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For Purpose began as the seed of an idea in 2015. Three former colleagues – Kristin Gillies, Ryan Mearns, and Lou Sherrell – found themselves without work, but with a bunch of newfound digital campaigning skills after the 2014 general election. After being approached by several organisations to share their knowledge and experience of using digital to engage and organise communities around progressive issues, we went out on a limb and decided to continue working together under the For Purpose banner.
Our vision was to help organisations with purpose build collective power to make change. The digital landscape was changing quickly, and we believed that by bringing the latest in digital tools, strategy, and tactics to these organisations we could shift the dial on social issues and help make the world a better place.
We began by rolling out digital organising software across a number of organisations that wanted to better mobilise their supporters. It was all a bit new, and there was a lot of reticence – especially in big organisations – to invest in the tools, and to invest in empowering their supporter base to become more engaged champions for their causes. There was a lot of interest in the strategies that had been used in the general election, but it was slow going trying to build a business around it, even one that didn’t exist to make a profit.
One early test was working with Unite Union on the End Zero Hours campaign. In late 2016, Unite Union won a major victory for some of New Zealand’s most vulnerable workers, by ending the dubious practice of Zero Hours Contracts and winning guaranteed working hours for tens of thousands of workers in the fast food industry. The win was internationally celebrated and represented a fundamental shift in employment relationships for the most vulnerable workers in New Zealand. We were proud and honoured to play a small role in boosting Unite’s ability to mobilise its members and supporters around the campaign. The lessons we learned from this campaign even inspired us to develop an app to support member mobilisation on the go.
Over the years For Purpose has been tended by the careful and skilled hands of changemakers, advocates, and allies. We’ve been proud to be part of some really amazing campaigns:
- Helping Te Taura Whiri make history by driving the participation of 1 million people in Te Wā Tuku Reo Māori, the Māori Language Moment
- Fighting alongside the NZ Drug Foundation for evidence-based drug law reform.
- Sharing the stories of disability advocates, nurses, teachers, the housing crisis, kaimahi supporting whanau in hardship, pre-term birth, climate activists, and environmentalists
… and countless others. You can see some more highlights on our website.
We’ve worked with changemakers all over the world – supporting the Independence Movement in Scotland, a Welsh Independence Political Party, Democracy in Myanmar, Black Liberation in the U.S, and working with Indigenous communities in the U.S (including Alaska), Canada, Australia and Aotearoa.
It has been a privilege and a pleasure to work with so many incredible people who are really making a difference for people and planet, in Aotearoa, and beyond. We look back on our journey with gratitude, and we look forward towards the future with hope.
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