People Inspired By Purpose - Purposely Podcast

Welcoming Marc Leckie, who leads one of the UK’s most prominent football club foundations - part of the wider Premier League network of community charities. In this conversation, he explains how the Foundation uses the power of the club’s brand to deliver programmes that improve wellbeing, build skills, and create real pathways into work.
From safe spaces and mental health support to apprenticeships and stadium-based jobs fairs, the focus is on long-term impact - not one-off projects.
Marc also speaks candidly about his own lived experience, the pressures of leadership, and how to sustain yourself in purpose-driven roles.
A veteran in sport-for-good, Marc brings around 25 years of experience across community foundations and youth development. Before joining Tottenham Hotspur Foundation, he was CEO of the Harlequins Foundation and spent 17 years at Charlton Athletic Community Trust, leading programmes focused on inclusion, education, and young people.
At the heart of his work is a simple idea: sport can create opportunity, belonging, and lasting social change.
Marc explains that a major football club’s identity provides a trusted gateway for people who might hesitate to engage with formal institutions. The badge opens doors - not just to participation, but to career possibilities across areas such as STEM, media, heritage, operations, and community work.

What if philanthropy wasn’t an add-on to business, but built into its DNA?
In this episode of Purposely, we welcome Rebecca Roberts, Head of the Simplicity Foundation, to explore how one corporate foundation has embedded giving into its core model in a way that grows alongside the business.
Established alongside Simplicity NZ Ltd in 2016, the Foundation receives 15% of KiwiSaver and Investment Fund management fees. As Simplicity has grown to manage more than $10 billion, the Foundation’s giving has expanded too, now distributing around $3 million in grants each year to charities across Aotearoa New Zealand.
Rebecca shares how this structure works in practice, what it means to embed impact into a commercial model, and why long-term thinking matters in philanthropy.
Why Simplicity chose to hardwire giving into its business model from day one

The Foundation’s three pillars: Thriving Te Taiao (Environment), Thriving Rangatahi (Young People), and Thriving Hapori (Communities)

The value of medium and long-term partnerships over one-off grants

Why co-funding and collaboration with other foundations can strengthen outcomes

What sustainable, impact-focused philanthropy looks like in action

From planting more than 200,000 native trees to supporting youth pathways into employment and addressing housing and food insecurity, this conversation highlights philanthropy designed for measurable, community-level impact.
Rebecca also reflects on the responsibility that comes with scale, the discipline required in funding decisions, and how foundations can balance responsiveness with strategic focus.
A valuable listen for anyone involved in corporate foundations, philanthropy, impact investing, or charity leadership.

Welcome Rosie Challies to the Purposely Podcast.
Rosie is the Founder of the Terra Nova Foundation, which is focused on environmental action and being a catalyst for positive change for people and planet here in Aotearoa New Zealand.
Rose brings more than 20 years of international experience working across Europe on complex social and environmental challenges. Rosie has partnered with governments, major funders, NGOs, not for profits and businesses to design and deliver change at scale. Her work has included shaping national policy and legislation, building cross sector strategies and leading large collaborative initiatives.
Since returning home to New Zealand in 2019 as a NEXT Foundation Fellow, Rosie has focused on accelerating environmental progress through Terra Nova Foundation. Her experience spans systems change, strategic philanthropy and impact measurement, along with advising boards, political leaders, nonprofit leaders and philanthropists on how to achieve meaningful and measurable impact.
In this conversation, we explore what it really takes to create lasting change, the role philanthropy can play in environmental progress, and why long term thinking matters more than ever.
This episode is for anyone working in environmental action, philanthropy or systems change, and for those who want their work to make a genuine and lasting difference.

In this episode of Purposely, I’m joined by Craig Pollard, Founder and CEO of Fundraising Radicals, to talk about what it really takes to build high value funding partnerships that actually last.
Craig brings three decades of experience working alongside civil society organisations and funders in more than 100 countries. He’s seen what works, what fails, and where organisations quietly undermine themselves in the pursuit of money.
We talk about why high value fundraising is not about slick pitches or chasing the next grant round. It’s deliberate. It’s strategic. And it starts with being clear about your purpose and the role you want to play in the wider ecosystem.
Craig shares his thinking on trust, alignment, and why the best partnerships are built on shared values rather than financial need. We explore what it means to design for long term value instead of short term wins, and why uncomfortable conversations are often part of building something stronger.
There’s also a challenge here for leaders and trustees. Are you clear on what “enough” looks like? Are you building partnerships, or just securing income?
If you care about moving beyond transactional fundraising and building relationships that genuinely resource impact, this conversation will give you plenty to think about.

People connect with people, not causes. In this episode of Purposely, filmmaker and social entrepreneur Kiran Patel shares what charities and community organisations can learn from good storytelling and why authenticity matters more than polished campaigns.
Kiran explains how strong stories give people agency, build trust, and help audiences see themselves in the work, rather than being talked at or asked to care from a distance. Drawing on his experience as a documentary filmmaker, he reflects on why human stories cut through, especially in a world saturated with content.
The conversation traces Kiran’s journey from growing up between countries to building creative projects that bring people together. His family’s long connection to Auckland’s Dominion Road shaped that path, from running one of the area’s early Indian restaurants to creating Move Space, a community hub for art, ideas, and social impact.
We talk about Kiran’s decision to step away from a traditional film school path to focus on real-world storytelling, and how that led to projects like Humans Are Awesome, a series that shines a light on everyday people quietly making a difference.
Kiran also shares the thinking behind Deeper Questions, the card game designed to move conversations beyond small talk. Inspired by years of interviewing people, it’s a simple tool for building trust, connection, and more meaningful dialogue, whether in homes, teams, or community spaces.
A big thank you to our sponsors Benevity and Trust Investments.