Imagine your brigade or unit 10, 20, or 30 years from now. Will it look like it does today? Will people still volunteer in the same way as they do today?

Communities are changing and the way people want to volunteer is changing. To ensure our agencies remain sustainable and volunteering continues to grow, many are opening their minds to new and innovative ways of doing things.

This presentation outlines the Brigade Sustainability Pilot (BSP) approach that returns to a 'back to basics' style based on seven key areas of sustainability: people; training; leadership; capacity to deliver; community connectedness; finance and administration; infrastructure and equipment.  

It values good, old-fashioned, face-to-face support that is tailored and practical to suit local needs. It reconnects us with the benefits of keeping it simple and looking to support our people in a holistic manner, with a local context.

This presentation will focus on some of the key discoveries and learnings the BSP has unearthed, including:

·            Volunteer recruitment verses re-engagement of volunteers – considering other options to recruitment as a solution.

·            Innovative membership models – tackling cultural change in a gentle way

·            Brigades dealing with growth and decline

·            Membership diversity – it all starts with a need for a change in culture

·            Community connectedness – why this is so important to the growth of volunteerism and building a sustainable workforce for the future

·            Transient communities – real life creative solutions from brigades.

Predicting where we’ll be and what our communities will look like in the decades to come is a complex challenge. This is why the Brigade Sustainability Pilot is an exciting project. It’s all about working together to support our people and seeking solutions to help us plan and prepare to face these challenges head on.