Social entrepreneur Blake Canterbury is the founder of Purposity, a non-profit platform that connects users to critical, physical needs in their community so they can help their neighbors in need. He launched the company in 2018 in Georgia and has grown it to 27 states, now working with more than 1,200 organizations and school systems and 100K+ users nationwide.
Canterbury says, “Purposity is built on the simple truth that if you knew a kid down the street had holes in her shoes and couldn’t afford new ones, you’d buy her a pair. People want to help their neighbor—sometimes they just don’t know where to start. That’s where Purposity comes in.”
Purposity, a portmanteau of purpose and generosity, connects the practical needs of people, vetted through established local nonprofits and school systems, with users who want to help, through just a few clicks. The platform is designed to provide for local needs, so a user can go into the app and see what’s affecting their neighbors. The needs range from bedding for a homeless family who has just gotten housing and food items for senior citizens to basic hygiene items such as deodorant for a homeless student and laundry detergent and cleaning supplies for a family in need. These are tangible things users can go in the app and buy with ust a few clicks and it will be shipped to the family or person in need in about 2 days.
Blake founded his first company, beremedy, in 2009. It was named one of the “3 Reasons We’re Still Tweeting” by CNN. Beremedy was also one of the leading organizations in bringing aid to Haiti after the major earthquake. Canterbury is also a member of Compassion International’s Board of Directors.
Prior to that, Blake worked with creative agencies and major brands to launch national television campaigns and mobile apps. His work has been featured in media outlets and publications internationally including TEDx, NBC, The Huffington Post, and CNN.
Connect with Blake on LinkedIn and follow Purposity on Facebook.
What You’ll Learn in This Episode
- What is Purposity?
- How Purposity started
- How they help companies with ESG and brand awareness for good
- Atlanta campaign
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