Happy 2nd birthday to On Purpose!

We’re big fans of On Purpose. 

On Purpose is just the type of organisation that Britain needs more of. With its focus on both real-life experience and high-level training, On Purpose has the right approach for getting young people involved in social entrepreneurship. 

We’re not the only ones to be supporters – last night, over 150 guests gathered at the Spring in Vauxhall last night to celebrate On Purpose’s successful second cohort of associates.

In its second year, On Purpose continues to work with Comic Relief, HCT Group and O2, and has signed-up new placement hosts: Interface, Just Giving, Startle, Teaching Leaders, Terra Planner, Soul of Africa, Tough Stuff and Youth Music.

The benefits for placement hosts are clear: last year’s associates not only added value to the organisations they worked with (the placement hosts valued the six-month placements from July to December 2010 at an average of £49,000), but they’ve all been and are still involved with their placement organisations beyond the programme.

“The project our associate worked on last year is still ongoing, but it’s made us more efficient, it’s saved usmoney and has been very positive for the organisation,” says Dai Powell, CEO of HCT Group. 

Alongside the placements, associates are given training sessions delivered by over 50 professionals from 32 different private sector and social organisations – this gives them some more theoretical training (sort of like a mini MBA) as well as on-the-ground experience. 

Good stuff – and it’d be great to see more of it in the future.

We caught up with Tom Rippin, the founder of On Purpose, last year – read our in-depth interview here.

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