volunteering legacy action plan · 2020-01-30 · gold coast 2018 commonwealth games (gc2018™),...

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Volunteering Legacy Action Plan 2019-2021November 2019

ii Volunteering Legacy Action Plan 2019-2021

Just like physical infrastructure, the Commonwealth Games 2018 built a volunteering spirit that can grow to benefit the Gold Coast community for years to come.

Volunteering Legacy

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Contents

1.0 Overview 1

2.0 Developing the Volunteering Legacy Action Plan 3

2.1 Project vision 32.2 Project objectives 32.3 Governance 32.4 Project phases 32.5 Research undertaken 32.6 Identification of actions 3

3.0 What is Volunteering? 4

4.0 Volunteering Trends and Challenges 5

5.0 Volunteering on the Gold Coast 7

5.1 Current volunteering rates 75.2 What the community told us 85.3 What organisations told us 9

6.0 Action Plan 12

6.1 Alignment between objectives, outcomes and actions 126.2 Outcomes 136.3 Actions 16

7.0 Implementation 21

References 22

iv Volunteering Legacy Action Plan 2019-2021Natural Areas Management Unit (NAMU) volunteers

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~50,000 total

~9,500 from Gold Coast

GC2018 Volunteering Applicants:

1.0 Overview

There were approximately 15,000 volunteers involved in the Gold Coast 2018 Commonwealth Games (GC2018™), providing over 1 million volunteer hours over the 11 days of the event and many more hours in preparation.

The GC2018 Volunteering Legacy Project aims to build on this legacy of volunteering and community involvement to encourage increased levels of volunteering within the Gold Coast and Queensland communities.

The GC2018 Volunteering Legacy Project has culminated in the preparation of this Volunteering Legacy Action Plan 2019-2021 which will now be implemented over the coming two-year period.

Figure 2. Men's Shed volunteers

200

~15,000 total

~4,100 from Gold Coast

GC2018 Volunteers:

City of Gold Coast City Ambassadors:

Figure 1. Volunteer participation in GC2018

2 Volunteering Legacy Action Plan 2019-2021Natural Areas Management Unit (NAMU) volunteers

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2.0 Developing the Volunteering Legacy Action Plan

2.1 Project vision

The implementation of this Action Plan will help to build a strong, connected, engaged and inclusive Gold Coast and Queensland community through volunteering.

2.2 Project objectives

The objectives of the project are to:

» Facilitate an increase in volunteering rates amongst residents of the Gold Coast (through both reducing attrition of existing volunteers and encouraging new volunteers)

» Build capabilities of volunteers and potential volunteers on the Gold Coast

» Build capabilities of volunteer organisations on the Gold Coast

» Increase the awareness of the value of volunteers / volunteering within the Gold Coast community

» Document project methodologies and findings, and share this project documentation with others

» Identify functionality improvements for online volunteer systems and tools (where possible).

2.3 Governance

Led by the City of Gold Coast, the project has been overseen by a Project Advisory Group (PAG) to provide expertise and advice to progress the project. The PAG includes representatives from:

» Volunteering Queensland (VQ)

» Volunteering Services Australia (VSA)

» Seek

» Surf Life Saving Queensland

» TAFE Queensland

» Griffith University

» Red Cross.

The PAG met five times during 2019 to guide background research and determine priorities.

2.4 Project phases

The project has been undertaken in four phases which are shown below.

Figure 3. Project phases

2.5 Research undertaken

Extensive research has been undertaken to inform the development of the action plan in Phase 1 and 2 involving:

» A review of existing literature and volunteering trends, including a review of local, national and international resources

» Consultation with Gold Coast volunteer involving organisations (VIOs) through a series of workshops and an online survey

» Consultation with volunteers and community members through a series of stalls at events at key locations

» Analysis of volunteering data, including data on volunteering opportunities and volunteer preferences.

2.6 Identification of actions

This research informed the development of 26 actions grouped into five outcome statements which are outlined in this report.

These actions will be implemented over the next two years.

Phase 1. Literature Review

and Research

September 2018 - March 2019

Phase 2. Data Analysis and

Engagement

April 2019 - June 2019

Phase 3. Development of

Action Plan

May 2019 - September 2019

Phase 4. Implementation

November 2019 - June 2021

COMPLETED

COMPLETED

COMPLETED

4 Volunteering Legacy Action Plan 2019-2021

3.0 What is Volunteering?

Volunteering is defined by Volunteering Australia (2015) as:

Time willingly given for the common good and without financial gain.

This definition therefore includes both formal and informal volunteering. Formal volunteering takes place within organisations (including institutions and agencies) in a structured way, while informal volunteering takes place outside the context of a formal organisation (Volunteering Australia 2015).

This project is focused on:

Formal volunteering undertaken for community groups, not-for-profit community organisations and sporting groups.

Figure 4. Types of Volunteering

Volunteering

Formal Volunteering

Informal Volunteering

For-Profit Organisation

Community Groups

Sporting Groups

Non-Profit Organisation

Volunteering for an organisation

Types of organisations

Volunteering for a person or group

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4.0 Volunteering Trends and Challenges

Volunteers are preferring more flexible, ad-hoc and episodic volunteering roles.

More flexible and episodic roles may be preferred as they can fit around other commitments, including less predictable and part-time work arrangements. Ad-hoc or episodic volunteering can be utilised to encourage more sustained involvement if well planned and resourced.

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The volunteer base is ageing.

The traditional, regular volunteer is ageing, meaning that organisations need to adapt to attract younger volunteers with more flexible roles. It can be difficult for organisations to appeal to many different generations at the same time.

There is a misalignment between volunteer roles in demand and the roles offered.

Volunteers in Australia seem to want to be involved in animal welfare, arts and culture volunteering roles, while the vacancies are in disability services, youth services and health sectors.

Volunteers find increasing administration and training requirements a barrier to participation.

There is somewhat of a disconnect between volunteers valuing flexibility and self-organisation, while best-practice for volunteer management is to provide formal inductions and ongoing training. These administrative requirements were noted in some studies to be barriers to participation.

Costs associated with travel and parking continue to be a barrier to participation.

Volunteers continue to note that the time cost of travelling, as well as the cost of travel and parking, are barriers to participation in volunteering. Many organisations are unable to offer any compensation for volunteering to cover these costs.

Culture and volunteer experience are important, however the focus is often on finding new volunteers.

Organisational culture and volunteer experience are important for volunteer retention, including recognition, feeling valued, inclusivity, etc. It may be more important to focus on getting this right, than on attracting new volunteers.

Volunteer motivations vary widely but generally include altruistic and personal motivations.

There are a variety of motivations for volunteering. These vary widely by volunteer groups, type of organisation, type of activity and type of volunteer. Common motivations however fall into two groups: altruistic motivations (such as helping others) and personal motivations (such as gaining skills).

A lack of time is the biggest barrier for volunteering. Or is it?

Volunteers most often mention that a lack of time is a barrier to their involvement in volunteering (whether a lack of time due to work, study or family commitments). However, almost everyone has some time to spare throughout a 12-month period. Often it's important to delve deeper into the underlying barriers for getting involved.

6 Volunteering Legacy Action Plan 2019-2021Natural Areas Management Unit (NAMU) volunteers

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5.0 Volunteering on the Gold Coast

5.1 Current volunteering rates

According to ABS Census data, volunteering rates for the Gold Coast LGA were significantly lower than for Queensland and Australia in 2016.

Figure 5. Volunteering on the GC compared to other areas

The lower rate of volunteering on the Gold Coast was investigated further to understand if there was any demographic or socio-economic factors influencing the rate. The following population characteristics were considered:

» Age and gender of the population

» Relative advantage and disadvantage

» Personal income

» Year of migration / born in Australia

» Mobility

» Distance travelled to work.

The results of this analysis provided no evidence that demographic or socio-economic population factors were responsible for the lower rates of volunteering.

The largest gaps, in percentage point terms, between the rates of volunteering on the Gold Coast and Queensland and Australia, were for:

» Middle aged and older people (40-79 years)

» The most advantaged 10% of the population and people with higher incomes

» People born in Australia

» People who have not moved recently

» Those that travel short distances to work.

If these groups were located in other parts of Queensland or Australia, they would be volunteering at significantly higher rates than they are on the Gold Coast.

In order to increase the absolute number of volunteers and the overall volunteering rate on the Gold Coast, it may be most effective to target:

» Middle aged to older adults (35-69 years)

» Households close to the median levels of disadvantage/advantage

» People with incomes between $500 and $1,499 per week

» People born in Australia

» People who have not moved recently

» Those that travel moderate distances to work (less than 30km).

These groups have lower rates of volunteering but also large numbers of people and therefore would make the largest difference to the overall rate of volunteering on the Gold Coast.

14.9%67,700

20.4%

18.8%

18.4%

19.0%

Gold Coast LGA

Volunteers (2016):

Brisbane LGA

Qld

South East Qld

Australia

The four percentage point differential between the rate of volunteering in the Gold Coast LGA and Queensland, is equivalent to an additional 18,000 people volunteering each year, and approximately $78m per year worth of volunteered time1.

The City of Gold Coast Corporate Plan (called Gold Coast 2022) (2017) identifies a target of 30% involvement in volunteering by 2022.

1 Assuming 134 hours per year for each volunteer based on Queensland average, and an hourly rate of $32.50.


5.2 What the community told us

Members of the Gold Coast community, including existing volunteers and those currently not involved in volunteering, told us:

» A lack of time is the most significant barrier to participation in volunteering. A lack of time might be related to work, family or study commitments, but community members most often said that they lacked the time to participate as the major barrier. This suggests a perception that volunteering is time intensive, rather than something that can be undertaken sporadically, and potentially as a family activity.

» They were sometimes discouraged to participate based on their previous experiences of volunteering. For example, some community members said that they had been turned away, that the training was too long and not relevant to them, and the administration processes were too intensive. This discouraged their participation in any volunteering activity and they stopped looking for other volunteering opportunities.

» They would search online for new roles or ask an organisation they are already aware of if they were interested in volunteering. This suggests that organisations need to have information available online about their organisation and the volunteering roles available, and organisations need to promote themselves to raise their profile amongst the general population.

» They were confused about the different services available on the Gold Coast to find volunteering opportunities.

Figure 6. Albatross Nippers Program volunteer

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5.3 What organisations told us

Organisations that utilised volunteers, or were interested in utilising volunteers in the future, told us:

» They would welcome additional training. Many volunteer coordinators were interested in additional and ongoing training opportunities.

» They recognised the need to grow their networks and share knowledge. They said there was a need for networking between organisations, as well as networking between organisations and the community, and also with the business community.

» They required volunteers with general skills to undertake office duties. General roles included administration and office management, fundraising and events, and marketing, media and communications. Fewer organisations required volunteers in more specialised areas, which suggested a lack of opportunities in 'skilled' areas that are attractive to young people (looking to gain skills in their field) and older people (looking to utilise their wealth of experience).

» They had a need for additional volunteers, however mostly only during certain times of the year, certain times of the day or week, or only for particular types of roles. In addition, most organisations told us that finding suitable volunteers and attracting volunteers to particular roles and activities was a challenge.

» They mostly found and attracted volunteers through referral from existing volunteers and word of mouth. A number of organisations also utilised social media, the organisation’s own website, events and open days and appealed to family and friends of existing volunteers or members in order to attract new volunteers.

Figure 7. Volunteer involving organisations we heard from

Well established volunteering organisationsSuch as Lions, Soroptimist International, various Neighbourhood Watch branches and Veterans Support Centre Currumbin RSL.

Health organisationsSuch as Headspace, Bluecare, Drug Arm and the Benevolent Society.

Support groupsSuch as Support the Girls, Newlife Care and Commonwealth Respite Carelink Centre.

Environmental groupsSuch as Friends of Currumbin, Friends of Fleays, Gecko and Boomerang Bags.

Animal welfare groupsSuch as Bats Queensland and Wildcare Australia.

Multi-cultural groupsSuch as Multicultural Communities Council Gold Coast.

Education / youth groupsSuch as Kingston State School P&C, Currumbin Community Special School and Oxenford Coomera Community Youth Centre.

Church groupsSuch as Uniting Church, Catholic Women’s League and COH Church.

Sporting clubs and organisationsSuch as Park Run, Technix Netball Club and surf life savings clubs.


Our analysis also found:

» There were gaps in the strategic planning capacity of volunteer coordinators and/or organisations as a whole - and/or a lack of time to undertake strategic planning. It was clear that some organisations had not identified challenges, beyond the high level issues they were experiencing. They also had not explored challenges in more detail or collected evidence on which to make decisions. These are critical elements of making strategic planning decisions for organisations.

» Tailored strategies for individual organisations may be most effective at increasing overall volunteering rates across the area. Given the broad diversity of organisations operating on the Gold Coast, all with different contexts and challenges, it is unlikely that broad actions to address challenges can be successfully applied. Rather, tailored actions to suit different organisations and contexts may be most effective.

» Similar to national trends, there was evidence that there was a mismatch between volunteer opportunities available and areas of interest for volunteers on the Gold Coast. There was a high proportion of organisations involved in community services, education and training, young people, seniors and aged care, sport and disability services, and lower proportions involved in museums and heritage, animal welfare and arts and culture. There were also low proportions of organisations involved in emergency response, human rights, disaster relief, veterans’ services and migrant services.

» Similar to national trends, there was evidence of a mismatch between level of commitment desired by volunteers and organisations. More organisations offered regular volunteering roles than offered ad-hoc and episodic volunteering roles, and few offered online volunteering roles.

» There was fairly low utilisation of volunteering resources and organisations overall. This may suggest a fairly limited amount of linking social capital between individual organisations and those that can provide resources and make decisions to address challenges.

» There was fairly low levels of networking between organisations that utilise volunteers. Only around one third of volunteer coordinators told us that they regularly interact with another organisation, and most of those interacted with very similar organisations to their own (for example, other branches of their organisation). This may suggest a fairly limited amount of bonding social capital (linkages between similar organisations) and bridging social capital (linkages between different organisations).

» Some organisations actively create barriers to entry as they prioritise commitment and conformance. In responding to volunteers dropping out, some organisations required commitment from volunteers before they would provide training and resources. Requiring more solid commitments from volunteers before training is provided can increase barriers to participation in volunteering and create issues with recruiting new volunteers.

» There was a lack of awareness of the main online platforms, and some confusion around the organisations that provide services to organisations and their models of service.

11Beach clean up volunteers


6.0 Action Plan

6.1 Alignment between objectives, outcomes and actions

The three project objectives, to be achieved through the implementation of the action plan, require multi-dimensional responses in order to be achieved. For example, growing volunteering rates on the Gold Coast requires a range of actions including building capabilities of organisations so they can offer new flexible and rewarding volunteering roles, networking between organisations and the community to break down barriers, increasing awareness of opportunities that are available, reducing the barriers associated with screening and induction, and marketing volunteering as a rewarding use of time.

The six project objectives will be achieved through the five outcomes identified below. There are 26 actions identified under these five outcomes.

Facilitate an increase in volunteering rates amongst residents of the Gold Coast

Document project methodologies and findings, and share this project documentation with others

Build capabilities of volunteers and potential volunteers on the Gold Coast

Identify functionality improvements for online volunteer systems and tools (where possible)

Build capabilities of volunteer organisations on the Gold Coast

Increase the awareness of the value of volunteers / volunteering within the Gold Coast community

Objectives:

Outcomes:

Actions:

Information about volunteering is clear and easy to find

Our organisations will grow their skills and capacity in order to attract, manage and retain volunteers

Our organisations are connected with each other and our community

1 2 3Volunteer coordinators are valued and supported and volunteer management is less complex

We will grow a proactive and collective marketing capability to promote volunteering

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Figure 8. Alignment between objectives, outcomes and actions

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6.2 Outcomes

Five outcomes were identified to achieve the objectives.


There is a need to support Gold Coast volunteer involving organisations with ongoing training and skills development to identify gaps in their capacities and develop their own strategies.

Given the diversity of organisations and the different contexts in which they operate, they experience very different challenges, and a response to a challenge in one context may not suit the same challenge being experienced in a different context.

Organisations will need to develop their own strategies to respond to their own challenges and opportunities.

Organisations can be supported to develop these strategies through a series of ongoing training and skills development workshops. These workshops will assist volunteer involving organisations to grow their organisational capacity.


There are opportunities to widen and strengthen volunteering networks on the Gold Coast to offer support and skills development to volunteer coordinators.

As well as networks between volunteer coordinators, networks within organisations should be improved to share responsibilities and encourage buy-in for volunteer programs.

Networks between organisations and between organisations and businesses also need to be widened and strengthened to increase opportunities for learning and collaboration, and to share information and services.

Finally, connections with the community also need to be strengthened to reduce barriers to participation in volunteering, by making organisations more open and active in the local community.

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Complexities around volunteering infrastructure and resources needs to be resolved so that they better support and encourage volunteering, rather than acting as potential barriers.

The volunteering infrastructure and available resources to support volunteering on the Gold Coast are not widely utilised by organisations and volunteers, and may have become a somewhat confusing landscape to navigate. Confusion may be easily resolved by providing clear and simple information.

There are a wide range of useful resources available to assist volunteer coordinators with volunteer management – including the National Standards for Volunteer Involvement, example codes of conduct, insurance information, strategies for engaging target groups, etc. – but these appear to have low awareness levels and hence be underutilised. The accessibility of these resources could be improved to increase awareness and utilisation.

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Volunteer coordinators are valued and supported and volunteer management is less complex

Volunteer coordination is a difficult role, and the majority of coordinators are volunteers themselves.

Some of the difficulties of volunteer management are due to tensions between:

» Informality and flexibility desired by volunteers, in tension with trends toward professionalisation of volunteers and conformance

» Unresolved misalignments between the goals of volunteers and the goals of an organisation

» Volunteers viewed as a ‘free resource’, in tension with the time investment to manage volunteers and the increasing costs for participation fior volunteers:

Operating in this environment requires training, and it requires support.Volunteer coordinators could be supported through increased training and professional memberships.

Simplifying complexities in volunteer management would also support volunteer coordinators, for example, around insurance and training for volunteers.


Volunteering competes with many other uses of our time, and there is a perception that volunteering is outdated, that it is for older people and that it has to be done in a certain way.

In order to persuade new volunteers to be involved, the sector needs to work together and coordinate their message and activities. The sector needs to reposition volunteering as being inclusive, rewarding and compatible with a busy lifestyle.

Not just promotion, marketing also relates to getting the 'product' right. Volunteering roles need to be reimagined and repositioned to align with trends in volunteer involvement, including offering flexibility, and should outline the value the role offers to a volunteer.

Volunteers also look to organisations they already know, so organisations need to ensure a general awareness within the community of their services in order to attract new volunteers.

These marketing efforts need to be undertaken collectively as there is not one organisation that can change the image of volunteering by itself.

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15Garden volunteers


6.3 Actions


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What we need to do How we plan to do it By when Who will lead delivery

1.1 Deliver a series of capability and capacity building training workshops for organisations.

Develop and run a series of training workshops throughout the year for organisations that utilise volunteers (including for volunteer coordinators, organisation leaders and others).

The workshops will cover a range of topics including volunteer management, effective leadership, succession planning, etc.

The workshops will provide opportunities for formal and informal networking as part of the session.

Short term (<1 year) and then ongoing

City of Gold Coast to lead, with workshops delivered by others

1.2 Deliver a program of strategic planning workshops for organisations.

Develop and run a series of strategic planning workshops for organisations that utilise volunteers (including volunteer coordinators, organisation leaders and others).

The workshops will utilise tools and templates to help organisations set goals, identify problems, gather evidence, prioritise actions, and evaluate progress.

Participants will work through the tools and templates on their own with support provided by a facilitator.

Medium term (1-2 years)

City of Gold Coast to lead, with workshops delivered by others

1.3 Investigate whether workshop content can be delivered online to increase reach.

Investigate whether training workshop content (as developed for Action 1.1 and Action 1.2) could be delivered online to allow volunteer coordinators, organisation leaders and others to attend.

This may include sharing video of the sessions, or delivery of training materials through an online learning management system.


TAFE Universities VQ

1.4 Support local volunteer involving organisations to increase their sustainability.

Investigate opportunities for City of Gold Coast's Community Grants Program to support activities that improve the long term sustainability of organisations.

Facilitate mentoring opportunities between established organisations and those that require support.


City of Gold Coast

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2.1 Establish a Gold Coast Volunteering Network (GCVN) to connect organisations.

Consider the feasibility of establishing a GCVN with regular meetings and broad membership.

The GCVN would provide a forum to collaborate, discuss issues, share information and learn from each other, as well as leading, coordinating and managing other actions (for example, Action 2.3, Action 2.6, etc.).


City of Gold Coast

2.2 Incorporate networking activities in all training workshops to encourage network building between organisations.

All training workshops (Action 1.1) should include formal and structured networking activities as well as informal activities to encourage connections.

Incorporated in Action 1.1 above

Incorporated in Action 1.1 above

2.3 Investigate establishment of a formal or informal online network of volunteer coordinators to connect organisations.

Investigate the feasibility of establishing an online group through a forum, blog or social media platform for volunteer coordinators to share information and increase collaboration.


GCVN

2.4 Continue to attend community events and student days to promote volunteering.

Continue to attend community events such as the Gold Coast Show, multicultural events, and student market days to promote volunteering and the opportunities available.


City of Gold Coast

2.5 Investigate and promote opportunities for corporate and tertiary education sector involvement in the volunteering sector.

Audit businesses currently interested in corporate volunteering or providing free or discounted services or mentoring.

Share information about the opportunities for university students to undertake internships and placements with organisations to build volunteering capacity.


GCVN



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3.1 Deliver regular information sessions about volunteering opportunities for community members.

Deliver regular sessions for people who may be interested in volunteering and would like to learn more about how they can get involved.

Promote these sessions through the GCVN in order to increase awareness.

Ongoing VSA / VQ

3.2 Develop a youth volunteering initiative.

Encourage organisations to identify youth friendly volunteering opportunities and list them on online platforms.

Promote volunteering opportunities for young people through schools and youth organisations.

Develop a resource to assist organisations to engage young volunteers.


GCVN City of Gold Coast

3.3 Outline and communicate the differences between the key online platforms for volunteer positions.

Provide information on each of the main websites and / or develop a fact sheet for volunteers and organisations to outline the differences.

For volunteers, fact sheets should outline the different services available and how to access them, and outline the differences between the volunteer position listings for each website.

For organisations, fact sheets should outline where a position advertised on the service will be shown and a step-by-step process for adding a position.

Short term (<1 year)

VQ VSA Seek

3.4 Develop a resource kit for organisations to make already available resources easier to find and more accessible.

Develop an online resource that compiles together evaluated resources into a simple kit that is accessible for organisations.

The resource kit will compile existing content into a more accessible and comprehensive format, providing high quality resources in a single location.

The resource kit should provide different levels of detail for different organisations utilising quick tips and simple one-page summaries for those organisations with limited time and resources.


VQ GCVN City of Gold Coast

3.5 Review and update the City's volunteering webpage.

Review the City of Gold Coast volunteering website so that it directs users to the main online platforms for opportunities and key information sources.


City of Gold Coast

3.6 Investigate whether volunteering information can target new residents.

Investigate whether there are existing channels for volunteering information to be provided to new residents at a time when they may be open to being involved.


City of Gold Coast

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Volunteer coordinators are valued and supported and volunteer management is less complex

4


4.1 Work to recognise the value and skills of volunteer coordinators.

Promote courses available at VQ and TAFE.

Promote conferences related to volunteer management, community development, etc.

Promote the membership of professional associations for volunteer coordinators.

The courses, conferences and professional memberships will provide support, relevant information and training opportunities to volunteer coordinators, and encourage networking.


TAFE VSA VQ

4.2 Publicly recognise volunteer coordinators that provide exemplary services to the community.

Organise and hold events that recognise and support volunteer coordinators as well as recognise the efforts of volunteers in the community.


GCVN VSA

4.3 Advocate for simplified insurance approach for volunteers.

Engage with the Federal and / or State government to advocate for a national or state-based volunteer personal injury insurance similar to WorkCover, or an personal insurance that can move with a volunteer to multiple organisations, to reduce complexities and streamline volunteer inductions.

Ongoing PAG

4.4 Advocate for changes to Private Health Federal legislation to remove ambiguity around the eligibility for all volunteers to be covered for non-Medicare medical expenses.

Engage with the Federal Government to advocate for changes to federal legislation (Part 4 Section 15 of the Private Health Insurance (Health Insurance Business) Rules 2018), so that all volunteers can be covered for non-Medicare medical expenses and reduce the complexities involved in insurance cover.

Ongoing PAG

4.5 Advocate for increased investment in volunteering to the State Government.

Engage with the State Government to increase investment in volunteering, and opportunities to undertake research.

Ongoing PAG



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5.1 Share relevant findings of new research with organisations.

Include sharing the findings of new volunteering research as a purpose of the GCVN (see Action 2.1) and / or online network (see Action 2.3).


GCVN

Seek

5.2 Develop a shared / coordinated approach to marketing volunteering on the Gold Coast.

Develop a shared approach to marketing including the utilisation of a common language, messaging, branding and imagery to promote volunteering that can be used across the volunteering sector.

The shared / coordinated marketing approach should also include the sharing of information between organisations in the lead up to key volunteering events so that activities can be coordinated and consistent messages can be delivered.


GCVN

5.3 Share positive stories across the sector and Gold Coast about volunteers and volunteer coordinators.

Develop content that can be shared through multiple media channels to promote positive volunteering examples, including through City of Gold Coast publications.


GCVN City of Gold Coast

5.4 Investigate the feasibility of a volunteering expo event to promote volunteering opportunities.

Investigate the options and feasibility of an event to break down the barriers between organisations and potential volunteers. The event may be an expo or ‘volunteering sampler’.

As well as providing an expo of volunteering opportunities, the event may include inspirational guest speakers and provide opportunities for networking between organisations.


City of Gold Coast, supported by GGCVN

5.5 Investigate opportunities to establish a Volunteering Ambassadors program to champion volunteering.

Investigate whether a Volunteering Ambassadors program could be utilised to inspire volunteering participation, raise awareness of the value of volunteering, and feature in campaigns to develop, grow and maximise the potential of volunteering.


City of Gold Coast

5.6 Investigate models for pool of major event volunteers.

Investigate models to create a collective pool of screened and trained volunteers for major events on the Gold Coast.


City of Gold Coast

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7.0 ImplementationThe PAG will continue to meet throughout 2020 in order to implement the actions identified. A summary of the implementation timeframes and lead organisations is provided below.

1Short Term

Medium Term

2

3

4

5

1.1 Deliver a series of training workshops. City of Gold Coast

1.2 Deliver a series of strategic planning workshops. City of Gold Coast

1.3 Investigate online delivery of workshop material. TAFE, Universities, VQ

1.4 Support local organisations to increase their sustainability. City of Gold Coast

2.1 Investigate creation of GC Volunteering Network (GCVN). City of Gold Coast

2.2 Incorporate networking activities into all training. See Action 1.1

2.3 Investigate creation of online networks. GCVN

2.4 Continue attendance at community events. City of Gold Coast

2.5 Investigate and promote corporate and tertiary education involvement.

GCVN

3.1 Deliver regular volunteering information sessions. Ongoing VSA / VQ

3.2 Develop a youth volunteering initiative.

3.3 Communicate the differences between online platforms. VQ, VSA, Seek

3.4 Develop resource kit for organisations. VQ, GCVN, City of Gold Coast

3.5 Review and update the City's volunteering webpage. City of Gold Coast

3.6 Investigate delivery of content to new residents. City of Gold Coast

4.1 Recognise the value and skills of volunteer coordinators. TAFE, VSA, VQ

4.2 Organise events to recognise volunteers and coordinators. GCVN, VSA

4.3 Advocate for simplified insurance approach for volunteers. Ongoing PAG

4.4 Advocate for changes to Private Health Federal legislation. Ongoing PAG

4.5 Advocate for increased investment in volunteering. Ongoing PAG

5.1 Share new volunteering research findings. GCVN, Seek

5.2 Coordinate approach to marketing volunteering. GCVN

5.3 Share positive stories across the sector. GCVN, City of Gold Coast

5.4 Investigate a volunteering expo. City of Gold Coast, supported by GCVN

5.5 Investigate Volunteering Ambassadors program. City of Gold Coast

5.6 Investigate models for pool of major event volunteers. City of Gold Coast


References

Volunteering Australia (2015) Volunteering Australia Project: The Review of the Definition of Volunteering, accessed 21 February 2019, https://www.volunteeringaustralia.org/wp-content/uploads/Definition-of-Volunteering-27-July-20151.pdf

Volunteering Queensland (2017) Types of Volunteering, accessed 14 March 2019, https://volunteeringqld.org.au/volunteers/types-of-volunteering

City of Gold Coast (2017) Gold Coast 2022, accessed 6 February 2019, http://www.goldcoast.qld.gov.au/documents/bf/cogc-corporate-plan-gc-2022.pdf

Figure 9. Gold Coast volunteers

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cityofgoldcoast.com.au/volunteering

volunteering legacy action plan · 2020-01-30 · gold coast 2018 commonwealth games (gc2018™),...

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