Voice for SONG

Valuing small community organisations and promoting cooperation

Voice for SONG (small organisations – non-government) is a network that seeks to ensure the survival and development of small community organisations through raising awareness of their issues and promoting their value.

BADFS led the establishment of this group. Many other organisations have collaborated in its establishment including the Family Worker Training and Development Program, Western Sydney Community Forum, Learning Difficulties Support Group and After Hours Family Crisis Service. Click here for the Emerging Voice and survival of small not-for-profit organisations published in Third Sector Review in 2001. In 2002 Nirimba TAFE, BADFS and Voice for SONG ran a community forum: “Small NGOs Moving Forward.”

Voice for SONG seeks to ensure healthy democratic, vibrant, inclusive communities through the sustainability of small or locally based community organisations by:

promoting the recognition of the value, efficiencies and effectiveness of small community organisations (in a climate that values large organisations over small organisations across all sectors)
actively promoting policies and strategies that support the sustainability and development of small community organisations
encouraging small community organisations to take leadership roles
connecting and developing cooperative and collaborative relationships between small community organisations, medium and large NGOs (non- Government organisations) peaks, government, business and the general community to progress issues for small community organisations.
being a vehicle for information exchange, discussion, consultation about key policy, program and service delivery issues affecting small community human service organisations
working with existing lobby groups such as NCOSS to ensure all levels of government are aware of key policy and sector development issues for small community organisations

While Voice for SONG acknowledges that NCOSS and other peaks have always and will continue to represent and advocate for their member organisations, including small community organisations, Voice for SONG aims to have a complementary and non-competitive role with NCOSS and other peaks. Voice for SONG will lobby NCOSS and other peaks to advocate for the benefit of small community organisations.

Voice for SONG began in Blacktown in 1999. After several years the group became a regional Western Sydney group. In 2006, Voice for SONG in collaboration with Western Sydney Community Forum (WSCF), Council of Social Services of NSW (NCOSS) and ACWA (Association of Child Welfare Agencies) organised a roundtable with stakeholders from around NSW. This Roundtable determined that Voice for SONG should be a statewide initiative. During this process the Voice for SONG: The way forward paper was produced describing the issues for small community organisations and the way forward for Voice for SONG. The Voice for SONG website is managed by Tri-Community Exchange.