Charlotte Varcoe
THE future of the Mount Gambier Women in Business and Regional Development (WiBRD) hangs in the balance with a special meeting later this month being the deciding factor.
Members of the not-for-profit organisation will meet with board members to decide whether to de-register the organisation after 25 years of service.
During the last financial year, the WiBRD organisation hosted more than 25 events including its Hall of Fame event in November last year, rolling out the Mentor Connect Program and the 2023 Business Awards.
However, following on from the Covid-19 pandemic, cost of living crisis and difficulty retaining volunteers, the WiBRD board will decide whether or not to re-register as an organisation and donate all current funds to the Stand Like Stone Foundation.
Speaking with SA Today, WiBRD chairperson Brittany Shelton said the special meeting would be the deciding factor in its future whether it folds or turn it into something a bit different.
“We just celebrated our 25 year birthday so it has a really long, rich legacy and it has been one of the highest profile not-for-profit and membership-based organisations in the Limestone Coast,” Ms Shelton said.
“We are really good at what we do and we believe we are amazing connectors and facilitators.”
She said the climate the organisation was operating in post-pandemic had changed with members finding the cost of living pressures going “through the roof”.
“This means our members have less discretionary spending for things like events or value adds like training and professional development,” Ms Shelton said.
“We have also found that people are incredibly burnt out and stretched in their own professional and personal lives which has had an impact on not only our member engagement but the capacity of our volunteer members.
“As a volunteer run board it is getting increasingly hard to get enough manpower to do what we do.”
She said the same issue was presented across other associations throughout the nation.
“Unsurprisingly our community still feel strongly there is a place for women in business and regional development,” Ms Shelton said.
“We act as facilitators for a lot of government agencies, other not-for-profits and also private enterprises in running events and bringing together communities.” ;
She said members of the organisation felt they were “connectors in the community” such as when politicians visited the region.
“There is definitely a need for the organisation, however whether we are capable of continuing to stay in the operation of the organisation given the declining number of volunteer members is a separate question,” Ms Shelton said.
“Unfortunately we have had a lot of members, historic and present and even community members who have not been necessarily heavily involved in the organisation.
“Many people are aware of what we do and who we are so we have had a huge outreach of people saying they are incredibly disappointed to hear we may not be continuing.”
She said ideally the organisation could continue to thrive into the future, yet acknowledged it was a common trend among not-for-profit organisations throughout Australia.
“That means voluntary operated boards are becoming increasingly harder to operate,” Ms Shelton said.
“Events like what we held last year are enormous and they require a huge amount of manpower, a huge amount of financial resources and quite simply, without adequate manpower or financial resources they are just not achievable.”
She said post-pandemic it had become “increasingly more challenging” to operate large events and regardless of the outcome from the special meeting, there would “always be a place for regional women” particularly in business.
“Regardless of what happens with the formal organisation of WiBRD there will always be a place in our community for women, championing women and continuing to support each other and celebrate each other into the future,” Ms Shelton said.
