Community Group Governance

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Free Training for Community Groups in Ballarat

The Community Governance Project funded by the City of Ballarat is working to provide support to community groups in the City of Ballarat, delivered across the four Neighbourhood Houses in Ballarat through a Strategic Partnership.

2024 Workshops

REGISTER NOW for one or more of the seven FREE Workshops for Community Groups in Term 2, 2024 

Check out our Community Group Governance Past Workshops.

TERM 2 - REGISTER NOW

pexels artem podrez 8087930 1 squareWorkshop #4 - Child Safe Community Groups

  • Session 1: REGISTER NOW, 10.00 am - 11.30 am, Thursday 9 May 2024 - Wendouree Neighbourhood Centre, 12 Holly Grove, Wendouree.
  • Session 2: REGISTER NOW, 6.30 pm - 8.00 pm, Wednesday 15 May 2024 - Online via Zoom.

We all want to protect children when they engage with our community organisation or group. 

Children have the right to feel safe and to be safe all the time but this requires commitment from everyone in the community.

The updated Child Safe Standards introduced into Victoria have been applicable from 1 July 2022. The standards support community organisations and groups to become child safe organisations.

The Neighbourhood Houses in Ballarat have been working through the standards, making some improvements to the way we operate to ensure children are, and feel, safe at all times when interacting with us. There are many of different ways in which community organisations already have a child safe culture – but there is always room for improvement. We are happy to talk through the steps we have taken and share ideas and resources to help your community organisation become even safer for children.

For those organisations which are required to comply, the standards are mandatory. Even if your organisation is not required to comply, we strongly suggest that you consider reviewing your policies and procedures to ensure that they put child safety and well-being first and that child safety is in every part of your operations.

To assist community groups and organisations, as part of the Community Governance Project, we are offering a Workshop introducing the Child Safe Standards. The Workshop will include a review of each standard and some practical steps that can be taken by community groups to implement them.

Please note that Session 2 is a repeat of Session 1 so there is no need to register for both sessions.

Image by Artem Podrez from Pexels.

Lou garden cropWorkshop #5 - Marketing and Promotion for Community Groups

  • Session 1: REGISTER NOW, 10.00 am - 11.30 am, Thursday 23 May 2024: Training Room 1, Barkly Square, 25-39 Barkly Street, Ballarat East.
  • Session 2: REGISTER NOW, 6.30 pm - 8.00 pm, Tuesday 28 May 2024: Online via Zoom.

Lou Ridsdale will be presenting on efficient ways to market and promote your community group. The presentation will include how to attract volunteers to your group. Come and learn the tips and tricks from Lou, a marketing and publicity professional who has worked in many industries for over 30 years. Lou is based in Ballarat and is founder and director of Food is Free Inc.

Feedback from Lou's 2023 Workshops:

  • "Very informative and helpful, thank you."
  • "Great information and strategies."

 

 

 

Sue Jakob 1 cropWorkshop #6 - Volunteers: Inducting, Managing and Retaining

  • Session 1: REGISTER NOW, 10.00 am - 11.30 am, Tuesday 4 June 2024: Training Room 1, Barkly Square, 25-39 Barkly Street, Ballarat East.
  • Session 2: REGISTER NOW, 6.30 pm - 8.00 pm, Wednesday 12 June 2024: Online via Zoom.

This workshop will explore the challenges of inducting, managing and retaining volunteers for your community group. Sue Jakob has worked in many roles managing volunteers for over 15 years, at the same time she has been a volunteer and been part of committees running volunteer community groups across Ballarat. Come along and hear some practical ways to engage and energise your volunteers so that they remain active within your group.

Feedback from Sue's 2023 Workshops:

  • "Shared insights were beneficial."
  • "Excellent group discussion – very insightful."
  • "Very enjoyable and informative."
  • "All ideas and resources will be of enormous assistance."

 

 

Pirooz Pic2022 1 squareWorkshop #7 -  Managing Difficult Conversations

  • REGISTER NOW, 9.30 am - 12.30 pm, Tuesday 18 June 2024: Ballarat Regional Soccer Facility, 900 Pleasant Street, Redan.

This interactive workshop with Pirooz Jafari will take participants through the following:

  • An overview of personality types and how they play out in our everyday interactions.
  • Tricky situations and how to deal with them.
  • Having that difficult conversation with a member of the organisation or an external stakeholder.
  • How to deal with emotions during complex situations.
  • How to remain impartial and not take sides.
  • How to manage expectations and minimise headaches for everyone.

Pirooz has over 20 years’ experience working with community groups and the difficult situations that arise. Last year he presented a very interactive workshop to an appreciative group of participants in Ballarat. Feedback included:

  • "I really enjoyed today’s session, the discussion was helpful in gaining perspective on the different ways people react to and participate in conflict."
  • "Extremely helpful. A good resource for any group- much food for thought."
  • "It was fantastic. Very engaging and insightful."

Please note that there will not be an online repeat of this Workshop.

Past Workshops

Check out our Community Group Governance Past Workshops from 2023 and early 2024.

Supporting Ballarat's Community Groups

Commencing June 2022, through a four-year strategic partnership grant with the City of Ballarat, the four Neighbourhood Houses in Ballarat is building capacity for local groups through training workshops and resources.

The project involves delivery of training on governance, grant writing, financial management, running effective meetings, managing volunteers and applying for incorporation.

Kay Miller has been appointed two days a week as the Community Governance Officer and would like to talk to local groups and organisations to see what support is required.

The project is focusing on smaller groups across the City of Ballarat who may not have the resources (time or money) to seek the advice they need. A governance health check assessment tool has been developed which can be used to see how your group is functioning particularly in relation to governance. A list of online resources is also available for community groups.

So, if your group of organisation has no more than one paid staff member or an annual operating income under $150,000, or thereabouts (excluding one-off project grants), and you have some questions about how you are operating or would like some training in a particular area please contact Kay by email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or by phone 0460 699 669.

Online Training

Not-for-Profit Law

Not-for-profit (NFP) Law is a specialist legal service for community organisations. NFP Law is a program of Justice Connect a social justice organisation and community legal service and is itself a not-for-profit community organisation and registered charity. They provide free or low cost, high quality practical legal help for not-for-profit community organisations and advocate for improved standards and legal frameworks.

See their free and low-cost live and on demand webinars: https://www.nfplaw.org.au/training/webinars

They have a range of great resources available to support not-for-profit groups: https://www.nfplaw.org.au/

Neighbourhood Houses Working Together

On Wednesday 27 October 2021 at the City of Ballarat's Council Meeting a four-year Strategic Partnership proposal from the four Neighbourhood Houses in Ballarat was approved. 

This project sees the four Ballarat Houses working closely together to support community groups across our city. 

Building Governance Capacity for Ballarat's Community Groups

ALIGNMENT WITH COUNCIL VISION, COUNCIL PLAN, STRATEGIES AND POLICIES

  1. The purpose of the Strategic Partnerships Program is to provide funding to organisations or businesses to deliver initiatives that meet Council’s strategic objectives outlined in the Council Plan, Health and Wellbeing Plan and other relevant plans and strategies that have been endorsed by Council.
  2. The delivery of the Strategic Partnerships Program is explicitly included in the annual Council Plan Action Plan under:
    a. Goal 2: A healthy, connected and inclusive community
    b. Objective 2.1: Provide a socially equitable response to municipal growth and change
    c. Strategy: Administer the Community Impact Grant and Strategic Partnership Grant programs

COMMUNITY IMPACT

  1. Funded Strategic Partnerships must deliver on Council objectives that are broadly based around the following goals, all of which are designed to create positive community outcomes:
    a. An environmentally sustainable future
    b. A healthy, connected and inclusive community
    c. A city that fosters sustainable growth
    d. A city that conserves and enhances our natural and built assets
    e. A strong and innovative economy and city
  2. The proposals recommended for funding have community impact in creating strong community organisations and networks, aiding the local economy to recover from COVID and promoting active living and visitation to the city.