National Partnerships
Toyota Australia partners with Conservation Volunteers Australia and Rotary Clubs Fostering Youth Driver Awareness (RYDA) to share its skills and resources to build capacity. Partnerships are chosen based on eight principles and each partnership is evaluated each year against key objectives.
Conservation Volunteers Australia
Toyota Australia has partnered with Conservation Volunteers Australia (CVA) for the past nine years.
CVA is a not-for-profit community-based conservation organisation which manages community involvement in approximately 2,000 conservation projects and 100,000 volunteer days across Australia each year.
During the nine years, the focus of the partnership has been on capacity building in the not-for-profit organisation to enable CVA to deliver more programs. Since 2002, Toyota Australia and CVA have worked together to:
- Launch Conservation Connect, an innovative approach to volunteer recruitment which included the first online volunteer booking service in Australia, enabling volunteers to utilise the speed and convenience of the internet to search for volunteering opportunities.
- Launch Corporate Connect which extends the referral service to match companies and their employees with priority environmental projects in local communities across Australia.
- Implement regional community group capacity-building workshops at dealerships and enrol participants in the Conservation Volunteers Training Program.
Highlights of Toyota Australia/Conservation Volunteers Australia Partnership
- The management of 100,000 volunteer days per year valued at $24 million
- 30,000 web visitors per month to Conservation Connect
- 10,000 new registered volunteers each year
- 1 million trees planted each year across Australia.
In addition to the programs mentioned above, there have been other unanticipated but significant outcomes for CVA. For example, some companies started off by using Conservation Connect for volunteering opportunities and have now leant their support to CVA in other ways. For example, Hewlett-Packard has donated hardware and software and Kraft Foods has entered into a national partnership with CVA.
In 2010/11, Toyota Australia invested $300,000 in the CVA partnership by supporting Corporate Connect, Volunteer Connect and Dealer Connect.The table below shows the objectives set for the partnership and the outcomes achieved for the year ending 31 March 2011.
| Activity supported by Toyota Australia | Objectives for 1 April 2009 to 31 March 2011 | Outcomes as at 31 March 2011 |
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Conservation Connect / Coroprate Connect |
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| Maintenance of volunteer referral service to match business volunteers/companies with environment projects in local communities. | 50 companies in 2010/11 | 148 new companies connected. |
| Provided multiple voluntering opportunities for Toyota Australia employees on scheduled Fridays across the year. | Provide opportunities for up to 500 staff across ten nominated days (Fridays) in the period. | Opportunities provided for 25 Toyota staff as part of a trial volunteering program (see below - Dixon's Creek) |
Volunteer Connect |
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| This program uses electronic communication and social network marketing to provide added value to the volunteers' experience and to CVA membership. | 100 percent of all CVA bookings to be instant, online bookings. | 99 percent of all CVA bookings instant, online bookings. |
| Reduction in site bounce rate from 62 per cent to 42 percent (approx 5,250 additional users retained per month). | Bounce rate reduced to 56% | |
| All CVA contacts (i.e volunteers and members) managed through the one national database. | Volunteer database now manages all volunteer bookings, customer service and operations whilst Microsoft CRM manages all members, donors and supporters. | |
Dealer Connect |
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| Held at dealerships around Australia, community groups learn about how to build capabilitites in their organisation. | Implement ten regional community group capacity building workshops, targeting local groups in communities of interest to Toyota and CVA. | Ten workshops successfully delivered. |
| Enrol 100 participants in the Conservation Volunteers Training Program and hold graduations | 132 enrolments in Active Volunterring Certificates. | |
| Maintain individual dealer engagement at 100 (across three years). | 143 dealer engagements with 77 individual Toyota Dealerships. |
Toyota Australia Employees Volunteer at Dixon's Creek Wildlife Shelter
On 31 January 2011, Toyota Australia employees from Port Melbourne and Altona volunteered their time at a wildlife shelter in Dixon's Creek with Toyota's conservation partner, Conservation Volunteers Australia.
During the day, the volunteers helped to construct 50m of fencing, clear 50m2 of invasive weeds, spread 15m2 of gravel and dig a 2.5m long ditch at the Dixon's Creek Wildlife Shelter. The shelter rehabilitates and cares for injured and orphaned Australian animals and is currently being restored after the devastating 2009 bushfires.
The activity provided Toyota Australia employees with an opportunity to contribute to a local community project. The employees who attended on the day enjoyed the opportunity to meet with other employees from different divisions and work together on a community project that benefits the environment.
For more information about Conservation Volunteers Australia please see conservationvolunteers.com.au
Rotary Clubs Fostering Youth Driver Awareness (RYDA)
In 2010/11, Toyota Australia initiated a pilot partnership with RYDA (Rotary Clubs Fostering Youth Driver Awareness) and invested $60,000. RYDA is a not-for-profit company (limited by guarantee) that has developed an evidence-based road safety education program that is delivered to year 11 students.
| Activity supported by Toyota Australia | Objectives for 1 July 2010 to 30 June 2011 | Outcomes 1 July 2010 to 30 June |
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| Further develop venues in Rotary-ready areas. |
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| Provide opportunities for Toyota dealers to provide vehicles for RYDA program. |
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| Provide opportunities for Toyota to engage with RYDA stakeholders - through local dealer involvement and media/PR. |
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| Develop strategy to make the program national by 2011/12. |
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