An independent social impact study has shown Morwell Neighbourhood House provided in excess of $600,000 worth of value to the community in 2017, despite operating on less than $140,000.
The study, conducted by Deloitte Access Economics, found the neighbourhood house directly supported 188 people to improve their quality of life, as well as a further 261 people who described themselves as “experiencing a disability”.
Neighbourhood Houses Victoria chief executive Nicole Battle said the organisation had known “for a long time” of the “amazing work” of the Morwell Neighbourhood House, however the report represented the first time the organisation had been able to put a dollar value on the neighbourhood house’s contribution to the community.
“It is an amazing return on investment,” she said.
“For the government to see those figures, that every dollar they are putting in they are getting six times that back for the community, it is really powerful.”
Ms Battle said reports such as the Deloitte study would allow Neighbourhood Houses Victoria to build it’s evidence base and also demonstrate the commitment of the community to neighbourhood houses in the state.
“I think, according to the report, there were over 3000 volunteer hours in 2017,” she said.
“It shows that people are really willing to give up time to put back into their community and to be a part of something that is bigger than them.”
The study highlighted that house program participants came from a diverse range of backgrounds and stated that the dollar value was likely to be much more than the number estimated in the report.
