Volunteering Victoria held its 2016 AGM on Monday 17 October.

The event, held at NAB Arena, was well attended by a large number of Volunteering Victoria members and supporters.

Following the Welcome and Acknowledgement to Country, CEO Sue Noble spoke on this year’s theme ‘The Power of Association’ before welcoming speakers Robin Dick and Dr Michael Moran for a panel presentation and Q&A on the topic Telling it Like it is! An exposѐ on the impact and value of volunteering.

Robin Dick, Business Development and Stakeholder Engagement Manager with Travellers Aid Australia spoke on the primary, secondary and tertiary impact of volunteers.

• Emphasising the role of storytelling, Robin began by telling members about his experiences working on volunteer-driven community renewal projects in Scotland.
• He underscored the role of committed and passionate managers of volunteers in supporting volunteers who identify ‘spaces of opportunity’ in their communities.
• He also discussed the value chain of volunteering where an individual’s experience as volunteer or client is shared with families and friends and in turn goes on to strengthen the community as a whole.

Dr Michael Moran Lecturer in Social Impact, from The Centre for Social Impact, Swinburne University presented the preliminary findings from the ‘Giving Australia Report’, an aspect of which is exploring how to measure the long-term social impact of volunteering. Michael noted that in Australia, volunteering contributes more value than philanthropy, yet governments still do not recognise its true social value.

Following the business of the AGM, many attendees chose to stay to participate in afternoon workshops contributing their knowledge and ideas to inform VV’s 2017-2018 budget submission facilitated by Monica Ferrie.

This session was framed by a quote from Jo Biden: ‘Don’t tell me what you value, show me your budget. And I’ll tell you what you value’.

Participants workshopped three priority areas: Leadership and Stewardship of Volunteering, Sector Collaboration, and Value and Positioning of Volunteering