People Inspired By Purpose - Purposely Podcast

Simon Kitchen joined Purposely Podcast to share his story. Simon is the CEO of Bipolar UK having joined the organisation in 2018 during a difficult time for the charity when they lacked financial stability.  Simon is driven to help transforming the lives of the most vulnerable in society through voluntary action. He has a track record of influencing public policy, strategic development, building alliances to achieve social change and using co-production to drive service improvements. His previous roles include leading one of the largest co-production initiatives in adult social care at Leonard Cheshire Disability and running the social action movement at the Dementia Action Alliance. He has also held a number of policy and research roles in Whitehall and in the regions. He is passionate about peer support and giving people with bipolar greater choice and control over their lives. You will hear that he has a family connection to bipolar and a passion for supporting people who have limited options. 

Christine Langdon joined Purposely Podcast to share her founder story with The Good Registry Christine is a social entrepreneur and communicator with a passion for having a positive impact for people and the planet. Co-founder and Chief of Good at The Good Registry, a community and website that is helping to make giving more simple, sustainable and kind. Christine has also taught yoga in prison and was once seconded to the New York Post to work as a journalist for an eventful time which included covering riots and celebrity gossip. Today she combines work on the registry with consultancy and she also writes a blog tracking her adventure from corporate life to social entrepreneurship at mykinderlife.org What's the vision and mission of the Good Registry? ‘The Good Registry, based in New Zealand, is a gift platform where people give charity donation gifts. In the past it's always been stuff we buy from shops and it hasn't always been stuff that people necessarily want, need or ever use. The Good Registry is about recognising people without having to buy them stuff. Instead the money is helping good causes, stopping waste and saving the environment.’ Was it your idea? How did it come about? ‘It was my inspiration and four years ago (2017) I left my role as Community Manager at Z Energy and while I did not have an exact plan I knew that I wanted to create something that would have a positive social impact. The idea for The Good Registry came super quick and it was because I was doing a bit of decluttering in my house and come across things stashed in a drawer and under the stairs and I was thinking that I couldn't throw these things away because they were gifts and I just wished that I hadn't been given them at all so I didn't have to store them. I then had another birthday and received a few more things that I didn't want or need and at the same time I had been looking for ways that I could give to good causes and enable others to go to good causes as well. So the idea was conceived’ Great ideas don't always become a reality, what gave you the impetus to launch? ‘A walk with one friend, Sue McCabe and lunch with another, Tracey Bridges presented me with my two co-founders as well as the momentum to get the site off the ground. They both loved the idea and were willing to get behind it. We also received a lot of encouragement and support from others and we just kept driving it forward. It was funny because I bumped into someone recently who had the same idea 14 years ago but they didn’t do anything to make it happen. I think we all have great ideas and it just takes someone to do something with the idea. We were also inspired to launch in time for Christmas and we managed to get the whole thing set up and going by November 2017’ It's been a real success, however, have there been any pain points along the way? ‘I don’t regret a day I have given to The Good Registry and it has turned out really well, however, the 70 hour weeks I worked to get it launched were tough at the beginning. The website wasn’t great at the beginning and evolved over time to respond to people’s needs… we didn’t quite nail with the first version and if we'd had time to do more research and maybe some more money to get it perfect. That said… it may have stopped us getting it off the ground and just going for it is a good way to approach life.’

Penny Wilson joined Purposely Podcast to share her story as CEO of Getting On Board a non-profit focused on supporting people from all sectors of society to become charity board trustees, and charities to recruit and retain a diverse range of trustees. Tell me about Getting On Board, what’s its mission? ‘Getting On Board is a really small charity based in Britain working to increase the accessibility and diversity of trustee non-profit boards… which are currently positively ‘victorian’ in their composition right across the sector. Two thirds of trustees are male, two thirds are over 50, 92% white and three quarters of trustees are from households above the national median household income. So as a body, our trustees are wealthier, ‘maler’, whiter, older than wider society and then we've got lots and lots of gaps for example… lived experience, so lived experience of the thing that a particular charity is seeking to tackle and Getting On Board works on that… important work that impacts on every single charity. ‘ Trustees perform vital and important roles right? ‘Charity board members are the most senior leaders in our charities and unfortunately not enough care and attention is given to how we recruit trustees or thought put into who goes onto a board. In fact the most common way of becoming a trustee in the UK is to be asked to be one, however, this does not necessarily ensure the right people are recruited and it does not match how we recruit our employees. In comparison if we need an employee with certain skills we advertise for the person that matches that requirement we don’t just ask friends, family members ex colleagues etc. We need to start doing this when recruiting trustees especially when you consider the level of responsibility they have’ How did the Getting On Board get started? ‘It was started in 2004, by Sarah Hodgkinson who sadly died a couple of years ago. At the time Sarah held a senior role in a big corporate and she recognized that there wasn't an easy path for senior professionals to step into charity board roles and she wanted to do something about it. I’m the CEO and I've been here for five years.  I had met Sarah a few times and heard her talking about trusteeship and I thought that sounds absolutely brilliant. I want a piece of that. So that’s how my voluntary trusteeship career took off and it also led me to taking this role with Getting On Board.’ How is the charity set-up? ‘The first thing to say is that we are microscopically small with an annual income of just over 70,000 pounds but it is fair to say that we really punch above our weight and people are always really shocked when they find out how small we are both in terms of income and the size of the team. We've got three part time core team members. However, we've got like a really wide community of people who just think what we do is important and support us in lots of ways by amplifying our message.’ A core part of what you do is training? What else do you do? ‘We work on both sides of the trustee thing, so we work with people who are potential trustees and then we work with charity leaders who want to know about diversifying their boards and about recruiting trustees professionally, we do this by providing free guidance. That said we primarily focus on training people in what it means to be a trustee, to serve as an effective trustee as well as how to find a role. On the other side of the coin we advise and train charities on how to diversify their boards and how to recruit trustees. It’s fair to say that most charities trustees have to be hands on because there is nobody else to do the work although the medium to larger organisations that have staff again can take more of a governance only approach’

Mike Seawright joined Purposely Podcast to share his founder story with ReliefAid. Mike Seawright started ReliefAid because he was frustrated by the inability of many aid organisations to get staff and resources into conflict zones quickly and effectively. A decade prior Mike had switched careers from corporate consultant to aid worker and following his first experience in Sudan he has specialised in working in conflict situations. ReliefAid has gone on to become a respected international aid organisation that is saving lives and alleviating the suffering of people affected by conflict through independent and impartial humanitarian action. They work closely with other international aid partners including ShelterBox. What is the mission and vision of ReliefAid, the charity you’re founder and CEO of? ‘I'd been working in war zones for a number of years, and I realised from first-hand experience that not enough aid was getting into places like Syria, Yemen, Sudan, Afghanistan, the key conflict hot spots of the world. It was a kind of ‘aha moment’ a realisation that I could help families that no one else could help. Six years later we've supported over 210k people in conflict zones.’ There are 80 million refugees worldwide and 50 million people displaced by conflict or war, can ReliefAid make enough of a difference? ‘The numbers are absolutely staggering and of course you can feel overwhelmed and that not enough can be done. One of the challenges we have when communicating with the New Zealand public and people around the world is stressing that while the numbers are big and the problem is huge, making a positive difference starts with helping one family. We can help people, who through no fault of their own, are forced from their homes by the effects of war and conflict.’ So ReliefAid provides independent and impartial humanitarian action, why is that so important? ‘In a war zone the political parties and warring parties could perceive you to be part of the conflict itself. I have worked in Foreign Affairs as a Diplomat and during that time I could see aid decisions being made based on political and military objectives. We took a lesson from that and when we founded ReliefAid we knew we did not want to be at the mercy of a country's foreign policy. To that end we have had to stay clear of Government money and remain independent and neutral. We don't take sides in the conflict and our focus is on accessing people who need how help and support and the assessments made on the basis of need and not on the basis of political objectives.’ www.reliefaid.org.nz

James Hurman joined Purposely Podcast to share his founder story with Previously Unavailable. A creative agency he launched in 2014 that focuses on delivering success for clients as well as a first class experience for employees. A new kind of workplace that evolves to match the needs of the employees at different life stages and an environment that means the team can be the very best version of themselves. Launching his agency followed a career as a strategic planner at Auckland ad agency Colenso BBDO. He has since led innovation and venture projects across fintech, energy, telecommunications, health, food, beverages, public sector, media, hospitality and professional services. James is also the author of The Case for Creativity, a book about the link between creativity and business success, described as "beautiful words of wisdom’.

John Berry, co-founder of ethical investment company Pathfinder joined Purposely Podcast to share his story. John along with Paul Brownsey set-up Pathfinder Asset Management in 2009 and over the last decade they have marked themselves out as leaders in responsible investment. They launched their first ethical fund in 2010 and have since established a track record for not only delivering great returns, but also doing so responsibly and ethically. Pathfinder is now part of Alvarium Wealth. What's the mission and purpose of Pathfinder? ‘The way we invest our money has real world impacts. Our mission is investing ethically to grow individual wealth and collective well-being, so there's two parts to that. The first part wealth, where we're managing people’s money (as well as organisations) and we want to make them as much money as we possibly can and we're driven by financial purpose of fantastic investment returns. But the wellbeing part is just as important from a personal and a social and environmental well-being perspective. We're trying to generate good outcomes, not just avoid harm, but generate good outcomes through the way we invest.’ Have we reached a time in history when investing ethically no longer means low returns? ‘I think that is an excellent question. Because the biggest hurdle we've had to overcome over the last 10 years is the preconception that if you invest ethically, it will cost you in terms of returns. I think we're now at a point where people now know that you can have both. An example of this is our KiwiSaver ethical fund which has enjoyed stellar returns. We put that down to good investment decisions but also the fact that we're focusing on companies with good environmental and social metrics and these companies tend to be more resilient. So yes, you can have both.’ Does Pathfinder regularly generate funds for good causes? ‘We have taken a social enterprise approach with our KiwiSaver (pension fund) generating awesome returns for investors at the same time as making a positive impact on communities. We’ve both been personally involved in charities, Men's Health Trust for me and Paul’s been involved in Arthritis New Zealand. We understand the main problem for charities, particularly smaller charities, is sourcing consistent funding - long term passive income streams that they can rely on. We were scratching our heads thinking how we can use financial markets to overcome that problem. So, our solution is our KiwiSaver fund where we charge normal fees and give 20% of that to our family of charities. We want to be giving $50,000 a year to each of the 17 charities we support, and we are getting closer to that.’ You have spent a lot of time living abroad? What made you come home to New Zealand? ‘I lived overseas for years through the 90’s and originally I wanted to drive from London to Kathmandu. While we didn't make it, we did get to spend a lot of time in Syria and Jordan which was really interesting. I also worked in London for several great companies including Deutsche Bank. It was a difficult transition coming back, however, it felt like the right time to do it. The decision was based around my family and our kids were about to start school. I had also experienced anxiety issues while I was working and I just knew for my own mental health and for my family that I needed a change. I spent such long hours working through weekends and nights and it was very, very intense. Not the healthiest thing for me or for my family. So, coming back to New Zealand gave me some headspace, an opportunity to reset and eventually launch Pathfinder and it also gave me the opportunity to be really involved in my kids.’

Lisa King joined Purposely Podcast to share her founder story with Eat My Lunch Lisa and her business partner Michael Meredith’s mission started in 2015 with a plan to ensure that no New Zealand school child goes hungry and  this continues to be their mission today. They have just celebrated their 6th birthday and they are proud to have given away over 1.6 million lunches to Kiwi kids in need. Sadly there is still a waiting list with many schools in Auckland and Wellington needing their help. Lisa was inspired by a news article she read outlining the damaging effects of food poverty on children in New Zealand at the same time she reflected on a pair of Toms Shoes she was wearing, where she had bought a pair of Tom’s shoes and she had gifted pair of shoes at the same time. Eat My Lunch was born using the same, buy one gift one model. You will hear how an urgent start-up phase orchestrated from Lisa’s home kitchen was soon followed by a quickly scaled team and operation including a commercial kitchen and urgency to deliver on the need that was evident across New Zealand. In this episode she talks about her previous career as a corporate marketeer and brand expert and how she used this experience and the commercial skills she had gained to start, scale and grow Eat My Lunch. The episode also explores her early years, having been born in Hong Kong her parents moved Lisa and her siblings to New Zealand to start a new life. A new life built on some traditional values and views as well as some exceptional hard work where her family invested their energy into running a successful Chinese restaurant. Lisa expands on growing up on New Zealand as an Asian migrant and how her Hong Kong background and New Zealand experience has shaped who she is today. www.eatmylunch.co.nz

Philanthropy Advisor Emma Beeston joined Purposely Podcast to share insights into her career, her approach and what it takes to successfully advise people on giving.  Emma advises foundations, grant-makers and families on creating and implementing giving strategies. She facilitates strategy and learning sessions for teams and families. How did you get your job? ‘I worked for a number large foundations, initially giving grants to individuals for things like paying for cookers and writing off debt. I ended up working at BBC Children In Need, and then Lloyds Bank Foundation managing their grant programs and I really enjoy that side of things. You get to visit different charities and it's really interesting work. I left because I wanted to challenge myself and I felt I was getting a little bit too comfortable and I wanted to stretch myself. I decided to go freelance although there wasn't really a plan, you could say there still isn't really a plan.  I'm in a very nice position now of being a consultant philanthropy advisor’ What have been the biggest changes in grant making practice? ‘The changes to grant making practice have really been amplified by events of the last year. For so long now fundraisers have quite rightly been complaining about the hoops they have to jump through and the power imbalance where a funder can ask them to do whatever they need them to do to provide whatever information they require. It's really good to see that shift recently and the changes have gained momentum and increased rapidly over the last. Best practice is much more focused on a partnership approach and trust based philanthropy.  Participatory approaches and models are also coming through and all these changes have had a direct and positive impact on philanthropic decisions.’ Emma co-created the Advising Donors module for the University of Kent’s Masters in Philanthropic Giving, lectures on CASS Business School’s Charity Masters Programme and delivers training for the Association of Charitable Foundation’s Professional Development programme. She is a co-founder of a giving circle, Bath Women’s Fund.

Danny Witter joined Purposely Podcast to share his co-founder story with Work for Good Danny spent 25 years in the City of London, including 17 years at Deutsche Bank where he worked with a range of FTSE100 corporate clients, to being the Chair of the UK Corporate Citizenship Committee to his non-executive directorships including Shakespeare’s Globe, The Microloan Foundation, Shape History and Ivy House Learning. Danny’s philanthropic work has led him to co-found Work for Good and is now on mission to change the face of business giving. Work for Good’s mission is to help charities raise funds from purpose driven small businesses. They enable small businesses to give to good causes at the same time including their giving into their brand story. It can seem overwhelming for businesses researching how to work with a charity and that is where Work For Good comes in, not only do they do the matching they also take care of the legal stuff and facilitate the giving transactions. Danny explain’s how Work for Good is actually the brainchild of Danny’s Co-founder Rupert Pick, who was inspired to give back to the amazing hospital staff who care for his daughter Ottie. Ottie was born 10 weeks premature, weighing less than 3lbs and with two rare genetic conditions that affect both her bones and her heart. When Rupert decided to donate the fees from his next workshop to the Evelina London Children’s Hospital, it made him wonder about all the wonderful things that could happen if only more businesses chose to give through their work. Work for Good was then formed to help businesses give and Danny joined offering seed funding as well as his time and expertise to get the platform built. 5 years on they have engaged thousands of businesses and good causes and on their way to creating a sustainable businesses doing good. https://workforgood.co.uk/

Welcome to episode 49 with Marcus Exall A really nice guy, angel investor, business founder and charity trustee. We talk about how starting and eventually selling a digital agency in London (Blue Barracuda sold to Draftfcb in 2013) changed his life. The conversation starts with his current business helping start-up founders Up and to the right and then he shares hisfounder story, the successful exit, the freedom that brings and some of the investments he has made. This is a good episode for people wanting to understand how an Angel Investor thinks or wants to understand how a quality funding relationship should work. His colleagues describe him as a ‘master networker and if he can’t solve your problems he knows someone who can’ He has played a leading role at stellar start-ups such as Monese and Mendi. He is on a mission to make life easier for founders. ‘I am focused on backing the person first and foremost? Mainly businesses ideas change through the process of building them. Most certainly a large part of it for me when I consider an investment is asking myself the questions, do I want to go on a journey with this person. What are their values? that's always a very important bit to me. ‘I'm constantly surprised about the capabilities, the amazing capabilities of the people that I'm fortunate enough to get involved with and most of what interests me about the business is the people themselves. I'm excited in those first interactions, there's a spark to the conversation and maybe they’re challenging challenging me and my ideas.’ Marcus talks about investing in Clim8 Invest and Fairwill, two exciting companies disrupting their respective industry’s (investment and will writing). Up and 2 the Right - https://u2r.co/ Fairwill - https://farewill.com/ Clim8 Invest - https://clim8invest.com/