The evolution of For Purpose

7 December 2018

At YWCA Canberra, we value diversity. That is why we launched Write for Us, an opportunity that provides our members and friends with a platform to discuss their experiences. Today, we are sharing an article from For Purpose who talk about their Founder and Managing Director, Caterina Giorgi, and the organisation’s humble beginnings.

For Purpose works with not-for-profit and purposeful organisations to build their strategic, advocacy and communication capacity. They do this through their professional community, professional development, consulting and coaching.​ For Purpose professionals work every day to address some of Australia’s biggest health, social and environmental problems. They also work across the spectrum of public policy development and service delivery, including policy and program development; communication and awareness raising; advocacy and providing services to people directly affected.

Four years ago, I filled out an application form for a Great Ydeas Grant; a grant program for new ideas from YWCA Canberra.

My idea was a simple one. It was all about people working in not-for-profit and purpose-driven roles and the need for us to focus on our own learning.

The reason – learning through a range of formats is super important to helping us to achieve the change that we need to create healthier, safer, more connected and sustainable communities.

I was lucky enough to be successful and getting the grant gave me the validation that my idea was worth pursuing. This was massive for someone who wasn’t quite sure that For Purpose would ever be ‘a thing’. So, I started off by planning four training sessions. Our first session on Policy and Advocacy sold out. We were super excited.

From there, For Purpose has grown and evolved and as I reflect on this evolution, I feel very fortunate to have had the opportunity to work alongside amazing humans to create change.

We always intended to be flexible to provide whatever people working in not for profit and purpose driven organisations needed to create change. To truely do this though – we’ve needed to be open to change.

So when people started asking for support within their organisations, we launched our Strategy work. This include working alongside organisations by being a part of the team and supporting policy, advocacy, research, strategic planning, governance and more.

When people asked for a way to stay connected and keep learning, we launched our Community. This is a group of people from across Australia sharing news, information, advice and joining in on our book club, webinars and networking events.

We have now delivered almost 30 training sessions and events to more than 600 people. We have also worked directly with 30 organisations through our strategy work. And we have a national community of 100 people and counting.

All these numbers tell you that we’ve been busy, which is great – and it’s the way we like to be. But the best part of our work is the people that we work alongside and the change we are able to be part of. We are fortunate to meet amazing people motivated to deliver better healthcare, make communities safer, be there for people who are doing it tough, create a better start for children in their early years and make our planet more sustainable.

And now, we’re embracing change again. We just launched our new brand and website, and our online learning platform. Our online learning platform includes short learning bites that form part of hour long courses with loads of templates, tools and resources.  We’ve kicked off with three online courses now and will unlock access to three more sessions every quarter in 2019.

I genuinely believe that positive social change is inevitable. It’s not a matter of if – but when the change will happen and I’m looking forward to continuing to work alongside passionate people to create this change into 2019 and beyond.

Let’s do this!

For Purpose are offering an opportunity for people working within a not-for-profit or purposeful organisation who are looking to learn some new stuff and connect with amazing people – book into one of their face to face sessions or online courses or grab an annual community membership. They’ve unlocked a 50% discount on their community memberships and online learning and 20% discount on their  face-to-face training until 15 December 2018 to celebrate their launch. Just use the code PUMPED10 when you visit their website.