2025-26
In 2025-26, two streams of Volunteer Management Activity funding were allocated: the usual competitive Volunteer Management Activity Project-Based Grants, plus funding for Volunteer Resource Centres.
Findings from these projects were presented on 3 June 2026 at AIM WA. In the morning, competitive grant recipients shared their community-led approaches to supporting women at risk of exclusion and marginalisation. In the afternoon, regional Volunteer Resource Centre showcased how they are helping organisations become more inclusive of people with disability, young people, and other marginalised groups.
Participant feedback revealed several strong and recurring themes across both the morning and afternoon sessions. Most notably, attendees emphasised the importance of building trust, fostering relationships, and creating a sense of belonging as the foundation for successful volunteer engagement. Many reflected on the value of creating safe, inclusive spaces where people feel connected, supported, and empowered to participate.
The importance of human connection was consistently highlighted, with participants noting that face-to-face engagement, peer support, mentoring, and simple conversations are often key to building confidence, strengthening relationships, and sustaining volunteer involvement. Closely linked to this was the recognition that lived experience is a powerful asset, with many attendees valuing approaches that elevate lived experience, peer leadership, and co-design to create meaningful and lasting impact.
Flexibility and person-centred approaches were another common theme. Participants reflected on the need to meet people where they are, tailor opportunities to individual needs and interests, and rethink traditional volunteer roles and language to reduce barriers to participation. This was particularly evident in discussions about engaging young people and other underrepresented groups.
Across the presentations, attendees were inspired by the diverse examples of community-led initiatives and the positive outcomes achieved through collaboration, mentoring, inclusion, and relationship-building. Overall, the feedback reinforced a shared understanding that trust, connection, belonging, lived experience, and flexibility are critical ingredients for attracting, engaging, and retaining volunteers while strengthening communities.
Snapshot of 2026 VMA Grant-Funded Projects – Video
Kimberley Aboriginal Women’s Council – ‘The Ripple Effect’
The Ripple Effect is a First Nations-led initiative strengthening culturally grounded volunteering by Aboriginal women across Western Australia.
Aboriginal women have always volunteered — caring for family, holding community, responding in times of need and leading change in ways that are often unseen but deeply felt. This initiative recognises and builds on those strengths.
During this phased approach to support volunteer-led initiatives by Aboriginal Women across WA, the Ripple Effect has focused on listening, relationship building and understanding each region’s status. This involved connecting with women across communities to map existing collectives, identify gaps, and understand how women are already coming together. This groundwork was essential: it created space to learn what support is needed, where energy already exists, and how future efforts can be shaped in locally led and meaningful ways.
Rather than a one-size-fits-all model, the Ripple Effect is guided by each region, recognising that every community is at a different stage with its own strengths and priorities.
Grounded in care, kinship and self-determination, the Ripple Effect honours Aboriginal women’s leadership while laying the foundations for stronger, more connected volunteering across the state.
Presentation Slides
Project Video
Responses to questions asked during the VMA Showcase
Mettle Women Inc – ‘Mettle Together’
Mettle Together is a pilot peer-mentorship volunteer program that allows women that have graduated from Mettle’s employment pathways program and into stable work, to return as peer mentors to support women currently experiencing homelessness due to family and domestic violence. Mettle Together’s unique group mentoring model, enabled mentors and mentees to build connections, trust and support systems in the safety of a group.
Mentor & mentee group activities included volunteer days that exposed participants to the vital work of different community organisations and showcased potential future employment pathways in the not-for-profit sector. Critically, these activity days were intentionally designed with activities that foster connection, positive wellbeing and support structures for women who are taking the steps to build the self-determined lives they deserve.
As a pilot project, Mettle tested out new strategies and created robust feedback mechanisms to assess the viability of ongoing lived experience mentorship programs and is excited to share their learnings with the sector.
Presentation Slides
Responses to question asked during the VMA Showcase
Umbrella Multicultural Community Care Services – ‘Bridge to Belonging’
Bridge to Belonging is a Peer-Led Multicultural Volunteering Hub supporting Culturally and Linguistically Diverse (CALD) and LGBTIQ+ volunteers, with a focus on newly arrived migrants, vulnerable women, and unemployed individuals.
Building on insights from the Empowered Connections project (Dec 2024 – May 2025), where 40% of participants engaged in volunteering, this new hub addressed barriers such as isolation, language challenges, and lack of recognition. It featured peer-led sessions, tailored training, and the dedicated support of a Volunteer Wellness Officer to build confidence, wellbeing, and belonging.
By creating a safe, inclusive space, Bridge to Belonging empowered diverse volunteers, strengthened peer networks, and enriched the broader community through supported and meaningful engagement.
Presentation Slides
Responses to questions asked during the VMA Showcase
Volunteer South West – ‘EMPOWER’
EMPOWER was designed to offer women a safe, supportive environment to learn about volunteering and gradually build skills at their own pace and when they felt ready. It addressed challenges like low self-confidence, social isolation, and limited community connections, factors which often contribute to poor mental health. By providing a safe space to practice transferable skills including communication and teamwork, participants improved their confidence, mental well-being and soft employment skills, one step at a time.
From these learnings, Volunteer South West supported Volunteer Involving Organisations (VIOs) to better engage with women facing barriers to volunteering. This included reviewing current practices, identifying gaps, and developing or adapting volunteer roles to better reflect and respond to women’s needs.
This project demonstrated how inclusive volunteer recruitment benefits all volunteers and VIOs, enhancing the diversity, capacity, and sustainability of the volunteer sector.
Presentation Slides
Responses to questions asked during the VMA Showcase
Albany & Regional Volunteer Service – ‘Ability in Action Inclusive Volunteering Program Stage 2’
Building on the foundations established during the previous year and designed to support Volunteer Involving Organisations across the Great Southern Region to create inclusive environments where people with disability and mental health challenges can meaningfully engage in volunteering. This second stage has focussed on establishing the Ability in Action Inclusive Volunteering Advisory Committee, increasing the number of organisations who participate in the Ability in Action program through training, follow up mentoring for previously engaged organisations and working to engage individuals with disability and mental health challenges into meaningful volunteering roles. Increased community awareness of inclusive volunteering has been promoted and work done to identify resources that can be designed and provided to support organisations in recruiting and retaining volunteers with lived experience of disability.
Presentation Slides
Responses to questions asked during the VMA Showcase
Esperance Volunteer Resource Centre – ‘The Regional Collective: Next Generation’
This project is supporting volunteer-involving organisations across the Esperance region to build the knowledge and confidence needed to engage young people in meaningful and age-appropriate volunteer roles. The focus is on providing one-on-one support to four local organisations in co-designing and implementing youth-friendly volunteer opportunities, as well as engaging young people in the project to provide input into the design of volunteer roles and communication strategies. This approach ensures the project is youth informed and locally relevant. Videos showcasing experiences and sharing insights will support other regional organisations to take similar steps.
Presentation Slides
Project Video
Responses to questions asked during the VMA Showcase
Peel Volunteer Resource Centre – ‘Socialability’
Challenging misconceptions and supporting people who face barriers to volunteering to be recognised for their capabilities rather than their perceived deficits and supporting organisations to create inclusive environments and practices. In its next stage this project focussed on a personalised approach centred on both individual participants and volunteer involving organisations. By providing tailored guidance and direct engagement Socialability enhances the experience and impact for participants while strengthening the capacity and inclusivity of organisations and shifting societal perceptions.
Presentation Slides
Responses to questions asked during the VMA Showcase
Volunteer South West – ‘Regional Out of the Box Volunteering’
Providing training and mentoring to Volunteer Involving Organisations to help reduce barriers to engaging volunteers from priority groups, ensuring inclusiveness. This project has offered support to organisations operating in the Shires of Capel, Collie, Dardanup, Donnybrook-Balingup and Harvey. It has also delivered activities to target and inform volunteers in these Shires who may otherwise miss out on meaningful local volunteer roles, giving them the opportunity to gain clearer understanding of volunteering pathways, through presentations and the opportunity to meet organisation representatives.
Project Presentation Video
Responses to questions asked during the VMA Showcase
2024-25
Six project partners were successful for VMA Grants in 2024-25.
Kimberley Aboriginal Women’s Council – ‘Rise and Shine’
As part of Phase 3 & 4 of the development of the Rise & Shine program, the Kimberley Aboriginal Women’s Council (KAWC) developed a culturally grounded volunteer mentoring model that empowers First Nations Kimberley women to support and guide First Nations girls across the Kimberley. This intergenerational approach was warmly welcomed as a meaningful way to build culturally safe and supportive, leadership and connection. To strengthen this work, KAWC formed a new relationship with EdConnect, a national organisation experienced in supporting older volunteers to mentor young people. This collaboration became one example of how respectful, two-way relationships can enhance culturally inclusive volunteer management.
View Project Wrap-Up (one page)
View Project Overview and Learnings (presentation)
Shire of Carnarvon – ‘The Art of Volunteering’
The Art of Volunteering course was delivered to participants from all priority groups including: First Nations, people living with a disability, and vulnerable women’s groups, ensuring the content and structure were shaped by those it aimed to support. Jo from the Shire of Carnarvon, as a facilitator and emerging arts professional, modelled peer leadership and co-creation. Each session used creative processes: from self inquiry, storytelling, sharing sessions, to project planning. The course intentionally moved beyond theory, offering real pathways into ongoing volunteering.
View Project Wrap-Up (one page)
View Project Overview and Learnings (presentation)
Sister Project – ‘A Seat at our Table’
Through A Seat at our Table, Sister Project created a safe, inclusive space for women in the targeted groups (new migrants, vulnerable women, unemployed or those with a disability) to develop skills and confidence to connect with diverse groups through a volunteer connect, learn, teach, volunteer program.
By providing connection through food and conversation, they utilised participants’ existing cooking skills and passion and provided a skills and confidence uplift. Skills uplifted included food safety, recipe capture, cooking demonstration and cooking for a group. Confidence building skills included public speaking, working with a partner and sharing stories. As confidence grew, the participants progressed to become volunteers themselves, supporting the program to become sustainable.
View Project Wrap-Up (one page)
View Project Overview and Learnings (presentation)
Teach Learn Grow – ‘Growing Together Initiative’
Teach Learn Grow took a flexible and culturally informed approach in promoting inclusive volunteering and volunteer management. The workshop content that they had developed for other groups was adapted to take into account the cultural, social and economic context of young people living in Laverton, as informed by consultations with classroom teachers, research and Teach Learn Grow’s previous experience working with Laverton School during programs. After successfully connecting with Laverton students during the first part of the project, Teach Learn Grow staff visited Laverton to conduct two days of workshops with their high school classes.
Students were provided with various ways to engage throughout the sessions, to suit a diverse range of preferred learning styles and ensure all students were included regardless of their level of literacy. This included group discussions, creating visual tools like brainstorming and posters or filming videos around the school.
View Project Wrap-Up (one page)
View Project Overview and Learnings (presentation)
Volunteer South West – ‘LinkEd’
LinkEd was an innovative approach to link volunteer involving organisations with youth and assistance with creating meaningful, youth-centered volunteering opportunities. LinkEd was co-designed, developed and tested with a small group of organisations connecting with a group of students in Years 11 and 12. Volunteer roles and activities created during this project were meaningful, had value and offered ‘purpose’. From this experience a prototype was created for youth volunteer engagement. As the model is shared wider and the prototype is tested in other schools, organisations will continue to be supported with the learnings from the project. LinkEd sought to inspire the sector to further explore opportunities that recognise and harness the skills and passions of young people.
View Project Wrap-Up (one page)
View Project Overview and Learnings (presentation)
2023-24
Nine project partners were successful for VMA Grants in 2023-24.
Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Advisory Group
Befriend – ‘Community Campfires’
The Community Campfires project was an innovative, inclusive approach to volunteer engagement that provided an open entry point for people from diverse backgrounds to discover volunteering and community contribution possibilities. The project was grounded in research insights from a prior VMA project, which identified a disconnect between diverse worldviews and the language and construct of volunteering. The Community Campfire method aimed to bridge this disconnect by uniting people around the shared human experience of contributing to community, in a way that honoured diversity of contributions.
View Project Video
View Project Overview and Learnings (presentation)
Bunbury Fringe: Fringe Family
Bunbury Fringe aims to develop strategies for the inclusion of young people and people living with disabilities to participate in event volunteering. Learnings, resources and strategies for engagement have been developed and shared with the sector. The Fringe Festival was held in January 2024, and the learnings from this event are already informing more inclusive approaches for the 2025 Festival.
The Bunbury Fringe festival is fully dependent on volunteers to operate and in 2024 implemented new recruitment strategies to include a more diverse volunteer base including people with disabilities and youth.
Watch Project Video
View Project Overview and Learnings (presentation)
Peel Volunteer Resource Centre: Bring the Change
Peel Volunteer Resource Centre developed a targeted program to intensely support volunteer involving organisations to design, plan, recruit, and engage with a new realm of volunteers. During a recent in-person meeting, Peel Volunteer Resource Centre had the privilege of hearing one participant’s compelling story. The volunteer revealed that, despite having held various jobs, he struggled to maintain employment for more than a week due to a lack of experience and his disability. This experience had severely impacted his confidence, making it increasingly difficult for him to secure stable work. However, he expressed a keen interest in volunteering to build his skills and regain his self-assurance.
In a new approach, the volunteer organisation considered the participant’s disability and how it could be an advantage in the role he was being considered for. The team decided to work closely with Peel Volunteer Resource Centre to identify the best way to support the participant in maximising his potential while building his skills and confidence. After careful consideration, they implemented a one-on-one buddy system that would provide the participant with the necessary support and guidance.
Watch Project Video
View Project Overview and Learnings (presentation)
EdConnect Australia: CanteenConnect
EdConnect was also funded to develop a pilot project called CanteenConnect. The project aimed to connect newly arrived migrants with volunteering opportunities in School Canteens. A framework for the ongoing rollout of the project has been developed over the first six months of 2024, with a small scale pilot informing the efficacy of the resources and processes being developed. Learnings and resources will be shared with the sector. The pilot will be expanded into more schools later in the year.
EdConnect provides educational based mentorship to young people in schools. However, they uncovered a need for creating volunteer opportunities for people that have recently arrived in Australia and may not have good enough English to participate in their regular programs. They came up with the idea of CanteenConnect, a project that would support school canteens with new volunteers and allow recently arrived migrants with a volunteer opportunity where they can build new community connections.
Watch Project Video
View Project Overview and Learnings (presentation)
St. Patrick’s Community Support Centre: Client and Resident Pathway Program
The St Patrick’s Community Support Centre Client and Resident Pathway Program developed a targeted and supportive volunteer program that provided opportunities and engagement for St Pat’s clients and residents to meet their identified needs, goals, and requirements to develop skills and gain experience that leads to successful volunteering and/or employment, training or other life outcomes and opportunities.
This pilot program developed a framework for clients and residents to volunteer in roles within the organisation to enable them to gain skills and experience to develop independence and broaden their opportunities in a supportive, structured framework. The program was codesigned with clients and residents to ensure relevance and appeal to the targeted groups.
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View Project Overview and Learnings (presentation)
Riding for the Disabled Association, Carine: Leadership Mentoring Program
RDA Carine has been working to establish a leadership mentoring program designed to include young people, unemployed and people with disabilities in supporting participants in the RDA program. The pilot program will develop resources and a digital App to support easy access to training resources and recognition for volunteers. Still in its early days, the changes to this program will bring learnings for the sector on how to creatively engage neurodiverse volunteers.
RDA Carine has a long history and RDA Australia’s is even longer so as the program has grown the volunteer strategy has needed time in the spotlight. This opportunity to review, rewrite, modernise and diversify our approach to inviting in and supporting volunteers proved an extremely worthwhile project. The working group and survey feedback clearly states that change needs to occur to improve recruitment, diversity, retention and training of their volunteers, but needed to be achieved in a sustainable way to respect the existing culture, program needs and demographics of their 120 volunteers.
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View Project Overview and Learnings (presentation)
Volunteer South West: CONNECT
CONNECT provides intensive support to volunteer involving organisations (VIOs) to make their organisation inclusive and welcoming to people from all priority groups. Volunteers Southwest worked with volunteer managers to identify gaps that may present barriers to more inclusive volunteering and acted as a conduit, connecting them volunteers in a supportive and structured way.
Through many years of experience, Volunteer Southwest understand that a lack of confidence is the main barrier to volunteering and this leads to lack of connection and can lead to isolation and mental health issues. Connect aimed to bridge this gap by engaging and supporting priority groups into volunteering.
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View Project Overview and Learnings (presentation)
Kimberley Aboriginal Women’s Council: Rise and Shine
At the November 2023 Kimberley Aboriginal Women’s Leadership Roundtable, over 100 First Nations women and girls from across the Kimberley gathered as volunteers to discuss critical projects and programs for people in their region to achieve self-determination and gender justice. The women identified and discussed that one of the priority areas for the next 10 years is to support young girls to grow and glow. They agreed to trial this through developing and running a program where First Nations women from across the Kimberley volunteer their time and wisdom to support and nourish girls from childhood to womanhood. The idea for Rise & Shine began to take form.
The Kimberley Aboriginal Women’s Council stated that “Our women and girls are strong and resilient, and have much to give to our people and communities. However, currently there are significant barriers to our people participating in structured volunteering programs. For example, volunteering often doesn’t take into account the way that our communities interact and engage, and our cultural and kinship obligations, meaning volunteering doesn’t work for us and can be culturally unsafe.”
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View Project Overview and Learnings (presentation)
2022-23
In 2022-23, seven organisations were selected to undertake projects and we share the outcomes, insights and stories so volunteer involving organisations, volunteer managers and leaders can learn, and support inclusive volunteering. View all case studies in this booklet.
Befriend – Reconnecting with community
Sam* is a proud First Nations woman who strongly believes in connected communities and being in service to others. After realising that she had become isolated and disconnected from society, she started to actively look for volunteering opportunities. “I was looking for ways to learn how to be part of community,” Sam said.
In her search, Sam came across Befriend, a Perth-based organisation that supports people to come together and build thriving communities. Befriend connected with Sam when she attended one of their online workshops, “Contributing to your community: Discovering what you love to give”. Sam also took part in a second online workshop with Befriend called “Stepping stones: Taking the next steps to connect with your community.” The language around connecting with community really resonated. For Sam, it was important to find opportunities that felt natural and without set agendas. She was looking for groups where people supported each other in more general ways, and the Befriend workshops were a great fit. The workshops helped to feel more confident with volunteering.
View Project Wrap-Up (one page)
Fair Game – Changing lives through sport
Fair Game’s project was one that would support and learn from two McCusker Centre for Citizenship interns, Simon and Paige.
Originally from Katanning, Simon is a proud Noongar man and descendant of the Kaniyang and Goreng Noongar peoples. In August 2022, Simon joined Fair Game through a partnership with UWA’s McCusker Centre for Citizenship and St Catherine’s College program, Dandjoo Darbalung. While at Fair Game, Simon ran their Recycle & Donate program, which provides pre-loved sporting equipment to communities that need it most. At the end of his Fair Game internship, Simon transitioned into a project officer role at the organisation to manage their First Nations internship program. He is now following his dream to teach at Aranmore Catholic College, working with Aboriginal kids in the classroom as a teaching assistant.
View Project Wrap-Up (Simon)
Paige’s love affair with sport began when she was a kid living in Derby. For as long as she can remember, she has always played one sport or another. Paige discovered Fair Game at UWA through her involvement with the McCusker Centre for Citizenship. The Centre was delighted to have her complete a placement towards the end of 2022 in Fair Game’s Recycle & Donate program. Paige plans to return to her community in Derby to teach sports and health. She already knows the kind of work she wants, and plans to work with
teenagers mainly.
View Project Wrap-Up (Paige)
Multicultural Services Centre WA – Home cook to professional caterer
Multicultural Services Centre WA (MSCWA) supports new migrants and refugees with their settlement, welfare, education and training, cultural and legal needs. During a volunteering awareness workshop with the Persian community, a retired woman Esther* expressed her interest to volunteer. However, she was unsure of the kind of volunteering she would like to do. Of concern to her was her age and physical ability, as she worried they may be barriers to doing volunteer work. Esther was also worried that volunteering in a new organisation would be too overwhelming and stressful. MSCWA introduced Esther to their volunteering buddy system and she happily joined the program. Through the program, MSCWA discovered that she enjoyed cooking at home. After being matched with one of the MSCWA mentors, Esther began her volunteering journey.
Watch volunteering interviews
View Project Wrap-Up (one page)
Peel Volunteer Resource Centre with Foodbank – Disability is no barrier
With goals of becoming more inclusive, Foodbank’s Peel branch connected with Peel Volunteer Resource Centre (PVRC) to engage people with disabilities through their Socialability program. They knew that their existing team would also benefit from working with volunteers of different abilities, recognising that a diverse volunteer team is a great strength.
View Project Wrap-Up (one page)
Teach Learn Grow – Yarning with young people
Helen* is a First Nations tertiary student and passionate volunteer. Through volunteering, she has developed a sense of community, wellbeing and personal fulfilment. Helen has also gained new skills, expanded her social networks, and received new professional opportunities. She participated in a yarning session to share helpful insights on how to engage young First Nations youth as volunteers.
View Project Wrap-Up (one page)
Town Team Movement – Connection to place
Town Team Movement’s South Hedland Youth Changemaking Program set out to help youth reconnect with their community by reimagining the places they live in. South Hedland youth were given responsibility and empowered to solve problems impacting their community. The program’s aim was to break down barriers, promote volunteering, and support young people to build a sense of ownership, pride and belonging by positively influencing change.
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View Project Wrap-Up (one page)
Volunteer South West – Language skills, safety, and comfort
Volunteer South West’s project was one that would support and learn from two volunteers from different backgrounds, Linda and Maria.
Linda* is a young woman from Vanuatu who arrived in Bunbury in 2021. Highly educated and wanting to learn new skills, she was motivated to meet new people and build a network in her new community. Linda found Volunteer South West on social media and quickly made contact to join their ENGAGE program. She already worked full time, but was also interested in volunteering as a fire fighter, administrator or in an aged care facility. Linda was nervous but looking forward to finding a meaningful position.
View Project Wrap-Up (Linda)
Maria* is a young mother from Brazil and worked as a music teacher and photographer in her home country. After arriving in Bunbury, she worked as a parttime cleaner in a local shopping centre. Unfortunately, she had some negative experiences in this role, as she was still learning English as a language and was not able to answer questions. At this time, Maria did not feel confident speaking in English and preferred to communicate by writing in a translation app. After reading about the ENGAGE program on social media, she contacted Volunteer South West.
View Project Wrap-Up (Maria)
