SENVIC Local Lead
Hume Region
Upper Murray Regional Neighbourhood House Network
Upper Murray Regional Neighbourhood House Network (UMRNHN) supports 16 neighbourhood houses located in 12 communities in six Local Government Areas across the Upper Murray.
We are a member-based, incorporated association, employing a Network Coordinator to provide a range of services to members. We work strategically with other neighbourhood house networks, the Victorian peak body and community networks on issues affecting our sector and the broader community.
We have a strong commitment to strengthening social enterprise in rural and regional communities. Neighbourhood houses are in and of themselves a ‘social enterprise’. By and large, they are community owned and operated businesses, with varying degrees of complexity. They receive government funding, but most of them also generate their own ‘untied’ income through various fee for service activity, such as room hire, event management, and programs.
Almost half of our neighbourhood house members have a specific social enterprise as part of their business model. We see first hand the benefits that this brings to those organisations and their communities. Our vision is to see an increase in the development of social enterprises in our region that build capacity in local communities, create change and increase sustainability.
As the Hume Local Lead, we aim to strengthen and develop social enterprise in our region by:
- developing a network of people across Hume Region who are actively involved in or interested in the social enterprise business model
- hosting networking events to bring people together to learn and share skills and knowledge
- providing an opportunity to fully explore what being a social enterprise means in a rural and regional context, the various models, and challenges and opportunities
- sharing information and opportunities relating to social enterprise
- increasing the profile of social enterprises across Hume Region through media and other communications
- exploring innovative opportunities relating to social enterprise and tourism.
