During recent socially turbulent times in the
community, particularly with the COVID-19
pandemic, CSF, being an organisation in
transition, could face a number of challenges:
‣ Increases in ER instances and clients presenting
to CSF with mental health, homelessness,
housing, bills, alcohol and other drug (AOD)
related problems, continues to be a challenge.
Combined with a lack of specialist services able to
cope with community demand, has meant that
more is expected of our volunteer community
workers.
‣ The increased complexity of serious problems
faced by our community has identified a strong
need for additional care and ongoing supervision,
support and training for our volunteers.
‣ Maintaining existing relationships with CSF’s key
alliances and partners, such as Frankston City
Council (for staff, facilities and in-kind support),
along with retaining Emergency Relief (ER)
funding levels through the Federal Government’s
Department of Social Services (DSS), which are
essential to maintaining CSF services, will be a
major challenge in the coming years.
‣ Future obstacles or changes to key alliances and
partnerships may also impact on the quantity
and quality of services provided by CSF, which
could, in turn, adversely affect CSF’s capacity to
attract and retain experienced and skilled staff.
‣ Alternative sources of adequate funding
for community services, especially for paid
staffing and administration, are limited, and
competition for government, business and
philanthropic support is extremely high.
‣ Many organisations employ specialist public
relations and fund-raising personnel to achieve
their funding targets, but CSF is not in a position
to engage such personnel. Even the big agencies
and charities increasingly struggle to locate,
maintain and retain streams of funding.
‣ The retirement of long serving staff members
and/or a reduction in funding for paid positions
comes with its own challenges, but CSF will
persist in getting the most from a highly skilled
workforce, and continuously review its priorities
and capacity to deliver community services.
‣ A shift in volunteering trends of late however has
resulted in community-minded people having less
time available for volunteering, with preferences
being for shorter-term and/or pop-up
volunteering opportunities, rather than a regular
commitment in some cases. Meanwhile, Finding,
training and retaining the right volunteer mix
continues to be challenging.
‣ Retiring long-term volunteer board members,
who possess a wide range of valuable
knowledge, skills and community connections,
will also be difficult to replace.
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