About us

About Us

Volunteering Queensland’s Key Objectives

Volunteering Queensland (VQ) mobilize people and resources to deliver creative solutions to community problems. To achieve this vision, VQ uses the following core competencies:

Connect People with Opportunities to Serve

VQ provides people with easy access to a wide variety of opportunities to connect to their community through service. For example, VQ will:

  • Connect people with volunteer opportunities by centralized recruitment and referral of volunteers through individual interviews, directories, searchable database listings and more;
  • Link people, businesses, community organisations, statutory bodies and institutions, and resources through the innovative use of technology.
  • Manage or promote community-wide events such as sporting events, festivals, fundraising events, summits;
  • Distribute a calendar of community events and volunteer opportunities related to these events;
  • Design programs targeted for special populations of volunteers, including families, youth, seniors, employees, job-seekers, people with different abilities or support needs;
  • Involve volunteers in ongoing volunteer programs of VQ itself, such as mentoring or tutoring programs;
  • Promote short-term volunteer opportunities through monthly project calendars, web-sites and community media;
  • Develop and distribute educational and resource materials to assist groups form study circles and engage in developing effective community action initiatives.

Building the Capacity for Effective Local Volunteering

VQ helps not-for-profit community organisations who work with volunteers, recruit, manage and retain volunteers. For example, VQ will:

  • Provide volunteer management training, consultations and direct support to non-profit organisations;
  • Share volunteer management resource information through newsletters, resource library, and online resource web-page;
  • Convene and support professional associations of volunteer leaders and managers, such as the Volunteer Managers Association Network;
  • Provide training, support and consultation to community management committees and boards;
  • Research issues in relation to community and volunteering and circulate this research to volunteer organisations, government and the broader community;
  • Recruit, train and manage resource volunteer teams to assist community organisations more effectively develop their volunteer programs;
  • Provide individual supervision and mentoring for volunteer coordinators and managers;
  • Develop and support specialised networks of those involved in community particularly focusing on areas such as working with diversity, volunteering and disability, youth;
  • Assist communities to map, record and utilise the assets and capacities that exist within their own local community.

Promote Volunteering

VQ raises public awareness of the importance of volunteering in community life, encourage people to volunteer, provide information about volunteering, and recognise the contributions of volunteers. For example, VQ will:

  • Initiate and support media campaigns to promote volunteering through radio, newspapers, public service advertisements, a national toll-free number, and more;
  • Recruit volunteers and raise awareness of volunteering through strategies such as guest speakers, volunteer displays, and local shopping centre mobile referral services;
  • Create opportunities for public acknowledgement of volunteers and volunteer teams through award programs, National Volunteer Week and International Volunteer Day (5th December) activities and a variety of informal recognition efforts;
  • Educate policy makers and community leaders about the importance of volunteering;
  • Provide an interactive website, which provides information, resources and referral to a broad range of community agencies;
  • Develop and implement a series of promotional strategies to raise the profile of volunteering throughout Queensland.

Participate in Strategic Initiatives that Mobilize Volunteers to meet Local Community Needs. For example, VQ:

  • Serves as a facilitator for community action. VQ works through local partnerships and collaborations with businesses, local community groups, schools, and community leaders to identify needs and initiate volunteer response.
  • Initiates and facilitates summits and planning workshops for broad community involvement on issues regarding local community capacities, opportunities and challenges. VQ provides training, support and consultations with a variety of stakeholders to encourage the development of community partnerships.
  • Impacts on community issues by providing volunteer service programs focused on specific target groups, such as youth, seniors, unemployed people, people with different abilities, indigenous people, people from different cultural groups or youth at risk.
  • Initiates and supports communities recording local histories of community participation, through a variety of mediums and approaches.
  • Provides Community Action Leadership Programs assisting community leaders in the skills of networking, facilitating community action and developing effective organisations.

The effective integration of these four strategies positions VQ as the leadership organisation for community volunteering. VQ facilitates volunteer action and informs leaders about volunteering.