People Inspired By Purpose - Purposely Podcast

In this SHORT episode of Purposely, we’re back with fundraising strategist Craig Pollard – and this time he’s asking a question that most of the sector is too busy to sit with: what is enough? Craig opens by naming something that rarely makes it into funding conversations: wellbeing. He works alongside people carrying enormous weight – Afghan exiles, communities under pressure, leaders navigating impossible situations – and he’s clear that the sector often measures and incentives the wrong things. His reframe is: rather than being well-funded, be well and funded. He shares a story from the Joseph Heller obituary that stops you in your tracks. Heller – author of Catch-22 – was once asked how it felt to know a wealthy hedge fund owner earned more in a single day than Heller had made in lifetime book sales. His response? “I have one thing he’ll never have. Enough.” For Craig, this isn’t just a good anecdote. It’s foundational to how nonprofits should think about funding, growth, and impact. On funding strategy, Craig challenges the dominant logic. Most fundraising conversations start with income – which, he argues, is entirely the wrong place to begin. His three-eyes framework – Impact, Investment, Income – reorients everything. Start with impact. Be honest about what you’ve invested. Then income follows naturally, because you’re no longer asking for money – you’re inviting co-investors into something they care about. Craig also challenges the idea of unrestricted funding –bluntly, he says it doesn’t exist. All money has motivation, strings, or designation attached. What organisations can do is move up the quality ladder: from project-level funding, to programme-level funding, to purpose-level funding. That shift takes three to five years, requires strategic clarity, and sometimes means reducing your project funding first. It’s uncomfortable – and it’s exactly right. And a note of caution for those dreaming of a transformational grant: Craig has seen organisations receive MacKenzie Scott-level funding and fall over because they weren’t ready for it.Purpose-level funding doesn’t solve problems – it shifts the type of problem.The transition has to be deliberate, careful, and well-supported. •       Wellbeing and the real cost of the funding treadmill•       Being well and funded – not just well-funded•       ‘Enough’ as a strategic and philosophical foundation•       The three-eyes framework: Impact → Investment → Income•       Why unrestricted funding is a myth – and what to pursue instead

Welcoming Gary Stannett MBE to Purposely Podcast, Chief Executive of the Rio Ferdinand Foundation, the UK charity that uses sport and the creative arts to open up opportunities for young people in communities that have historically been overlooked and underinvested.Gary came into this work through youth work and community sports development, not through a career plan. He built programmes from the ground up in South London, earned his qualifications alongside the work, and has spent nearly 30 years getting better at something he never expected to turn into a career. That experience shapes how he leads and how the foundation operates.The Rio Ferdinand Foundation was set up around 15 years ago, inspired in part by Rio's mother Janice, who was deeply embedded in community life in Peckham and served as the foundation's chair until her death in 2017. It started with a focus on education and training for young people in London and Manchester, and has since grown to deliver work in Belfast, Derry, Sligo and across the UK and Ireland through partnerships with other organisations.In this conversation, Gary and Mark get into what it actually means to run a charity with a famous name attached to it. The brand opens doors but it does not conjure funding. Every partnership still has to be earned, every impact still has to be evidenced, and there is a constant discipline required to make sure people are engaging with the foundation for the right reasons and not just for access to Rio. Gary is clear-eyed about all of it.He talks about the foundation's model, using football and youth culture as a way in, then moving young people through personal development, accredited training and real pathways into careers. The goal is not a quick programme but a longer journey, connecting young people with industries and employers they might never otherwise encounter, and building the networks and confidence that social mobility actually requires.Gary also reflects on what he has learned about leadership over time, becoming less harsh on himself, stepping back more, and bringing people on the journey rather than pushing them towards a vision they do not yet share. And he talks about young people today, the very real weight of poverty, housing costs, debt and a changing jobs market, alongside the energy, talent and resilience he sees every day that keeps him showing up.Find out more about the Rio Ferdinand Foundation at rioferdinandfoundation.orgThis episode of Purposely is brought to you by Benevity and Trust Investments NZ.