The School of Volunteer Management (part of Volunteering NSW) offers
training to Diploma level around Australia by external studies and some
direct teaching. We have a limited number of scholarships available at the
moment for people currently employed as managers / coordinators of
volunteers. Please contact Lynne Richards on lrichards@... if you
would like further information.
Joy Barrett

----- Original Message -----
From: "wendy walters" <pvrc@...>
To: <ozvpm@yahoogroups.com>
Sent: Friday, July 05, 2002 4:52 PM
Subject: Re: [OzVPM] It's a BIG country!


> Having only been in the Volunteering industry for a short time (10 months
as
> Manager of Peel Volunteer Resource Centre)
> I have been busy learning all I can is the shortest amount of time
possible,
> and one of the things that I have come to realize is the real need for
> training in the area of Volunteer Management for Program Coordinators.  If
> this had not been apparent before I completed the Cert IV Coordination of
> Volunteers at Volunteer WA, it certainly would have been afterwards.
> I am keen to be able to offer this course to our Coordinators here in the
> Peel Region WA, we are talking to Vol WA at present regarding this
> possibility.
> As you have stated, a number of our Coordinators of these programs have
this
> title and role "tacked" on to thier existing job, with little or no
training
> involved.
> We are certainly trying to change the way this important position is
viewed
> and to make training available and affordable.
>
> Regards
> Wendy
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "andy_fryar" <andy@...>
> To: <ozvpm@yahoogroups.com>
> Sent: Thursday, July 04, 2002 1:03 PM
> Subject: [OzVPM] It's a BIG country!
>
>
> > One of the reasons I believe this newsgroup will be so valuable is
> > that it will really enable us to link into and strengthen the
> > similarities we all have  ...but I hope it will also help us to get
> > our heads around just how different volunteerism is in the different
> > parts of our country.
> >
> > For example, Rosemary Sage (who is on this list) and I were talking
> > to a person from the Gold Coast VRC recently and were told that in
> > the whole of the Gold Coast area (popn ???,000) there were only
> > around four (yes that's right 4!) individuals employed full time
> > soley as Volunteer Program Managers! It was explained that this
> > function is usually played by others in the organisation (usually as
> > an added on task to their existing jobs) and was a legacy of the Joh
> > years
> >
> > I was reminded of this today when I started to read a paper from a
> > 2000 conference about volunteers in health in NSW which said ...and I
> > quote...
> > "In 1997 the local area Health Service in the Northern Beaches of
> > Sydney took the unprecedented step of employing a volunteer
> > coordinator. This was the first position of its kind in NSW health
> > services. Volunteer services had always been coordinated by hospital
> > administrations, however the coordination was generally an additional
> > and secondary task to the primary human resource management
> > responsibilities"
> >
> > That was only 5 years ago!!!  Coming from a state (SA) which has a
> > really strong and established Volunteer Management structure, these
> > examples blow me away as I automatically assume the rest of the
> > country operates the same way.
> >
> > Does anyone on this list know if these cited examples are accurate?
> >
> > Do others make the same assumptions as I do / did about just how
> > developed Volunteer Program management is around Australia?
> >
> > Maybe we should be talking about just how developed (or
> > undeveloped) the role of a VPM is in your part of the country!
> >
> > Cheers
> >
> > Andy Fryar
> > OzVPM Moderator
> >
> >
> >
> > To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to:
> > ozvpm-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com
> >
> >
> >
> > Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to
http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
> >
> >
>
>
>
> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to:
> ozvpm-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com
>
>
>
> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
>
>

Having only been in the Volunteering industry for a short time (10 months as
Manager of Peel Volunteer Resource Centre)
I have been busy learning all I can is the shortest amount of time possible,
and one of the things that I have come to realize is the real need for
training in the area of Volunteer Management for Program Coordinators.  If
this had not been apparent before I completed the Cert IV Coordination of
Volunteers at Volunteer WA, it certainly would have been afterwards.
I am keen to be able to offer this course to our Coordinators here in the
Peel Region WA, we are talking to Vol WA at present regarding this
possibility.
As you have stated, a number of our Coordinators of these programs have this
title and role "tacked" on to thier existing job, with little or no training
involved.
We are certainly trying to change the way this important position is viewed
and to make training available and affordable.

Regards
Wendy

----- Original Message -----
From: "andy_fryar" <andy@...>
To: <ozvpm@yahoogroups.com>
Sent: Thursday, July 04, 2002 1:03 PM
Subject: [OzVPM] It's a BIG country!


> One of the reasons I believe this newsgroup will be so valuable is
> that it will really enable us to link into and strengthen the
> similarities we all have  ...but I hope it will also help us to get
> our heads around just how different volunteerism is in the different
> parts of our country.
>
> For example, Rosemary Sage (who is on this list) and I were talking
> to a person from the Gold Coast VRC recently and were told that in
> the whole of the Gold Coast area (popn ???,000) there were only
> around four (yes that's right 4!) individuals employed full time
> soley as Volunteer Program Managers! It was explained that this
> function is usually played by others in the organisation (usually as
> an added on task to their existing jobs) and was a legacy of the Joh
> years
>
> I was reminded of this today when I started to read a paper from a
> 2000 conference about volunteers in health in NSW which said ...and I
> quote...
> "In 1997 the local area Health Service in the Northern Beaches of
> Sydney took the unprecedented step of employing a volunteer
> coordinator. This was the first position of its kind in NSW health
> services. Volunteer services had always been coordinated by hospital
> administrations, however the coordination was generally an additional
> and secondary task to the primary human resource management
> responsibilities"
>
> That was only 5 years ago!!!  Coming from a state (SA) which has a
> really strong and established Volunteer Management structure, these
> examples blow me away as I automatically assume the rest of the
> country operates the same way.
>
> Does anyone on this list know if these cited examples are accurate?
>
> Do others make the same assumptions as I do / did about just how
> developed Volunteer Program management is around Australia?
>
> Maybe we should be talking about just how developed (or
> undeveloped) the role of a VPM is in your part of the country!
>
> Cheers
>
> Andy Fryar
> OzVPM Moderator
>
>
>
> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to:
> ozvpm-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com
>
>
>
> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
>
>

My grateful thanks to Ted [and so many others for first class contribution to
the
issue {and my paper!}]. Ted I think captures the dilemma in technicolour -
individuals stepping forward must be prepared to exercise due diligence and
really
take on responsibility - there is no getting away from this absolute truth.
My arguement is that this is precisely the problem, the smart ones know the
implications and are going to ground. While Ted is right that structures protect
the
individuals the careful ARE cagey of getting any exposure [- ergo - hard to fill
spots on Boards etc with capable people].
In regard to whether the issues apply to paid and volunteer leaders, they are
indeed
intertwined and consequences cascade throughout the organisation. To be
creative/forward looking as a paid person under an incompetent volunteer Board
is as
bad a situation as for volunteer leaders cautious because they don't want to be
there, or don't really know what they are doing.
Great to hear from ozvpm folks and look forward to contributing on "your" issue.
Regards, Conrad

Ted Flack wrote:

> I hope you wont take the following comments as critical, but rather
> complementary to your comments:
> 1.      The ABS statistics on the incidence of volunteering in Australia show
an
> increase in levels of volunteering generally and changes in demographics. I
> would be interested in seeing the evidence for "the scary
> predictions".  Since when is government responsible for civil society
> anyway - perhaps the more the government regulates and intervenes - the
> less the levels of trust (and hence levels of spontaneous civic engagement)
> in our society.  Perhaps government has an important role to play in
> providing a legal and regulatory environment that encourages volunteering
> but should not involve itself any further.
>
> 2.      Yes, our research does show that the traditional voluntary leadership
> roles in nonprofits are more difficult to fill for fear of the personal
> liability issue, but that simply means that the Sector is going to have to
> induct, inform, educate, train and skill its volunteer leaders so that they
> can work through the issues and deal with their fears.
> All public life is more complex than it was - volunteer leadership is no
> different. The idea that the only qualification for leadership roles of
> immensely valuable and complex organisations is enthusiasm - is surely
> outdated, dangerous and not likely to assist in the pursuit of the mission
> of these organisations.
>
> 3.      It is worth remembering that personal liability of volunteer leaders
> must almost always be the consequence of some level of negligence, or
> failure to take due care or to act in good faith. Are we as a society,
> really keen to provide safe haven for those who are negligent, careless and
> who operate in bad faith? (I know that there are plenty of examples of
> outrageous Court decisions in which people have been awarded huge
> compensation pay-outs for what most of us would consider to be unreasonable
> claims - but that suggests tort or common law reform - not absolving people
> from their responsibility to act with due diligence.) In the National
> Safety Case, the Court found that two of the volunteer leaders could
> reasonably have been expected to have taken more care, given their
> occupations, education and level of previous business experience, whilst
> others on that same Board were absolved of blame on the basis that they
> could not reasonably have known better.
>
> 4.      If volunteer leaders take all reasonable measures to manage risk, act
in
> good faith and in accordance with their constitutions and act only as a
> part of a Committee or Board, the "corporate shield" provided by their form
> of legal incorporation is almost impenetrable.
>
> Cheers
> Ted
>
> Ted Flack
> Business Manager
> Centre of Philanthropy and Nonprofit Studies
> Faculty of Business  QUT
> GPO Box 2434
> Brisbane QLD 4001
> Phone:  07 38644313
> Fax:      07 38641812
> Email:   t.flack@...
> WWW:  http://cpns.bus.qut.edu.au
>
> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to:
> ozvpm-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com
>
>
>
> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/

In the latest edition of Volunteer Management Review, Sarah Elliston
write's an interesting article about the use of the term volunteer in
the USA - and particularly how, in her opinion, she believes other
terms such as 'national service', 'community service' and the like are
now becoming more user friendly options to attract volunteers than the
term 'volunteer' itself. The full article is available at
http://charitychannel.com/resources/detailed/1075.html

What is interesting is that at the end of the article she writes the
following about the Canadian volunteer scene and makes some
interesting comparisons to peak volunteering bodies in the US;

" Isn't it interesting that in Canada they have no such foibles about
the word? Their national organization is called Volunteer Canada. In
the US, we have two organizations doing the work that in Canada only
requires one. We have the Corporation for National Service and the
Points of Light Foundation. Neither organization mentions the word
Volunteer in it's title but their work is all about sponsoring
volunteer programs and inducing communities to get involved"

The Australasian scene is gladly rich in it's liberal use of the term
volunteer - from national bodies like Volunteering Australia and
Volunteering New Zealand, to state peaks, all of which include the 'V'
word (eg Volunteering SA, Volunteering WA etc etc) to our local
regional Volunteer resource centes.

I for one am glad we have such a strong emphasis on the term. Whatever
you call it - it is still volunteering at the end of the day - so why
try and disguise it as something it ain't?

What do others think?

As someone who works in a regional area of NSW I would have to say there are
very few "dedicated position" Volunteer Program Managers. Organisations such as
Meals on Wheels and Community Transport etc have Coordinators but these people
still have to do most of the administration work as well as manage the
volunteers. In my role of resourcing and supporting the sector I am happy to say
that most organisations now have written job descriptions for their volunteers
and have included volunteers in their Policies and Procedures. When I started in
the job four years ago these components were the exception rather than the rule.

I was a member of the NSW Premier's State Advisory Committee for IYV and
hopefully a legacy of that is there will be a raised awareness of the need for
VPM, I guess we will have to sit back and wait to see if it does happen. The IYV
legacy Action Plan is due to be released soon. I will post a copy of it to OzVPM
as soon as it is officially released.

There are many positive things happening in the sector in NSW and I have
certainly seen lots of changes in the last four years but I guess there is still
plenty of room for more growth!

Cheers

Kerrie Spinks
Volunteering Central West
Ph 6332 4861
Fax 6332 1244
kerrie@...


[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

One of the reasons I believe this newsgroup will be so valuable is
that it will really enable us to link into and strengthen the
similarities we all have  ...but I hope it will also help us to get
our heads around just how different volunteerism is in the different
parts of our country.

For example, Rosemary Sage (who is on this list) and I were talking
to a person from the Gold Coast VRC recently and were told that in
the whole of the Gold Coast area (popn ???,000) there were only
around four (yes that's right 4!) individuals employed full time
soley as Volunteer Program Managers! It was explained that this
function is usually played by others in the organisation (usually as
an added on task to their existing jobs) and was a legacy of the Joh
years

I was reminded of this today when I started to read a paper from a
2000 conference about volunteers in health in NSW which said ...and I
quote...
"In 1997 the local area Health Service in the Northern Beaches of
Sydney took the unprecedented step of employing a volunteer
coordinator. This was the first position of its kind in NSW health
services. Volunteer services had always been coordinated by hospital
administrations, however the coordination was generally an additional
and secondary task to the primary human resource management
responsibilities"

That was only 5 years ago!!!  Coming from a state (SA) which has a
really strong and established Volunteer Management structure, these
examples blow me away as I automatically assume the rest of the
country operates the same way.

Does anyone on this list know if these cited examples are accurate?

Do others make the same assumptions as I do / did about just how
developed Volunteer Program management is around Australia?

Maybe we should be talking about just how developed (or
undeveloped) the role of a VPM is in your part of the country!

Cheers

Andy Fryar
OzVPM Moderator

Hi Justin

In light of some of the horror stories we have been hearing lately I
believe this needs to be highlighted in whatever way possible.

I am not sure, but I do believe that this is a part of the reason the
child protection review is being conducted anyway (ie. to raise the
profile of this type of training requirement)

Cheers

Andy Fryar

Hi
As a NFP  service deliverer I have noticed subtle changes over time about the
relationship between gov and nfp's. Our sector lobbied and encouraged government
to support unemployed people to volunteer. Now that the government has seized
the opportunities we suggested and made changes to social policy that direct
people into volunteering in vast numbers we are experiencing the results of
accountability and reporting or "strings attached" that we don't like.
My organisation feels very much a puppet or a branch of government now that we
are asked to mirror government processes in checking on or reporting/ dobbing in
volunteers.  Some government funding has the potential  of changing the whole
direction of the organisation. It is therefore up to managers and boards to
determine what the relationship with gov should be and if they see a change in
direction or disagree with the reporting they should question accepting the
money. Sometimes this is a difficult decision to make as commercially the
organisation wants/ needs the money but morally the disagree with or question
it.
I agree with Ted's sentiments and hope that we can create more distance between
nfp's and gov. I cannot see any change in the future.

Ted Flack wrote:

> Hi All,
> I'm with you Andy - what is needed is a balance between competency and
> value based decision making.
> The problem as I see it is that the boundaries between nonprofit
> organisations, government and for-profit organisations have been becoming
> more blurred as nonprofit organisations become "agencies" delivering
> services on "contract" that were traditionally the responsibility of
> government,  and as nonprofits have been forced to become more
> entrepreneurial as they are squeezed for resources.
>
> There is a well documented trend in which the philosophies and processes in
> nonprofits have come to mirror the values and processes of the government
> agencies that fund them. The requirements for accountability in the public
> sector tend to be much more rigorous than in the private nonprofit sector
> or in the for-profit sector eg administrative justice, rights based review
> of decisions, program evaluation, industrial relations practice, EEO,
> workplace health and safety, detailed accountability for public monies etc.
>
> Similarly those nonprofits, who have become more "commercial" in their
> approach, have become much more like the business community - with
> "risk-takers" demanding more rigorous business planning, risk management,
> market research, brand management, etc (all of the technologies of
> for-profit good governance)  providing the information needed by the risk
> takers to assess their risks.
>
> Neither of these paradigms fit naturally into a nonprofit organisational
> environment and many nonprofit board members feel uncomfortable about the
> demands placed on them at either extreme.
>
> If nonprofits accept government money, then they must recognise that the $$
> come with strings attached. If nonprofit organisations want to become more
> commercial and independent, then they are likely to need to take on the
> processes designed for the business world.
>
> Well what is to be done?
> 1.      Perhaps the nonprofit sector can negotiate with government a deal
> that better recognises the unique characteristics of the nonprofit sector
> but given the public accountability demanded of the funder - it may be a
> loosing battle.  (See the UK Government's Community Compact and the New
> Zealand Government's recent discussion paper.)
> 2.      Perhaps the nonprofit sector should "decouple" and give lip service
> only to these trends ("passing fads?") and continue to hang on to its
> values (which ones?) and hope that things get back to where they used to be.
> 3.      Perhaps the nonprofit sector should train and induct its people in
> ways that allow them to pick the best bits from these processes and move
> from "victims" of them to "smart users" of them, whilst hanging on to the
> best aspects of their nonprofitness?
>
> Cheers
> Ted
>
> At 01:29 AM 3/07/2002 +0000, you wrote:
> >Hi all
> >
> >Wow! What a quality of posts and topics we have already and we are
> >only up to message 17!!!
> >
> >I just wanted to make an associated comment / observation about Board
> >membership in not-for-profits that I have been noticing of late.
> >
> >What I seem to be seeing and hearing more is that many nfp's are
> >suddenly wanting to 'expand' their Board membership from the
> >traditional core of interested people (most of who already had an
> >association with the organisation), to a much broader cross section
> >of the community.
> >
> >So suddenly, many Board of NFP's are filled with bank managers,
> >lawyers, business people, accountants etc etc, rather than their
> >traditional supporter base.
> >
> >I see that this certainly has some advantages in that organisations
> >become better equiped to deal with the new increasing regime of
> >accountability so often associated with new and increasing funding
> >loads, but it does leave me with a few questions / concerns;
> >
> >1. Do NFP's risk losing the core philosophical foundation on which
> >they were established and becoming a 'business' operation (and is
> >this a bad thing?)
> >
> >2. Is the increasing focus on governance what is actually, supposedly
> >driving the more 'traditional' group away from Board involvement? If
> >so is there a better way to 'sell' the benefits of being on a NFP
> >board?
> >
> >3. How do we better create a Board environment where everyone is
> >educated to the same level (so for some Board members they would need
> >education about governance responsibilities, but others would need
> >education about how community groups work)
> >
> >I know I've made a few big assumptions in this, but I have observed
> >or heard of several boards recently that seem to have lost the
> >traditional core of Board members to the corporate high
> >fliers ...often to the detriment of the organisation
> >
> >Any thoughts?
> >
> >Andy Fryar
> >
> >
> >To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to:
> >ozvpm-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com
> >
> >
> >
> >Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
>
> Ted Flack
> Business Manager
> Centre of Philanthropy and Nonprofit Studies
> Faculty of Business  QUT
> GPO Box 2434
> Brisbane QLD 4001
> Phone:  07 38644313
> Fax:      07 38641812
> Email:   t.flack@...
> WWW:  http://cpns.bus.qut.edu.au
>
> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to:
> ozvpm-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com
>
>
>
> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/

Welcome OzVPMers!

It doesn't surprise me at all that there have been 17 posts to this brand new
listserv, since I suspected that Andy Fryar was right in his assumption that
Australia was READY for this communication mechanism!  Andy kindly extended the
invitation to me to join as an American colleague and I'm delighted to be with
you in cyberspace.  Bravo, Andy! And congratulations to you all.

FYI, last week on Energize's homepage, we announced OzVPM to our site visitors
<http://www.energizeinc.com>, so you may be seeing postings from anywhere in the
world over time.

Conrad Powell's question, "Is there a crisis in volunteering?," is exactly the
sort of provocative debate a list such as this one can foster.  There have
already been several excellent replies.  I'll just add this perspective:

One of the marvelous things about volunteering is that it is a strategy for
getting things done, regardless of which "side" of any issue one believes. 
That's why all political parties involve volunteers, why the pro-a-cause AND the
anti-a-cause organizers are all volunteers, and why both conservatives and
revolutionaries count on volunteer support.  If government is divesting itself
of responsibility for social issues, keep in mind that somewhere there are
volunteers who support that position!  It's easy to view volunteering as liberal
or as human services oriented.  Sometimes it's not!  For those who believe that
it's necessary to recommit to social responsibility, it may be time to deploy
volunteer activists to lobby government, as well as to do hands-on service.

One person's "crisis" is another's opportunity!  Will things change?  Most
definitely.  Is it harder to attract competent volunteers to fill long-standing
assignments?  Yes.  But does this mean that people are not as "good" as they
once were, or that we need to re-examine our expectations and volunteer
management systems?

I look forward to lurking (and occasionally de-lurking) on your discussions for
a long time to come.  Tomorrow is Independence Day in the USA - what better time
to salute your emergence as a force in the international volunteer world?  (And
remember, no one paid those colonists to start the Revolution!)

Every good wish -

Susan


==============================

Susan J. Ellis
President
Energize, Inc.
5450 Wissahickon Avenue, Box C-13
Philadelphia, PA  19144
voice:  215-438-8342
fax:  215-438-0434
e-mail:  susan@...
Web site:  <http://www.energizeinc.com>

**************************************
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Hi

i'm a workplace assessor and also a trainer with the Country Fire
Service (which also involves training cadets (11-16 yr olds). Should
this information be made more aware to other trainers like myself? Or
is this something which i should be bringing up at a state level?

Justin Woolford
Ceduna CFS Brigade


--- In ozvpm@y..., "Peter Heyworth" <pheywor@r...> wrote:
> Very helpful information, since I am aware of a number of
volunteering involving organisations where volunteers work with
children and they are not treated as mandatory reporters.
> Peter Heyworth
>
> >>> "andy_fryar" <andy@e...> 07/02/02 04:33pm >>>
> Hi again everyone,
>
> The following has been supplied to me by our staff development unit
> and relates specifically to the act. It is my understanding that
this
> is South Australian legislation - but I'd be interested to hear
what
> the situation is in other parts of Australia
>
> The paragraph after the title "A pharmacist" is the one which
clearly
> tells us that many volunteers do in fact have a mandated
> responsibility for reporting suspected abuse  ...at least here in SA
> -----------
> LEGISLATION
>
> Under section 11(1) & (2) of the Childrenˇ|s Protection Act 1993,
the
> following persons are obliged by law to notify Family and Youth
> Services if they suspect on reasonable grounds that a child/young
> person has been abused or neglected and the suspicion is formed in
> the course of the personˇ|s work (whether paid or voluntary) or in
> carrying out official duties
>
> *h A medical practitioner
> *h A registered or enrolled nurse
> *h A dentist
> *h A psychologist
> *h A member of the police force
> *h A probation officer
> *h A social worker
> *h A teacher in any educational institution (including a
kindergarten)
> *h An approved family day care provider
> *h A pharmacist
>
> Any other person who is an employee of, or volunteer in, a
government
> department, agency or instrumentality, or a local government or non
> government agency, that provides health, welfare, education,
> childcare or residential services wholly or partly for
children/young
> people, being a person who
>
> *h Is engaged in the actual delivery of those services to
> children/young people; or
> *h Holds a management position in the relevant organisation the
duties
> of which include direct responsibility for, or direct supervision,
of
> the provision of those services to children/young people.
>
> The above people are referred to as mandated notifiers
>
> Cheers
>
> Andy Fryar
> Group Moderator
>
>
> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to:
> ozvpm-unsubscribe@y...
>
>
>
> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to
http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/

Hi all,
I don't know what the answers are to the dilemmas associated with Community
Boards of management however would like to reflect on the organisation  that
I work with.
The organisation I work with is a non profit community based organisation,
that  is government funded. There is certainly high expectations of
community boards of management to fulfil the expectations of accountability,
legal responsibilities, Occ Health and safety , be aware of various
legislations etc..it can be a very daunting task, this organisations
constitution reflects a philosophy that is consumer driven and has a mixture
of service providers/professionals. We have little trouble recruiting
consumers on to the Board of management but increasing difficulty in
attracting service providers!
The consumers give generously of their time, their heart is willing and they
are very keen to support the organisation, however I can understand the
drive to have skilled professional people on Boards of management as the
demands on this individuals can be exceedingly stressful, particularly once
they realise what the extent of their responsibilities are.  I believe that
these volunteers need large amounts of support and indeed training, that can
be accessed prior to the decision made to nominate for a position on the
board is made. This may assist with maintaining consistency through out the
year.
perhaps a pre - board training for those interested in having involvement on
a community Board of management?
Regards
Kerri
----- Original Message -----
From: "Ted Flack" <t.flack@...>
To: <ozvpm@yahoogroups.com>
Sent: Tuesday, July 02, 2002 10:47 PM
Subject: Re: [OzVPM] Re: Is there a crisis in volunteering?


> Hi All,
> I'm with you Andy - what is needed is a balance between competency and
> value based decision making.
> The problem as I see it is that the boundaries between nonprofit
> organisations, government and for-profit organisations have been becoming
> more blurred as nonprofit organisations become "agencies" delivering
> services on "contract" that were traditionally the responsibility of
> government,  and as nonprofits have been forced to become more
> entrepreneurial as they are squeezed for resources.
>
> There is a well documented trend in which the philosophies and processes
in
> nonprofits have come to mirror the values and processes of the government
> agencies that fund them. The requirements for accountability in the public
> sector tend to be much more rigorous than in the private nonprofit sector
> or in the for-profit sector eg administrative justice, rights based review
> of decisions, program evaluation, industrial relations practice, EEO,
> workplace health and safety, detailed accountability for public monies
etc.
>
> Similarly those nonprofits, who have become more "commercial" in their
> approach, have become much more like the business community - with
> "risk-takers" demanding more rigorous business planning, risk management,
> market research, brand management, etc (all of the technologies of
> for-profit good governance)  providing the information needed by the risk
> takers to assess their risks.
>
> Neither of these paradigms fit naturally into a nonprofit organisational
> environment and many nonprofit board members feel uncomfortable about the
> demands placed on them at either extreme.
>
> If nonprofits accept government money, then they must recognise that the
$$
> come with strings attached. If nonprofit organisations want to become more
> commercial and independent, then they are likely to need to take on the
> processes designed for the business world.
>
> Well what is to be done?
> 1.      Perhaps the nonprofit sector can negotiate with government a deal
> that better recognises the unique characteristics of the nonprofit sector
> but given the public accountability demanded of the funder - it may be a
> loosing battle.  (See the UK Government's Community Compact and the New
> Zealand Government's recent discussion paper.)
> 2.      Perhaps the nonprofit sector should "decouple" and give lip
service
> only to these trends ("passing fads?") and continue to hang on to its
> values (which ones?) and hope that things get back to where they used to
be.
> 3.      Perhaps the nonprofit sector should train and induct its people in
> ways that allow them to pick the best bits from these processes and move
> from "victims" of them to "smart users" of them, whilst hanging on to the
> best aspects of their nonprofitness?
>
> Cheers
> Ted
>
> At 01:29 AM 3/07/2002 +0000, you wrote:
> >Hi all
> >
> >Wow! What a quality of posts and topics we have already and we are
> >only up to message 17!!!
> >
> >I just wanted to make an associated comment / observation about Board
> >membership in not-for-profits that I have been noticing of late.
> >
> >What I seem to be seeing and hearing more is that many nfp's are
> >suddenly wanting to 'expand' their Board membership from the
> >traditional core of interested people (most of who already had an
> >association with the organisation), to a much broader cross section
> >of the community.
> >
> >So suddenly, many Board of NFP's are filled with bank managers,
> >lawyers, business people, accountants etc etc, rather than their
> >traditional supporter base.
> >
> >I see that this certainly has some advantages in that organisations
> >become better equiped to deal with the new increasing regime of
> >accountability so often associated with new and increasing funding
> >loads, but it does leave me with a few questions / concerns;
> >
> >1. Do NFP's risk losing the core philosophical foundation on which
> >they were established and becoming a 'business' operation (and is
> >this a bad thing?)
> >
> >2. Is the increasing focus on governance what is actually, supposedly
> >driving the more 'traditional' group away from Board involvement? If
> >so is there a better way to 'sell' the benefits of being on a NFP
> >board?
> >
> >3. How do we better create a Board environment where everyone is
> >educated to the same level (so for some Board members they would need
> >education about governance responsibilities, but others would need
> >education about how community groups work)
> >
> >I know I've made a few big assumptions in this, but I have observed
> >or heard of several boards recently that seem to have lost the
> >traditional core of Board members to the corporate high
> >fliers ...often to the detriment of the organisation
> >
> >Any thoughts?
> >
> >Andy Fryar
> >
> >
> >To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to:
> >ozvpm-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com
> >
> >
> >
> >Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
>
> Ted Flack
> Business Manager
> Centre of Philanthropy and Nonprofit Studies
> Faculty of Business  QUT
> GPO Box 2434
> Brisbane QLD 4001
> Phone:  07 38644313
> Fax:      07 38641812
> Email:   t.flack@...
> WWW:  http://cpns.bus.qut.edu.au
>
>
> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to:
> ozvpm-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com
>
>
>
> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
>
>
>

Hi All,
I'm with you Andy - what is needed is a balance between competency and
value based decision making.
The problem as I see it is that the boundaries between nonprofit
organisations, government and for-profit organisations have been becoming
more blurred as nonprofit organisations become "agencies" delivering
services on "contract" that were traditionally the responsibility of
government,  and as nonprofits have been forced to become more
entrepreneurial as they are squeezed for resources.

There is a well documented trend in which the philosophies and processes in
nonprofits have come to mirror the values and processes of the government
agencies that fund them. The requirements for accountability in the public
sector tend to be much more rigorous than in the private nonprofit sector
or in the for-profit sector eg administrative justice, rights based review
of decisions, program evaluation, industrial relations practice, EEO,
workplace health and safety, detailed accountability for public monies etc.

Similarly those nonprofits, who have become more "commercial" in their
approach, have become much more like the business community - with
"risk-takers" demanding more rigorous business planning, risk management,
market research, brand management, etc (all of the technologies of
for-profit good governance)  providing the information needed by the risk
takers to assess their risks.

Neither of these paradigms fit naturally into a nonprofit organisational
environment and many nonprofit board members feel uncomfortable about the
demands placed on them at either extreme.

If nonprofits accept government money, then they must recognise that the $$
come with strings attached. If nonprofit organisations want to become more
commercial and independent, then they are likely to need to take on the
processes designed for the business world.

Well what is to be done?
1.      Perhaps the nonprofit sector can negotiate with government a deal
that better recognises the unique characteristics of the nonprofit sector
but given the public accountability demanded of the funder - it may be a
loosing battle.  (See the UK Government's Community Compact and the New
Zealand Government's recent discussion paper.)
2.      Perhaps the nonprofit sector should "decouple" and give lip service
only to these trends ("passing fads?") and continue to hang on to its
values (which ones?) and hope that things get back to where they used to be.
3.      Perhaps the nonprofit sector should train and induct its people in
ways that allow them to pick the best bits from these processes and move
from "victims" of them to "smart users" of them, whilst hanging on to the
best aspects of their nonprofitness?

Cheers
Ted

At 01:29 AM 3/07/2002 +0000, you wrote:
>Hi all
>
>Wow! What a quality of posts and topics we have already and we are
>only up to message 17!!!
>
>I just wanted to make an associated comment / observation about Board
>membership in not-for-profits that I have been noticing of late.
>
>What I seem to be seeing and hearing more is that many nfp's are
>suddenly wanting to 'expand' their Board membership from the
>traditional core of interested people (most of who already had an
>association with the organisation), to a much broader cross section
>of the community.
>
>So suddenly, many Board of NFP's are filled with bank managers,
>lawyers, business people, accountants etc etc, rather than their
>traditional supporter base.
>
>I see that this certainly has some advantages in that organisations
>become better equiped to deal with the new increasing regime of
>accountability so often associated with new and increasing funding
>loads, but it does leave me with a few questions / concerns;
>
>1. Do NFP's risk losing the core philosophical foundation on which
>they were established and becoming a 'business' operation (and is
>this a bad thing?)
>
>2. Is the increasing focus on governance what is actually, supposedly
>driving the more 'traditional' group away from Board involvement? If
>so is there a better way to 'sell' the benefits of being on a NFP
>board?
>
>3. How do we better create a Board environment where everyone is
>educated to the same level (so for some Board members they would need
>education about governance responsibilities, but others would need
>education about how community groups work)
>
>I know I've made a few big assumptions in this, but I have observed
>or heard of several boards recently that seem to have lost the
>traditional core of Board members to the corporate high
>fliers ...often to the detriment of the organisation
>
>Any thoughts?
>
>Andy Fryar
>
>
>To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to:
>ozvpm-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com
>
>
>
>Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/

Ted Flack
Business Manager
Centre of Philanthropy and Nonprofit Studies
Faculty of Business  QUT
GPO Box 2434
Brisbane QLD 4001
Phone:  07 38644313
Fax:      07 38641812
Email:   t.flack@...
WWW:  http://cpns.bus.qut.edu.au

Hi all

Wow! What a quality of posts and topics we have already and we are
only up to message 17!!!

I just wanted to make an associated comment / observation about Board
membership in not-for-profits that I have been noticing of late.

What I seem to be seeing and hearing more is that many nfp's are
suddenly wanting to 'expand' their Board membership from the
traditional core of interested people (most of who already had an
association with the organisation), to a much broader cross section
of the community.

So suddenly, many Board of NFP's are filled with bank managers,
lawyers, business people, accountants etc etc, rather than their
traditional supporter base.

I see that this certainly has some advantages in that organisations
become better equiped to deal with the new increasing regime of
accountability so often associated with new and increasing funding
loads, but it does leave me with a few questions / concerns;

1. Do NFP's risk losing the core philosophical foundation on which
they were established and becoming a 'business' operation (and is
this a bad thing?)

2. Is the increasing focus on governance what is actually, supposedly
driving the more 'traditional' group away from Board involvement? If
so is there a better way to 'sell' the benefits of being on a NFP
board?

3. How do we better create a Board environment where everyone is
educated to the same level (so for some Board members they would need
education about governance responsibilities, but others would need
education about how community groups work)

I know I've made a few big assumptions in this, but I have observed
or heard of several boards recently that seem to have lost the
traditional core of Board members to the corporate high
fliers ...often to the detriment of the organisation

Any thoughts?

Andy Fryar

Attention Peter Heyworth

Our Program runs a Mobile Creche Service using solely volunteers in the
Salisbury and Playford Council Areas.  As part of their orientation they are
given training on their moral obligation to report any suspected
abuse/neglect, although not the full mandated notifiers training, we support
the volunteer with the process of reporting the situation and any debriefing
and follow up.  We find that the volunteers respond very well to this
training, expecially if they know that their given this support.

Vicki Giacomin
Creche Co-ordinator
Northern Parent Resource Program
Telephone: 8250 6555

I hope you wont take the following comments as critical, but rather
complementary to your comments:
1. The ABS statistics on the incidence of volunteering in Australia show an
increase in levels of volunteering generally and changes in demographics. I
would be interested in seeing the evidence for "the scary
predictions".  Since when is government responsible for civil society
anyway - perhaps the more the government regulates and intervenes - the
less the levels of trust (and hence levels of spontaneous civic engagement)
in our society.  Perhaps government has an important role to play in
providing a legal and regulatory environment that encourages volunteering
but should not involve itself any further.

2. Yes, our research does show that the traditional voluntary leadership
roles in nonprofits are more difficult to fill for fear of the personal
liability issue, but that simply means that the Sector is going to have to
induct, inform, educate, train and skill its volunteer leaders so that they
can work through the issues and deal with their fears.
All public life is more complex than it was - volunteer leadership is no
different. The idea that the only qualification for leadership roles of
immensely valuable and complex organisations is enthusiasm - is surely
outdated, dangerous and not likely to assist in the pursuit of the mission
of these organisations.

3. It is worth remembering that personal liability of volunteer leaders
must almost always be the consequence of some level of negligence, or
failure to take due care or to act in good faith. Are we as a society,
really keen to provide safe haven for those who are negligent, careless and
who operate in bad faith? (I know that there are plenty of examples of
outrageous Court decisions in which people have been awarded huge
compensation pay-outs for what most of us would consider to be unreasonable
claims - but that suggests tort or common law reform - not absolving people
from their responsibility to act with due diligence.) In the National
Safety Case, the Court found that two of the volunteer leaders could
reasonably have been expected to have taken more care, given their
occupations, education and level of previous business experience, whilst
others on that same Board were absolved of blame on the basis that they
could not reasonably have known better.

4. If volunteer leaders take all reasonable measures to manage risk, act in
good faith and in accordance with their constitutions and act only as a
part of a Committee or Board, the "corporate shield" provided by their form
of legal incorporation is almost impenetrable.

Cheers
Ted

Ted Flack
Business Manager
Centre of Philanthropy and Nonprofit Studies
Faculty of Business  QUT
GPO Box 2434
Brisbane QLD 4001
Phone:  07 38644313
Fax:      07 38641812
Email:   t.flack@...
WWW:  http://cpns.bus.qut.edu.au

Hello Conrad

I am not sure if the "Administrative Loads on Volunteer Leaders" refers only to
Volunteer Volunteer Leaders in this context or whether it refers to paid
Volunteer Leaders. In my region (amongst others) many people are tentative about
joining Boards or MCs as they are concerned by the legal implications (not just
insurance). Volunteer Boards and MCs are in effect running small to medium size
businesses, if the people of the 'governing body' don't have some degree of
financial/business skills they can feel very intimidated. Adding to the problem
for ALL in the sector is the state and federal government expectation that more
will be done with less. This increases the concern for Board and MC members as
the grants provided often do not include sufficient funds to employ staff with
highly developed business/financial skills to run the organisation on a day to
day basis!

Hope these comments are relevant to the paper...

Good Luck

Kerrie Spinks
Volunteering Central West
Ph 6332 4861
Fax 6332 1244
kerrie@...


[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

I'm doing a paper for a national conference in August and the theme is
"Administrative Loads on Volunteer Leaders".My request  to your readers
is to stomp on the following draft dot point arguements or reinforce
them - please. This is very early stages. Thanks for your cruel or kind
input - both welcome.

   1. There is growing evidence that this valuable institution of
      civilisation is under threat - recent increased Government interest
      in Volunteering is an indicator that high level research has
      revealed a problem in continuity. While Govts are getting out of
      community support stuff they are interested in the only avenue for
      delegation and they are getting scary predictions.
   2. The problem is not noticable at grass roots delivery level yet -
      Vols continue to join, train and deliver because the structures are
      still in place.
   3. Behind the scenes we are seeing a pattern of leadership withdrawal,
      with fewer available for Boards, Management Committees or line
      management. Reasons?
   4. Departing relief is communicated by outgoing leaders which does not
      encourage future leaders, especially if they feel they have been
      head hunted into someone's escape hatch.
   5. Life is becoming so very BUSY for everyone capable of  leadership.
   6. We are seeing passenger leaders, nice to have the title, little
      inclination to real contribution - volunteering may very well be
      filling it's vital spots with vacancies!
   7. There are real complexities - OHS, Insurance, Accountability,
      Compliance in a host of areas.
   8. Legal exposure and personal asset risk [Australia has already seen
      a volunteer Board Chairman bankrupted through a $100M+- judgement
      against him {National Safety Council}].
   9. In SA we have draft legislation to protect volunteers from legal
      exposure but in fact all it does is shift liability exposure one
      level up to management, which in nearly every case translates to
      another set of volunteers.
  10. The current Insurance crisis and Government response to it, may
      indicate a way out for the Vol leadership issue. Many oganisations
      are finding Govt willing to fund the gap in drastically increased
      insurance rates. We need Govt to similarly "umbrella cover" Vol
      leaders [with all the conditions Red Tape will demand -some
      reasonable like rational decisions, honesty, accountability etc],
      The aim is simply to remove the barriers from good people stepping
      forward into leadership as they have done in generations past when
      the role was less risky.
  11. Appreciate your thoughts. Only started on it tonight when I got
      lumbered with the job.
  12. Regards.


[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

Very helpful information, since I am aware of a number of volunteering involving
organisations where volunteers work with children and they are not treated as
mandatory reporters.
Peter Heyworth

>>> "andy_fryar" <andy@...> 07/02/02 04:33pm >>>
Hi again everyone,

The following has been supplied to me by our staff development unit
and relates specifically to the act. It is my understanding that this
is South Australian legislation - but I'd be interested to hear what
the situation is in other parts of Australia

The paragraph after the title "A pharmacist" is the one which clearly
tells us that many volunteers do in fact have a mandated
responsibility for reporting suspected abuse  ...at least here in SA
-----------
LEGISLATION

Under section 11(1) & (2) of the Childrenˇ|s Protection Act 1993, the
following persons are obliged by law to notify Family and Youth
Services if they suspect on reasonable grounds that a child/young
person has been abused or neglected and the suspicion is formed in
the course of the personˇ|s work (whether paid or voluntary) or in
carrying out official duties

*h A medical practitioner
*h A registered or enrolled nurse
*h A dentist
*h A psychologist
*h A member of the police force
*h A probation officer
*h A social worker
*h A teacher in any educational institution (including a kindergarten)
*h An approved family day care provider
*h A pharmacist

Any other person who is an employee of, or volunteer in, a government
department, agency or instrumentality, or a local government or non
government agency, that provides health, welfare, education,
childcare or residential services wholly or partly for children/young
people, being a person who

*h Is engaged in the actual delivery of those services to
children/young people; or
*h Holds a management position in the relevant organisation the duties
of which include direct responsibility for, or direct supervision, of
the provision of those services to children/young people.

The above people are referred to as mandated notifiers

Cheers

Andy Fryar
Group Moderator


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Thanks Andy
I'll keep that in mind with my submission
Cheers Rose


andy_fryar wrote:

> Hi Rosemary
>
> Our organisation / volunteers have been mentioned as a part of the
> overall Lyell McEwin Health Service submission. This submission
> basically states that our volunteer Playroom screens volunteers using
> Police Record Checks and also mentions that we make
> available 'mandated notification' training to our volunteer team via
> the hospital's staff development unit.
>
> Hope that helps
>
> Andy Fryar
> Executive Officer - LMHS Regional Volunteers
> OzVPM Group Moderator
>
> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to:
> ozvpm-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com
>
>
>
> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/

Hi All

As a long term member (and moderator) of cyberVPM it is great to see an Aus
version of this happening.

Just to introduce myself briefly (to those here who don't know me!!) I manage a
volunteer resource centre in Bathurst NSW and work across an 80,000 square
kilometre region resourcing and supporting organisations relying on volunteers!

The issue I had to deal with today was a phone call from a government department
state wide volunteer coordinator asking about the jurisdiction of Work Cover
over volunteers. To the best of my knowledge, in NSW, only some of the emergency
services such as SES and Bush Fire Brigade are included in Work Cover via
special legislation. The rest of the volunteers are covered by Volunteer
Personal Accident Insurance. There are a few people doing some research on this
but has anyone else come across this issue?

Cheers

Kerrie Spinks
Volunteering Central West
Ph 6332 4861
Fax 6332 1244
kerrie@...


[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

Hi again everyone,

The following has been supplied to me by our staff development unit
and relates specifically to the act. It is my understanding that this
is South Australian legislation - but I'd be interested to hear what
the situation is in other parts of Australia

The paragraph after the title "A pharmacist" is the one which clearly
tells us that many volunteers do in fact have a mandated
responsibility for reporting suspected abuse  ...at least here in SA
-----------
LEGISLATION

Under section 11(1) & (2) of the Childrenˇ¦s Protection Act 1993, the
following persons are obliged by law to notify Family and Youth
Services if they suspect on reasonable grounds that a child/young
person has been abused or neglected and the suspicion is formed in
the course of the personˇ¦s work (whether paid or voluntary) or in
carrying out official duties

„h A medical practitioner
„h A registered or enrolled nurse
„h A dentist
„h A psychologist
„h A member of the police force
„h A probation officer
„h A social worker
„h A teacher in any educational institution (including a kindergarten)
„h An approved family day care provider
„h A pharmacist

Any other person who is an employee of, or volunteer in, a government
department, agency or instrumentality, or a local government or non
government agency, that provides health, welfare, education,
childcare or residential services wholly or partly for children/young
people, being a person who

„h Is engaged in the actual delivery of those services to
children/young people; or
„h Holds a management position in the relevant organisation the duties
of which include direct responsibility for, or direct supervision, of
the provision of those services to children/young people.

The above people are referred to as mandated notifiers

Cheers

Andy Fryar
Group Moderator

Dear Peter,

I am not sure what the legislation states in South Australia re mandatory
reporting but I do know that in certain States professionals - school
teachers, nurses, doctors etc are mandated to report suspected cases of
child abuse and as such were/are required to undergo 'extensive' training in
this area. Unless mandated generally speaking the onus is on organisations
to decide what their responsibility is in relation to the protection of
minors and others at risk and this may inlcude the screening via police
checks of staff including volunteers who may be in contact with those who
are vulnerable to abuse. Particularly working one on one or in an
unsupervised capacity. 'Duty of care' would come into this as well whether
or not it was 'mandated'I would imagine that in most cases the onus of
volunteers to report suspected abuse would be to their supervisor who would
then follow what ever policy was in place in their organisation.
Unfortunately police checks are quite expensive and this is a deterrant to
making them a compulsory screening process for staff etc. I do firmly
believe volunters should have an understanding of 'duty of care' and their
responsibility in this area.

Cheers Michelle

-----Original Message-----
From: Peter Heyworth [mailto:pheywor@...]
Sent: Tuesday, July 02, 2002 3:37 PM
To: ozvpm@yahoogroups.com
Subject: [OzVPM] Re: Child Protection Review


  What responsibilties do the volunteers have regarding mandatory notifcation
in your organisation?  My understanding it is not a legal requirement for
volunteers to be mandated notifiers. But it would be interesting to explore
if people believe there is a moral obligation on volunteers. In which case
they would need to be given skills in this area.
I would also be interested in hearing  from mobile creche operators who
utilise only  volunteers and from FACS volunteers working with eg supervised
access situations. What training do you require of your volunteers?
Regards Peter Heyworth

>>> "andy_fryar" <andy@...> 07/02/02 03:17pm >>>
Hi Rosemary

Our organisation / volunteers have been mentioned as a part of the
overall Lyell McEwin Health Service submission. This submission
basically states that our volunteer Playroom screens volunteers using
Police Record Checks and also mentions that we make
available 'mandated notification' training to our volunteer team via
the hospital's staff development unit.

Hope that helps

Andy Fryar
Executive Officer - LMHS Regional Volunteers
OzVPM Group Moderator


To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to:
ozvpm-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com



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What responsibilties do the volunteers have regarding mandatory notifcation in
your organisation?  My understanding it is not a legal requirement for
volunteers to be mandated notifiers. But it would be interesting to explore if
people believe there is a moral obligation on volunteers. In which case they
would need to be given skills in this area.
I would also be interested in hearing  from mobile creche operators who utilise
only  volunteers and from FACS volunteers working with eg supervised access
situations. What training do you require of your volunteers?
Regards Peter Heyworth

>>> "andy_fryar" <andy@...> 07/02/02 03:17pm >>>
Hi Rosemary

Our organisation / volunteers have been mentioned as a part of the
overall Lyell McEwin Health Service submission. This submission
basically states that our volunteer Playroom screens volunteers using
Police Record Checks and also mentions that we make
available 'mandated notification' training to our volunteer team via
the hospital's staff development unit.

Hope that helps

Andy Fryar
Executive Officer - LMHS Regional Volunteers
OzVPM Group Moderator


To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to:
ozvpm-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com



Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/

Hi Rosemary

Our organisation / volunteers have been mentioned as a part of the
overall Lyell McEwin Health Service submission. This submission
basically states that our volunteer Playroom screens volunteers using
Police Record Checks and also mentions that we make
available 'mandated notification' training to our volunteer team via
the hospital's staff development unit.

Hope that helps

Andy Fryar
Executive Officer - LMHS Regional Volunteers
OzVPM Group Moderator

Hi
Volunteering SA is putting a submission to the SA Child Protection
Review, due in on July 12th.
Has anyone put a submission to the child protection review that includes
volunteers and or police checks.
Cheers
Rosemary Sage
Volunteering SA

Thanks Ted and everyone who has posted already - let me please
encourage you all to send a brief introductory message to the group
so we know who is hiding there.

Twenty members in a little over 24 hours is a great start!!!

Allow me to encourage you all to tell your colleagues about this
forum - and for those of you who produce newsletters or host
websites, please make a mention of the group there also

For those interested, I've posted a newsletter insert / article on
the group's homepage (http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ozvpm) under
the 'files' section of the page. Please feel free to use it
extensively

Cheers

Andy Fryar
Group Moderator

Dear All
Just to introduce myself and the Centre fo Philanthropy and
Nonprofit Studies at Queensland University of Technology. (CPNS)

My name is Ted Flack and I am the Business Development Manager for
the Centre.

The Centre has several researchers interested in volunteering and has
conducted a number of consultancies and research projects on
volunteering.

Please visit our web site at http://cpns.bus.qut.edu.au

I will post bits and pieces of news as they occur.

Cheers
Ted

Hello to everyone who reads this message.

We are a centre that helps volunteers in the widespread area of South
Gippsland.  We are situated at 14 McCartin St Leongatha so if you are
in the area please call in and speak to Tanya or Colleen about what
we have to offer.

Or alternatly if you wish to volunteer in the area and cannot get in
to see us give me a call at the centre on 5662 9399 or contact me by
post at P.O.Box 399 Leongatha Vic and I will contact you.

We run a range of programs including rights and responsibilities of
Volunteers as well as just being here to give volunteers any
information they would like to ask about.

There are many positions available at the current time and to find
out more you can go to the Australian Volunteer Website or ask your
local jobnetwork member.

Hello everyone out there.

I excitedly watch the membership slowly build and look forward to the
opportunity of discussing our sector and challenging and debating
some of our practices as well as share information about what is
happening out there, where the great articles are, what conferences
are happening, what challenges people are facing ....the list is
endless really.  What a great opportunity!

Thanks once again our pioneering little friend (Andy Fryar).  If
there is something new and creative happening Andy is often either
the convenor or he is not too far away for the action.  Recently at a
number of Volunteer Manager networks I have attended ..there has been
talk about getting something like this up and running.  While we are
all sitting around talking about it and pondering the idea Andy is
already out there making it happen.........:0)

Good luck with it. I hope that we all take responsibility for making
sure that this concept is a success by being bold enough to
contribute and share our vast range of knowledge and experience.  Now
we have an opportunity to seek some local peer support, develop our
local networks and find some answers to those questions we may have.

I will look out for you .......... hope to see you soon

Rosie Williams.......Manager Volunteer Programs...Lyell McEwin
Regional Volunteer Association Adelaide South Australia

Welcome to OzVPM!

Many of you would be familiar with other volunteer management
newsgroups - CyberVPM probably being the best known of these.

While the content of other newsgroups continues to play a crucial role
in helping us all in our professional development, there are often
frustrations in having some of these larger groups with such a heavy
US / north American membership.

Issues such as insurance are often framed in terms of how they operate
in the US, and while interesting, I have felt for some time that there
has been a need for an added forum to talk about these issues as they
apply in the Australasian context - hence the creation of OzVPM.

In this respect I follow the lead of my friend and colleague Rob
Jackson, from the UK, who started UKVPM's in 1999 for these very same
reasons.

Having said that, I trust that some of our international colleagues
will also 'lurk' on this group, learn from us and share their own
insights from time to time.

So enjoy, learn, ask questions and participate ...and remember that
the OzVPM newsgroup will only ever be as dynamic and strong as you are
willing to make it

Cheers

Andy Fryar
Group Convenor