BY BELLA MIDDLETON
The Hunter Volunteer Centre will remain open after preparing to close its doors for good on Wednesday, following the introduction of a new funding scheme announced by the federal government.
Minister for Social Services Amanda Rishworth announced $4 million in funding for volunteer management centres to recruit and train staff, in which 37 centres, including the Hunter Volunteer Centre, will be able to apply for a grant of up to $100,000 over two years.
HVC CEO Tony Ross, said the announcement is positive news, but it's less than previous years.
"While it is a wonderful offer, it certainly doesn't seem to go far enough to keep place-based VRC's open," said Mr. Ross.
Mr. Ross said the last federal government changed the funding model in mid 2021, allocating funding to each state's peak body to distribute based on expressions of interest, instead of directly funding each centre an average of $100,000.
The HVC received their usual funding of $200,000 last year, which was dubbed as transitional funding before the new framework came into place.
"This latest offer from the minister, collectively, is about a 50% reduction to VRC's. Here in the Hunter, it's actually a 75% reduction."
"I can't stretch $50,000 into $200,000," said Mr. Ross.
