The Committee for Geelong’s Leaders for Geelong program, a highly popular initiative that seeks to build participants’ leadership capacity and connection with their community, is under threat due to lack of government funding.
Leaders for Geelong is one of nine such programs across the state overseen by Victorian Regional Community Leadership Programs (VRCLP).
Established in 2012, the VRCLP secretariat is seeking $10 million over the next four years to fund the nine community leadership programs, some of which have been running since 1996.
VRCLP Chair and Committee for Geelong CEO Jennifer Cromarty said the VRCLP was surprised at the lack of funding allocation in the May budget given the long-term success of the programs.
“During the last three years there have been two consultancy reviews of the programs across the state, both of which said they were incredibly valuable and impactful and should be funded by the state government or run by it as a core service,” Ms Cromarty said.
“With that being said, we were surprised we didn’t get an announcement in the May budget. So we’ve been working really hard with the government and Regional Development Victoria to get some security.
“Now it’s November, and we’re a bit nervous. It’s about forward planning and staffing. It’s at the point where our people need to be looking elsewhere.”
Ms Cromarty said Leaders for Geelong played an important role in supporting the community by initiating projects that saw young leaders become involved in their city, such as the Active Geelong and Promoting Djilang projects.
“These are just some examples of the community initiatives Regional Leadership alumni deliver across Victoria every year; a capability and commitment to building community resilience that will be lost without secure funding,” Ms Cromarty said.
“In my view, it’s not a big ask for the impact that the programs deliver. There’s been a lot of work done to validate why this is an important program to fund, but obviously it’s up to the politicians.”
