Money doesn't motivate, what counts are autonomy, mastery and... Purpose!

I love this video that talks about what motivates people in the workplace. You need to be paid enough to take the issue of money off the table, but if you really want to motivate people, you need to give them three things:

• Autonomy


• Mastery


• Purpose

It's a great video with a sense of wit and some engaging animation too!

Courtesy of: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u6XAPnuFjJc

White Paper on Giving

When the cuts to public service start to bite, the Government is hoping that a reinvigorated civic society will step up to support the most vulnerable in society. However, the Government is concerned that the giving of time and money in the UK has flat-lined, and may even be declining. They also outline important issues to be addressed:

• A minority contribute much more than average;
• Donors in the poorest income brackets give more as a proportion of their income than those in middle-income households and the wealthiest;
• Support from the business community is often inconsistent and much more could be done.

Several months ago I commented on the Government Green Paper on Giving and the last week saw the publication of the Giving White Paper, with the aim to reinvigorate giving in the UK. The full document can be found here.

The role of social business

The paper contains much praise of social businesses and private sector partnerships. Several new services have launched which aim to facilitate the giving of money to charity. JustTextGiving is a new service from JustGiving and Vodafone that allows text based donations and will be free to every charity in the UK. The Pennies Foundation is a charity that operates an electronic charity box, which allows shoppers to ‘round up’ when paying their bill electronically, donating the change to charity. Initially the service is in partnership with Domino’s Pizza, Travelodge and Zizzi with a further roll-out planned.

For the giving of time, Orange has developed and launched ‘Do Some Good’ – a mobile phone application that helps people who want to volunteer but do not feel they have the time. It allows people to be charities’ eyes and ears, share ideas, take part in research or use their skills. Slivers-of-Time is a social business providing online coordination of volunteering, matching people to opportunities to volunteer. There is also Spice, an innovative time credit scheme of which On Purpose founder Tom Rippin is Chair of Trustees. Spice credits are given to those volunteering time and can be used to access a range of services provided by public and private organisations.

Government support

The Government contribution outlined in the paper has been widely perceived as limited. There are modest funding commitments, summarised here. There is a tax incentive for charitable legacies, an attempt to encourage the level of bequests and endowments found in the USA. Announced in the budget, the move sees inheritance tax reduce from 40% to 36% for estates leaving more than 10% to charity. The final area of Government action is in removing red tape primarily around Gift Aid and vetting. For Gift Aid, online filing is aimed to reduce the paper burden many charities face. There is also provision for small Gift Aid claims on cash donations and an increase in the limit on thank you gifts allowed to donors from £500 to £2,500. To reduce the bureaucracy around vetting, the Government is seeking to introduce continuously updated CRB checks. The new CRB checks will reduce the need for employees and volunteers to have new CRB checks when they move positions, a move that has been welcomed by third sector organisations such as the YMCA.

Giving Summit

While the measures outlined are generally welcomed, it’s hard to see that they will be enough to deliver a step-change in giving that the Government would like to see. Attention and expectation will now turn to the announcement of a Giving Summit in the autumn in the hope that it will generate the big ideas and collaboration the Big Society suggests. The summit will bring together businesses, charities, social enterprises, academia and philanthropists, among others, with the aim of promoting idea generation, networking and decision-making.

However, last week also saw Cameron’s chosen architect for the Big Society, Nat Wei announcing his decision to step down from his advisory role as the “Big society Tsar.” You can see the announcement on his blog here. In the absence of any significant policy initiatives this move will add to the pressure to prove the Big Society has substance and can deliver meaningful social impact.

ToughStuff is recruiting

ToughStuff, one of this year's placement hosts, is recruiting an Office Manager. They're seeking a strongly capable person to support this pivotal part of the group's business and in many cases to be the first point of contact with ToughStuff for the outside world. The Office Manager will play a key role supporting the executive team in the development of the business as well as being a key individual in organising the wider business processes.

For a full job description, and for information on the other roles that ToughStuff is currently seeking to fill, please go to www.toughstuffonline.com/pages/join-team.

Another opportunity at JustGiving for a Small Charities Business Development Executive

JustGiving is seeking a self-starting Business Development Executive to join its small and mid-sized charities team. As JustGiving launches a host of innovative, brand new products this year, the successful candidate will be responsible for contacting charities, building relationships with key decision makers and driving adoption of these new fundraising solutions and payment methods. This is a full-time, fixed-term role- initially for 3 months with the possibility of it becoming full-time. It is an entry-level role with plenty of latitude for career development. For more information about the role contact JustGiving's People Team at http://www.blogger.com/jobs@justgiving.com, or to apply send your CV and covering letter describing why you think you are the right person for the role.

On Purpose in 3 Words

How would you describe On Purpose in 3 words? Spend 45 seconds watching our new video to see how current associates, fellows, placement hosts, mentors, coaches, and many of our other friends do so.

Opportunity for a Businss Development Manager at JustGiving

JustGiving is looking for an entrepreneurial Business Developent Manager. The successful candidate will be responsible for identifying opportunities and securing contractual agreements with strategic partners in all sectors. You'll be expected to own and shape this role, but will likely spend time on:
- identifying and generating leads, developing propositions and closing deals to secure corporate new business and partnerships with event organisers
- developing existing corporate accounts and identifying new opportunities
- using existing sales tools to manage your pipeline
- identifying and communicating customer and market trends
- working collaboratively to identify new partnership and product opportunities for JustGiving.

For more information on the role and what they're looking for in a successful candidate, contact JustGiving's People Team at jobs@justgiving.com. To apply send your CV and a covering letter describing why you're the right person for the role.

Tom's thoughts on 'The social enterprise rollercoaster'

Our very own Tom Rippin, founder of On Purpose, explains his journey of launching this leadership programme and the lessons he learned along the way. Read the article on The Guardian's Social Enterprise Network to learn more about his experience and insights.

Real Business wishes On Purpose happy birthday!

Last night On Purpose celebrated its 2nd year at the Spring with many of our friends. Check out the article in Real Business on the event- Happy 2nd birthday to On Purpose!

A little help from our friends...and an event to remember

Numerous bottles of wine, a welcoming venue, two inspirational speakers, around 180 guests, and more than a little help from our friends.

Such were the ingredients that combined to make On Purpose's second annual event an evening to remember. Last night, friends and colleagues from across the social sector and beyond came to The Spring in Vauxhall to celebrate On Purpose's second year. Part birthday party, part networking event and part 'thank you' to all those people who make the programme possible, it was certainly an upbeat affair.

John Elkington and Charmian Love from Volans made a distinguished panel, and they explored with the audience the future of the social enterprise movement. They both agreed on the importance of people power in building - and maintaining - momentum, and Charmian also emphasised the value of technology as an enabler. The risk of a social enterprise 'bubble' was raised, as was the need to learn from failure when things don't work out. There was also some healthy debate around the nature and desirability of scale, and the problems that social enterprise might just be destined to solve.

We also saw the first screening of the On Purpose 2011 film, designed to give an insight into the whys and hows of On Purpose - if you missed it take a look on our facebook page. (Personally, I'm also looking forward to the outtakes version (coming soon!). Having both been filmed and done a couple of stints on the other side of the camera, I'm not sure what proportion of the 40-odd hours of footage were taken up by colourful language and hysteria, but it's got to be quite a lot....) Huge thanks to our friends at Cantos for their help in crafting this eclectic selection of footage into a great tour of On Purpose.

Many more 'thank yous' are certainly due - to the lovely folk at The Spring for hosting us, to The Black Dog pub for working the bar, to Tom Hughes of MicroRave for the lights and technical stuff, and of course to our brilliant speakers. Jordyan, one of this year's associates, also did a sterling job shepherding the rest of us to get everything ready on time (with a background in, among many other things, the wine industry, she was the natural party planner in the group!).

As another of this year's associates, last night reinforced to me how privileged I am to be part of this unique programme. The brilliant support (from mentors, coaches, managers and of course Tom himself), our great placement opportunities and the quality of the training available is really quite amazing. Such a lot of people (many of whom it was great to see last night) give their valuable time for free, and it all adds up to a truly inspiring experience, so again - thank you!

Exciting new opportunity with Jamie's Ministry of Food Stratford

Jamie's Ministry of Food Stratford, a project started by Leaside Regeneration and the Jamie Oliver Foundation, is recruiting a manager. This new venture uses food as an entry point to build stronger communities by bringing cooking lessons and demonstrations to schools, community centres and businesses. It will combine class-based lessons with innovative online applications to offer a mix of standard courses and tailored provision that will raise local confidence and competence in cooking as well as strenthening a broader set of life skills. It will help participants onto training and employment paths that allow them to earn their living in the catering and hospitality sectors; and will help people to shop, cook and eat in new ways. The deadline for applications is 20 May.

Branding, Branding, Branding

By Jordyan Edmiston

My months working at Comic Relief have exposed me to an important value that is often overlooked when an organisation is busy focusing on its social mission – brand value. Comic Relief and its campaigns of Red Nose Day and Sport Relief are known by 98% of the British public. They are well known for many reasons, but most significantly because of the humorous way they grab media through their relationships with celebrities. The 20-strong PR team that sits directly behind me during campaign time is very good at their job!

Celebrity and media contacts are not resources that most organisations pushing for social change have at their disposal. I've learned that Comic Relief prides itself as a brand that uses its cultivated, high profile image to raise funds for charitable causes by means that most charities have no access to. Though most charities do not have the same access to media coverage, that doesn't mean it is not worth taking a hard look at what their brand image is worth and who would value it most. This can help an organisation ensure the message is well-received by those who most value what an organisation does as well as sharpen and focus its mission.

The three main stakeholder groups to whom I see Comic Relief's brand being accountable are the charities who receive the funds and their beneficiaries, the general public who is inspired to raise money, and the corporate partners that label their products as benefiting Comic Relief through a purchase donation. Red Nose Day and Sport Relief give corporate partners great media exposure during campaigns, but how much weight do the values of the Comic Relief brand carry with its corporate partners? A great deal, I hope. Certainly enough for big corporations to associate their name with us during 6 week campaigns. But enough to develop special sustainable products with us? Enough to switch to fair trade in their supply chain? I'm not yet sure, but during my time as an On Purpose Associate, I intend to find out.