Neighbourhood and Community House and Centre (NCHC) Week

Neighbourhood and Community House and Centre Week celebrates the incredible work happening in local communities across Australia.  Every week, more than 400,000 people walk through the doors of an NCHC to access support, connection, and opportunity.

Hundreds of events are being hosted at Houses and Centres across six states, and the DNC has participated.

This year’s theme is ‘Your Place to Connect’, highlighting our unique role as ‘a third space’ outside of home and work, being a community lifeline and fostering social connections across our community.

But it doesn’t ‘just happen’!

Regular readers would be familiar with previous comments about the funding model for neighbourhood houses, which is unsustainable as the annual increase is always less than the required EBA (i.e. salary) increases.  Recent data from Neighbourhood Houses Victoria shows that 45% of centres are running at a loss compared to just 25% pre-pandemic. 

The Daylesford Neighbourhood Centre is fortunate to not be running at a loss.  We continue to be financially viable, thanks to the huge ongoing efforts of our Committee of Management, our brilliant staff, and our enthusiastic and energetic volunteers.

Volunteers play an important role in supporting the staff to enable the doors to stay open.  However, there are limits to what volunteers can be asked to do e.g. not acting as an unpaid staff member in a regular, ongoing position.  Given the State Government’s parlous financial position we are not expecting any improvements in the funding model for our Centre any time soon.  Fortunately, our great team really has come together in tough times.

Our focus is now on growing revenue and constraining costs wherever possible, in a responsible and sustainable manner, while at the same time continuing to provide a welcoming and supportive environment for all members of our Daylesford Community.

You can help by getting involved in any way you can, by visiting our local Centre this week, by volunteering to help, by participating in our programs or even by giving a donation.

Watch the pages of The Wombat Post in weeks to come to see more about what we are doing and how you can play a part.