Building strong, vibrant communities

1. Building strong, vibrant communities

2. Anusha MahendranStrategy and Development Directorate National Volunteering Conference Presentation Research Findings from the WA Smaller Volunteer Groups Survey

3. Introduction • The purpose of the research was • to gain more information about volunteering • from volunteers who were members of • community groups that are classed as being • comparatively ‘smaller’in organisational size • & in particular, groups which were seen • as being volunteer-runacross WA.

4. Objectives The reason for this research focus was - in order to better ascertain & collate - more direct input from volunteers - from ‘smaller’ community groups - thereby deepening the scope of the - community consultation processes that feed into - policy development & implementation in relevant areas.

5. Background • This need for government agencies involved in the sector to increasingly engage more ‘smaller’ volunteer groups in community consultations & acquire relevant input & feedback from them has been repeatedly highlighted by several renowned volunteering experts & researchers in the field, including Steve McCurley and Susan Ellis (who was the International key note speaker from 2011 WA Volunteering Symposium). • So clearly, having a better understanding of smaller ‘grass roots’ volunteer groups & their needs & operations is very important for policy makers - & also improves overall understanding of the sector.

6. Primary Data Collection - Surveys • The primary data for the study was collected via an online survey of WA volunteersthat was conducted between January &February 2011. • This was part of the community consultation process that informed the ‘Vital Volunteering 2011-2016’ Strategy, • - which is the WA Government’s commitment • - to developing &supporting volunteering. • Copies of the ‘Vital Volunteering 2011-2016’ Strategy can also be accessed from the WA Department of LG & Communities website.

7. Primary Data Collection - Surveys • So the online survey was posted on the website of the then WA Department for Communities (now DLGC). • The survey was promoted through media adverts • & was directly distributed to groups through data bases held • by Volunteering WA, • the network of Volunteer Resource Centres across WA • & the WA Department for Communities.

8. Primary Data Collection - Surveys • Recipients of the survey were also encouraged to forward • - the survey to other people who they knew were volunteers • - in smaller groups to encourage them to also respond to the • survey & contribute to the research. • The respondents gave personal views of their experience • - as a volunteer &their understanding of the group • - that they volunteered with. • If they belonged to more than 1 group, they were instructed to • - report on 1 of the main groups to which they belonged.

9. Primary Data Collection • In total - 339 people from 289 different groups • -participated in the online volunteeringsurvey • Most respondents were in the target demographic, that is, they - were members of smaller, volunteer-run groups as reflected - by the fact that: • 61.7 % of the respondents stated that their group had less than 51 members • 64.0 % of the respondents stated that their group had no paid staff

10. Primary Data Collection • Of the 289 groups who participated in the research: • 52 sporting groups • 32 self-help groups • 28 groups that provided direct support or welfare to families including through youth groups • 22 environmental or animal welfare groups • 17 emergency service groups • & 16 advocacy groups

11. Primary Data Collection • The sample included 49 groups • - that claimed a state-wide constituency • Although it is likely that in most cases • - the actual delivery of services in rural & remote areas • - would be made through telephone or website support. • Most groups had 1 volunteer respond to the survey, • - but 1cultural group had 5 volunteers respond • - & 1sporting group had 4 volunteers respond.

12. Primary Data Collection • Responses were received from most Perth metropolitan suburbs and from the following regional &remote locations: • South West region - Albany, Denmark, Ravensthorpe, York, Danjangerup, Bunbury, Jerramungup, Harvey • Peel region- Rockingham, Mandurah, Dawesville, Waroona, Serpentine-Jarrahdale • Esperance & Eastern Goldfields- Kambalda, Gibson • Gascoyne & Midwest region- Exmouth, Northampton, Geraldton • Pilbara region - Port Hedland, South Hedland, Dampier, Karratha, Newman, Paraburdoo, Roebourne, Tom Price, Wickham. • Kimberley region - Broome

13. Demographics: Place of Residence Figure Q16: Where do you live? More than half (57.8%)of the respondents lived in the Perth metropolitan area or in relatively large regional cities/towns. Interestingly, only 45.1 %of respondents lived in the Perth metropolitan area. - which is significantly lower than the current figures for the proportion of the WA population that lives in Perth metropolitan areas - which currently stands at about 74%

14. Demographics: Place of Residence So relative to the current WA population distribution, the research sample was slightly over-represented by people living in small regional towns & remote locations (31.9%). Because current figures indicate that population distribution for smaller regional towns & remote locations in WA is about 24%. But nonetheless- happy to get such a high responsefrom volunteer groups in smaller regional towns & remote locations. Figure Q16: Where do you live?

15. Findings – Size of Volunteer Groups • Roughly half of the respondents (49.6%) • who participated in this survey answered that their groups had less than 30 active members, and one-third (33%) said that their groups had 11-30 active members (see Table Q2). • 23.6%also said that • their groups had more • than 100 active members. Table Q2: Number of active members

16. Size of Volunteer Groups by Location Figure Q2_Q16: Number of active members by location In small regional towns, the proportion of groups with less than 10 active members was significantly higher than other areas (36.5%). The proportion of groups with 51-100 members or more than 100 members was significantly higher in the Perth metropolitan area than in other areas.

17. Findings – Paid Support Staff Figure Q3: Does your group have any paid support staff? A third (33.3%) of the respondents said that their groups had paid support staff and approximately two-thirds (64%) said that their groups did not.

18. Findings – Paid Support Staff Figure Q3_Q16: Groups with paid support staff bylocation The survey findings indicated that volunteer groups in regional towns & remote locations were more likely than volunteer groups in the Perth metropolitan area not to have paid staff.

19. Findings – Incorporated Volunteer Groups Figure Q4: Is your group incorporated? More than two-thirds (69.0%) of the survey respondents said that they belonged to groups that were incorporated.

20. Incorporated Volunteer Groups – Paid Staff Figure Q3_Q4: Does your group have any paid support staff? & Is your group incorporated? The survey results provided by the respondents indicated that incorporated groups were more likely than non-incorporated groups to have paid staff (34.6% and 18.1% respectively).

21. Volunteer Groups – Membership Aspirations Figure Q5: Is it a priority for your group to increasing their membership was a priority. Three-quarters (73.7% ) responded that, for their groups, increasing their membership was a priority. The research indicated that there was no significant difference in this between incorporated & non-incorporated groups.

22. Group Membership Aspirations by Location Figure Q5_16: Priority for group to increase membership by location But people from groups in remote locations were less likely than other areas to consider increasing membership as a priority. *where data is less than 100%, respondents replied ‘don’t know’

23. Findings – Motivations for JoiningGroup Figure Q6: Reasons why people joined their current group Three-quarters of the respondents (75.3%) said they joined their current groups “to get involved &make a contribution”, and half (50.3%) stated that they joined “to help others”.

24. Findings – Motivations for Joining by Location The results indicated that the proportion of people in large regional towns & cities who joined “to get involved & make a contribution” was comparatively lower than for other areas.

25. Findings – Involvement in Volunteer Groups FigureQ13:How many groups, organisations, societies, associations & clubs do you belong to? A fifth of the respondents in the survey (21.2%) belonged to just one group and the majority (71.4%) belonged to more than one group.

26. Involvement in Volunteer Groups by Location FigureQ13_16:Involvement in groups, organisations, societies, associations & clubs by location. The survey results however did indicate that respondents living in remote locations were more likelyto belong to five or more groups, organisations, societies, associations and/or clubs compared to respondents in other regions who were also surveyed.

27. Findings – Period of Being Involved FigureQ11:How long have you been a member of the the group? Nearly half (48.1%) of the respondents had been a member of their groups for less than five years. More than two-fifths (43.7%) have been a member of their groups for more than five years.

28. Period of Being Involved by Location FigureQ11_16:Length of membership by location People from groups in regional cities & large towns most frequently reported (30.3%) that they had been members of their group for more than 10 years.

29. Period of Being Involved by Location Figure Q11_16: Length of membership in the group by location A higher proportion of volunteers from groups in small regional towns (61.9%) indicated that they had been members of their group forless than 1.5 years compared to other locations.

30. Period of Being Involved by Location The proportion of respondents from groups in the Perth metropolitan area or remote locations who had been a member for between 5-10 yearswas significantly higher than the proportion of respondents from groups in small regional towns. FigureQ11_16:How long have you been a member of the group? By location

31. Findings – Intention to Stay in Current Group FigureQ12:How likely are you to be part of the group in 12 months? The majority (83.5%) of the respondents stated that they were still likely to be part of their current groups in12 months.

32. Findings – Intention to Stay in Current Group FigureQ12:How likely are you to be part of the group in 12 months? Less than 5% (4.4%) of the respondents said that it was unlikely or very unlikelyfor them to be part of their current groups in 12 months. Both these positive trends were consistent across the different locations.

33. Findings – Intention to Stay in Current Group Figure Q3_Q12: Intention to stay in current group & whether group had paid staff People from groups without paid staff were more likely than people from groups with paid staff to be part of their current groups in 12 months (79.3% and 69.0%respectively - see Figure Q3_Q12).

34. Findings – Reasons for Staying in their Group FigureQ7: What are the main things that keep you involved as a volunteer or member of your current group? The majority of respondents (79.3%) said that they have kept being involved as they believed the community needed what their groups have done.

35. Findings – Reasons for Staying in Group FigureQ7: What are the main things that keep you involved as a volunteer or member of your current group? A high percentage (73.9%)of volunteers surveyed (almost three-quarters) also mentioned that they kept being involved as they derived satisfaction from their involvement.

36. Reasons for Staying in Group by Location FigureQ7: Main reasons for staying in the group by location The proportion of people from groups in the Perth metro area who answered “I like the people in the group”was more than 20% higher than for remote locations. However there was a higher percentage of respondents in remote locations who stated that their group was important to them & their lives, compared to other areas.

37. Reasons Why People Move On From Their Groups FigureQ9a: Main reasons why people move on from their groups Three-fifths (59.8%) said that people move on from their groups because their“lives get too busy” & this was also consistently the most commonly reported reason across all locations. Nearly a third (29.4%) mentioned that people move on because their “group gets too demanding &they get burned out”.

38. Reasons Why People Move On From Their Groups FigureQ9b: Main reasons why people move on from their groups More than a quarter (27.8%) said that people move on because of personal reasonssuch as relocation, aging & health problems. Nearly one third (29.1%) of respondents said that their groups are stable & that people rarely leave them.

39. Stability of Groups According to Location FigureQ9_Q16a: Respondents belief in the stability of their group by location Compared to people from groups in small regional towns or remote locations, people from groups in the Perth metropolitanarea were more likely to think that theirgroups are stableand that people rarely leave - see FigureQ9_Q16a

40. Reasons Why People Move on From Their Groups FigureQ9_Q16b: Main reasons why people move on from groups by location The proportion of people in the Perth metropolitan area who thought people moved on from their groups because of “frustration or being disheartened by a lack of achievement” was also higher than in remote or regional locations.

41. Reasons Why People Move on From Their Groups FigureQ9_Q16c: Main reasons why people move on from groups by location A higher percentage of respondents in regional areas stated that ‘burnout’ was a key reason for people leaving compared to the Perth metro or remote areas. The proportion of people from groups in small regional towns &remote areas who thought people moved on from their groups due topersonal reasonssuch as relocation, aging &health issues was also significantly higher.

42. Assistance to Groups to Continue/Expand Operations Over 70% of respondents (72.2%) said that having more resources might assist their groups tocontinue doing or expanding what they do. TableQ10a:What do you think might assist your group to continue doing or expanding what it does?

43. Assistance to Groups to Continue/Expand Operations TableQ10a:What do you think might assist your group to continue doing or expanding what it does? This was a consistent trendacross metropolitan, rural & remote locations. This included both financial resources (40.5%) & human resources such as paid/unpaid staff & members (31.8%).

44. Assistance to Groups to Continue/Expand Operations More than a quarter (28.8%) of respondents thought that more support (mainly from external people & organisations) might be helpful for the continuation of their activities. TableQ10b:What do you think might assist your group to continue doing or expanding what it does?

45. Assistance to Groups to Continue/Expand Operations TableQ10c:What do you think might assist your group to continue doing or expanding what it does? One in six (16.7%) of respondents also felt that more promotion about their groups and/or activities through publications or advertising might be needed.

46. Assistance to Groups to Continue/Expand Operations Only 2% thought their groups had no problemabout expanding or doing their activities, &only 4%thought that increasing volunteer recognition would help. TableQ10d:What do you think might assist your group to continue doing or expanding what it does?

47. Summary of Findings & Conclusions • The majority of survey respondents • - indicated that they volunteered with a group • - that was incorporated. • - With More than two-thirds (69.0%) of the survey • respondents reporting that they belonged to groups • - that were incorporated. • - Most of the groups surveyed (64%)also • had no paid support staff

48. Summary of Findings About Group Priorities • Three-quarters (73.7% ) responded that, for their groups, increasing their membership was a priority • - & this was consistent across volunteers from • both incorporated & non- incorporated groups. • - with there being no significant difference in this between • amongst volunteers from • - incorporated & non-incorporated groups.

49. Summary of the Motivations of Volunteers in Small Groups • The survey responses indicate that Major motivating factors as to why volunteers joined their current groups included: • - “to get involved & make a contribution”and • - “to help others”. • Three-quarters of the respondents (75.3%) • - said they joined their current groups • - “to get involved & make a contribution”, • - while half (50.3%) of those surveyed stated that they joined • - “to help others”.

50. Summary of the Motivations of Volunteers in Small Groups • Large proportions of the volunteers that completed the survey • - indicated that they continued volunteering in their current • groups • - because they believed the community needed the work • - completed by the group (79.3%) • - & also because they derived satisfaction from • their involvement(73.9%)