Good governance support for community groups continues
The Ballarat East Neighbourhood House is excited to be partnering with the Community Bank Buninyong to continue to offer governance support to local community groups in 2025 and 2026.
On Friday 21 and again on Saturday 29 November (repeat session), we will be offering two free Community Group Workshop Days.
Both workshop days will be held at Buninyong Community House, 407A Warrenheip Street, Buninyong.
Topics will be specific to community groups and include Grant Writing, Financial Management, Engaging Communications and Seeking and Keeping Volunteers. There will be the option to network with others and lunch will be provided. Scroll down for the updated scheduled (18 November 2025).
Friday 21 November: REGISTER NOW
Saturday 29 November: REGISTER NOW
Presenters
Sam Elshaug
Communications Lead, Community Bank Buninyong
Workshop: $0 Marketing Budget, No Worries
(Friday only)
Sam is a seasoned marketer with over 25 years’ experience across the health, finance and community sectors. She’s creative when it comes to doing more with less, so has plenty of fuel for community groups thinking big on a small budget (so much so, it might not fit in the 45 minutes allowed!).
With a background in communications, marketing, project management and business development, Sam will give you the inside running and some very practical ideas to action and bring your group's impact stories to life.
Pick up all the tips at '$0 Marketing Budget, No Worries'.
This Workshop will only be delivered by Sam on Friday 21 November.
Kelly Bevan
Community Partnerships Lead, Community Bank Buninyong
Workshop: Grant Writing
Workshop: Seeking and Keeping Volunteers
Kelly Bevan is the Community Partnerships Lead at Community Bank Buninyong. She brings a diverse background from extensive roles across State and Local Government and the Not-for-Profit sector. Kelly has dedicated her career to both community development and volunteer management, giving her deep, practical insight into how organisations thrive and communities connect. Her core expertise is developing effective strategies that empower teams and build sustainable, high-impact community initiatives.
Greg Jakob
Consultant and Community Group Volunteer (Ballarat Tool Library and BREAZE)
Workshop: Managing Community Group Budgets
A Chartered Accountant by background, Greg has over 30 years’ experience in business management in both the private and public sectors. This experience includes management roles in several government sectors including water resource management; economic development; local government and higher education.
He also has extensive experience in the not-for profit sector having been a Board Member and Treasurer of a variety of sporting, academic, health and child-welfare organisations.
Lou Ridsdale
Food is Free Inc.
Workshop: Here’s the Pitch – PR for Community Groups
(Saturday only)
Do you struggle with getting your story out as a not-for-profit or community group? Find it hard to pitch to your target audience for donations, volunteer recruitment, stakeholder engagement and general PR (public relations)?
As a publicist with over 30 years’ experience, Lou has also been running a successful local not-for-profit for 8 years, Food Is Free Inc. and is an expert in multiple forms of promotion from traditional PR, to online & digital comms plus, strategy.
In this ‘Here’s The Pitch’ session Lou will simplify how to get your good news stories out, how to attract the differing sectors of your audience to hear your successes and impact and how to make your organisation stand out from the crowd.
This Workshop will only be delivered by Lou on Saturday 29 November.
Workshop Day schedule
9.15 am: Doors open at Buninyong Community House (tea & coffee available)
9.30 am: Welcome & Introductions
10.00 am: Workshop #1 of 4 & facilitated discussion
11.00 am: Workshop #2 of 4 & facilitated discussion
12.00 noon: Lunch (a light lunch will be provided)
12.30 pm: Workshop #3 of 4 & facilitated discussion
1.45 pm: Break (tea & coffee available)
2.00 pm: Workshop #4 of 4 & facilitated discussion
2.55 pm: Wrap up of the Workshop Day
3.00 pm: Close
Location
The Community Group Workshop Days will be held at Buninyong Community House and registration is required. The Saturday program will be a repeat of the Friday program (with some different presenters).
About the project
Over the past four years, through a Strategic Partnership Grant from the City of Ballarat, the Ballarat East Neighbourhood House developed a series of engaging workshops to support community groups with some of the trickier elements of running an organisation. In addition to facilitated discussions, the Workshop Days will include four of the most popular topics.
Together with the Community Bank Buninyong, we will continue to support local community groups through offering Workshop Days and also by providing 1:1 support to community groups with specific issues or concerns related to governing their organisation, such as following the organisation's Rules/Constitution, conflict within a Committee, implementing the Child Safe Standards, running an Annual General Meeting (AGM), reporting to the Australian Tax Office (ATO) and more. See the Online Governance Resources page for more information.
Supporting this project, the City of Ballarat engaged the Ballarat East Neighbourhood House to continue to deliver Workshops supporting their Community Impact Grant Program for 2025-26. See below for more information.
To join our Community Group mailing list, find helpful online resources or enquire about 1:1 support, please contact us.
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This project is being delivered by |
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Support with City of Ballarat Community Impact Grants
The Ballarat East Neighbourhood House is pleased to be collaborating with the City of Ballarat to deliver workshops to support community groups interested in the 2025-26 City of Ballarat Community Impact Grants. The first grant round for 20205/26 is now closed.
Please contact us for more information about future Workshops.
| This project is being delivered by the Ballarat East Neighbourhood House during 2025/26 in partnership with: |
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