In my ten years in community work I’ve been constantly blown away by the power that everyday people have to bend their natural creativity and passion towards fundamentally changing the world around them. There’s something special, too, about Kiwi ingenuity – that wonderful neighborliness that we are so well known for around the world.
As Director of the Global Poverty Project here in New Zealand, I’d always dreamed of finding a way that Kiwis could use this ‘can-do’ attitude to engage with bigger issues like poverty. We’ve just launched our flagship campaign, Live Below The Line (LBL). Quite simply, LBL allows thousands of people in New Zealand to better understand the daily challenges faced by those trapped in the cycle of extreme poverty, and builds a movement of passionate people willing and able to make a meaningful difference for those who need it most.
LBL demonstrates what I believe is the future of the charitable sector – a spirit of working together. For LBL this year, five different aid organisations have come together under a common banner to offer a fun and education way of engaging with an issue that is usually a bit of a ‘downer’ for most of us.
Live Below The Line couldn’t have happened without Enspiral. As I scrabbled to launch my dream campaign with a $0 budget, Enspiral saw my passion and moved quickly to help. They gave me a free desk from which to run the campaign for three months. They produced the website for us at a fraction of the true market cost. And they’ve promoted it from day one.
A team from Enspiral are also doing the challenge, and they’ve now challenged other businesses to a ‘fundraising duel’. Joshua has been blogging about it. It’s because of companies like Enspiral that crazy people like me, with nothing but a dream, can get the kickstart they need.