Giving Hub houses new neighbours

A COMMUNITY hub established last year at the Hugh Williamson House on Lydiard Street South now has three tenant groups to call the space home.

Following its opening in November, the Ballarat Giving Hub’s parent organisation Ballarat Foundation welcomed the inaugural non-profits into the space late last week.

Ballarat North Neighbourhood House, the Arch of Victory Avenue of Honour Committee, and queer advocacy group Tiny Pride, are the first of the organisations to take up office space at the site.

Ballarat Foundation CEO, Andrew Eales, said the addition of the community-minded tenant groups marks the first step in providing a boon for charities in the region.

“It is such a pleasure to announce these tenancies with organisations representing such a diverse range of initiatives and groups within Ballarat,” he said.

“After its inception over 40 years ago… and the renovation of this historic building, we are excited to move into the next phase of utilisation, providing local charities with a low-cost space for ongoing office tenancies and meeting room hire.”

The hub’s creation was made possible with more than $1 million from the State Government.

The project is aimed at providing a space for non-profit groups with minimal overhead costs to allow for better operations, networking opportunities, and greater accessibility.

Arch of Victory Avenue of Honour Committee president Garry Snowden said the Hub will support the group to thrive into the future.

“[The group] is pleased to be one of the first tenants of the Ballarat Giving Hub,” he said.

“Our committee has existed for over 90 years and as we plan for our future, we needed an accessible space that could facilitate everything from working groups, storage of records and desks.

“We have found these features and more at the Hub.”

Tiny Pride CEO, Ange Elson, said she’s looking forward to the opportunities the refurbished 1800s-era building will provide.

“Tiny Pride is a locally based not-for-profit that works with organisations to help them to signal inclusion to the LGBTIQA+ community in regional Victoria,” she said.

“As a small organisation that is deeply committed to Ballarat, are excited about the opportunities the Ballarat Giving Hub will provide in terms of collaboration, connection, and creativity.”

As well as the three tenant groups, the space will also host non-profit educational organisation group Toastmasters, and Ballarat North Neighbourhood House, who’ll use the facilities for their regular meetings and yarn bombing program respectively.

“Ballarat North Neighbourhood House is thrilled to be in the Ballarat Giving Hub,” said the organisation’s manager Kristen Sheridan.

“We focus on serving both Ballarat North and the LGBTIQA+ community working alongside a range of local organisations and running community programming in the state-of-the-art training rooms.”

Tours, regular bookings, and tenancies are now available by contacting ballaratfoundation.org.au, with space available for three more tenants.