting dumped!
Tuesday, 8 December 2009, 2pm–4pm
Level 2, 228 Pitt St, Sydney

Social networking or Web 2.0 services like FaceBook, Myspace and You Tube are sweeping the world like nothing before it. In just 1000 days there are new one billion subscribers world wide. This makes this phenomenon hard to ignore for businesses and increasingly, volunteer organisations. However there are reefs in the water for the overly naive or optimistic. We talk about the great opportunities to catch a nice wave, without diving into the sandbar.

This networking event will be delivered by www.VolunteerTeam.org.au , a new Australian Secure Social networking system. The presenter Dave Abrahams aka Digital Dave is ABC local radio technology commentator and offers a new insight into this paradigm changing technology service.

Numbers are limited and booking is essential. Email Odessa O'Brien to RSVP

Mark your diary for The Centre's next Volunteering Conference
Thursday, 13 May 2010
Sydney, CBD

Following the success of The Centre's Ignite Conference in September, all who attended have asked for more conferences and one-day workshops from The Centre. We have listened and are already planning out next one day conference for NPFs and Schools. An event for corporations will soon follow. More info to follow in coming months.

More Events for Volunteer Managers and NFPs

FAIR and The Centre for Volunteering's Youth Volunteering Symposium
Wednesday, 18 November 2009, 9am–3:30pm
Parramatta Town Hall (Civic Place Parramatta)

Hold an information stall at the Forum on Australia's Islamic Relations' inaugural 2009 National Youth Volunteering Symposium, a unique opportunity for your organisation to showcase its work within the community and inspire an audience of enthusiastic young people living around Western Sydney to get involved. There will be inspirational speakers, workshops by different service providers and a free resource guide to volunteering.

JB Reid Nonprofit Governance Colloquium FREE
Monday, 30 November 2009
Univ. of New South Wales, CBD campus, Level 6, 1 O'Connell Street, Sydney
RSVP by: 16 November 2009 (dyb@qut.edu.au or 07 3138 1020)

The Developing Your Board project at the Australian Centre for Philanthropy and Nonprofit Studies aims to help nonprofit board and management committee members to understand their governance obligations and improve their governance practices. Their annual nonprofit governance event is free and is a great opportunity for nonprofit board members and managers to come together, share knowledge and experience, and benefit from some very good workshops on offer.  They event will be co-hosted by the Centre for Social Impact. View brochure

12th IAVE Asia Pacific Regional Volunteer Conference
Thursday–Sunday, 26–29 November 2009
Kaohsiung, Taiwan

The international volunteer conference aims to gather volunteers of Asia Pacific region to exchange the new trends of volunteerism and experience the diverse volunteering services in Taiwan. MORE

Volunteering Australia's 2010 National Conference on Volunteering
27–29 October 2010
Sebel Albert Park, Victoria

Save the date for the 2010 National Conference on Volunteering. Sign up to The Voice of Volunteering and VA's e-newsletter Involve for conference news.

The Centre for Volunteering's Board Communique – November 2009
Joy Woodhouse, Chair
The Board of The Centre for Volunteering met on 24 September 2009. At the meeting the Board was pleased to endorse The Centre's new draft constitution that will go to members for ratification at the Annual General Meeting on Wednesday, 28 October 2009. Expert staff of Freehills law firm have provided The Centre with very generous support on a pro-bono basis to re-draft the original Articles of Association created in 1982. MORE

Tax and Legalities Training for NFPs
Confused about GST for not-for-profits and fundraising tax obligations and associated legal issues? The Centre has had interest expressed on running a workshop on the topic with the ATO and it's legal issues trainer. In order to determine if others are interested, if you are interested in attending such a workshop please email Lynne Dalton, CEO, with the subject line "Tax and Legalities for NFPs". The cost would be about $40 for half day and $70 for a full day. Emailing Lynne would be an expression if interest only – not a commitment at this stage. Email Lynne Dalton

Christmas Day Volunteers
Christmas does seem to bring out "good will" among the community and for better or worse everyone wants to volunteer on Christmas Day helping to bring cheer to homeless and those disadvantaged amongst us. With this in mind they seek the assistance of our Volunteer Referral Service. We have the unenviable task of advising them that at this time of year supply greatly outweighs demand and that we are unable to assist them, other than to encourage them to volunteer during the year.

If any not-for-profit organisations do require help at this time of year, please contact the Volunteer Referral Service and or email Odessa or Avril to register your Christmas Day Volunteer roles – as we have many volunteers ready willing and able to assist you.

Demystifying student volunteering
Have you involved school students as volunteers in your organisations in the past year? Are you a teacher in charge of running a student volunteering program in your school? Are you keen to discuss your experiences in order to help maximise the benefits of student volunteering for all involved? Towards the end of November 2009 The Centre will begin conducting interviews with representatives of organisations, teachers and students in the context of its student volunteering evaluation project. You will be asked to share your comments, views and stories relating to student volunteering. MORE

The Centre for Volunteering's Research Report
Read Research and Development Manager Tony Frew's report on The Centre's latest volunteering research projects:

• Reimbursement & Valuation of Volunteers
• Supply and Demand of Volunteers
• Governance of NFP Boards in NSW

Last Speak Up! Speak Out! 1 Course for 2009
The last very popular public speaking course for 2009, Speak Up! Speak Out! 1, will be held on Wednesday, 25 November. For more information and to enrol visit the SVM website. MORE

Low cost training for Diplomas of Business and Management. Limited places, don't miss out – save up to 50%
The School has been allocated a limited number of places in the NSW Productivity Places Program (PPP), which is part of the Australian Government's Skilling for the Future Initiative. It means a boost of 175,000 funded qualifications for existing workers in NSW up to 2012 across industry priority areas, such as community services and health. MORE

SVM Now Offers the Certificate IV in Training and Assessment (TAA)
The School is please to be able to offer the TAA in a range of flexible options, including the full qualification, the upgrade, and the very popular previously titled "Train Small Groups", all by Distance Learning, which includes tutor support and in some cases e-learning and virtual classrooms. All options are available at very competitive prices. MORE

"Mille Grazie" to our Italian Interns
We said farewell to our Italian interns, Francesca and Paolo, on the 1 October after ten weeks with The Centre. During their intern program (through the Australian Catholic University (ACU) and the Universita Cattolica del Saro Cuore in Milan) they found time to travel (as far as Cairns!). Their easy going manner helped developed many friendships, while their determination in a foreign country, produced quality work-based outcomes. MORE

Survey for nature volunteers
UltraFeedback is a small research company specialising in health-related research. They are currently looking at how regular contact with nature through conservation groups can be beneficial to health. UltraFeedback is looking for Friends of Parks and other conservation volunteers to complete a quick online survey. Might you be able to help? The survey will be open until early December, and they would like to hear the views of conservation volunteers from all parts of Australia. MORE

CRC Multicultural Volunteering Awards
Nominations have been extended to 13 November 2009. Nominate today

Join In, Join Up! project
Join In, Join Up is an initiative of Our Community and the Pharmacy Guild of Australia and is proudly supported by the Telstra Foundation. It will be launched in Sydney on Friday, 13 November, kicking off a nation-wide media campaign that will see a spike in interest among the general community in joining a community group. Members of the public will be able to go online and find a community group that pushes their buttons, or they can visit one of the 5,000 community pharmacies across Australia and find out more about the project. MORE

Volunteer Research Agenda Advisory Group
Read about the tasks ahead for Volunteering Australia's new Volunteer Research Agenda Advisory Group. MORE

Update: National Volunteer Week 2010
Volunteering Australia's plans are well underway for National Volunteer Week 2010, with the theme confirmed and the poster design close to finalised. MORE

Competition for young volunteers
The Australian Government has announced an annual Australian Youth Forum Challenge – a national competition for new ideas on how young people can connect with their communities. MORE

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