There’s no doubt that volunteers and not-for-profit community organisations make up the heartbeat of Southland– sharing their resources, passion and time to support our communities to thrive.
Recognising that this pivotal support is often provided on a shoestring or generosity-based budget, the Southland Business Chamber is committed to providing not-for-profit community organisations with affordable access to training.
This commitment has been strengthened for the coming year with a grant from Community Trust South supporting the Chamber to continue running its Building Capability Series training workshops.
These workshops provide affordable access to professional development opportunities for not-for-profit organisations and local businesses, and cover a range of topics including employment law, social media and health and safety.
Southland Business Chamber Project & Training Manager Jo O’Connor said providing access to training at affordable rates is key to ensuring the participation of our not-for-profit sector in Southland.
“We increasingly hear that not-for-profit staff and volunteers cannot attend professional development training due to course costs, and finite resources. The bite-sized learning offered through the workshops ensures this sector can still benefit from the information and resources on offer to boost capability,”
O’Connor said that feedback from a recent member survey confirmed there is a strong need for free and low-cost training opportunities.
“We’ve taken the feedback from our members and with the support of Community Trust South, are helping remove the financial and time barriers for not-for-profits and volunteers to attending trainings,”
Community Trust South Grants Manager, Dianne Williams, said the Building Capability Series training workshops align with many of the Trust’s strategic priority outcomes.
“These workshops provide increased access to learning opportunities for our not-for-profit sector, and as a result, support the strong foundations that enable the conditions for our communities to continue to thrive,”
Alongside supporting the continuation of the Building Capability Series, Community Trust South has also provided a grant towards the establishment of a Capability Investment Fund.
This fund will give local charities and not-for-profit organisations the opportunity to apply for capability co-funding to attend training offered by the Southland Business Chamber.
This fund replicates the model used by the Regional Business Partner Programme, where applications are assessed against agreed criteria to determine eligibility for partial payment towards the cost of capability development and training.
Williams said both the workshop series and the developing a Capability Investment Fund will support and deliver real impact cross our communities.
“Building capability across our not-for-profit and volunteer sectors benefits our communities now, and for the future,”
More information on the fund and the upcoming Building Capability Series of training workshops can be found at the Business chamber’s website.
