For Purpose celebrates 10 years

Caterina Giorgi, For Purpose

This year For Purpose is turning ten years old, and we can’t quite believe we’re about to begin our second decade as an organisation.

It all started back in 2014 when I sat down on a Saturday morning at the kitchen table and started to write an application for a $2,000 Great Ydeas grant. I had been working in the not-for-profit sector and was aware of the diverse range of skills required to work to advocate for change.

The team I was working in at the time developed policy proposals and advocated for changes to laws, policies and programs across the country. This involved undertaking research, engaging with a range of people across the community and government relations knowledge. It also required an understanding of governance, leadership, budgeting and financial management.

When the team was looking for professional development opportunities, the options available didn’t always hit the mark. Many were created for people working in other sectors. Others were pitched at a level that didn’t acknowledge the many challenges that we faced as a sector.

For Purpose aimed to address this gap. It focused on creating training for people working in the not-for-profit sector, developed by people working in the sector. The courses would also have a balance of being theoretical and practical and draw on relevant case studies that spoke to the work that we did.

I was fortunate to receive the Greate Ydeas grant and For Purpose was established.

Following a survey of the sector to ascertain people’s training needs, we used the results to develop and schedule in some face-to-face training sessions. The first session, on policy and advocacy, sold out.

From here we started to also offer support with strategy development. We’ve worked with organisations on research, planning, advocacy, communications and strategy development. We’ve also supported individuals with coaching.

Over the past ten years, we’ve trained more than 2,600 people, delivering just over 120 sessions online to people across Australia. We’ve also worked with almost 80 organisations to directly support them to achieve outcomes.

As we celebrate our tenth birthday, we’re also looking forward to new beginnings and opportunities.

We’ve launched a new look and website and we have new training happening across the year. We’re also branching out beyond the not-for-profit sector – acknowledging that we need to reach across sectors and industries to achieve change.

2025 is shaping up to be a big year for us. We invite you to find out more about For Purpose and join our growing community.