United Purpose has merged with Self Help Africa

Our combined organisation will invest up to £45 million annually and support close to 5 million people across 17 countries.

We are a leader in community-led development and grassroots innovation. For more than 40 years, we have worked with frontline activists, community organisations and individuals to help people gain agency over their own lives - so they can move Beyond Aid.

We take this approach because we believe a person’s ability to determine their own future should never be dependent on benevolence or charity, but always within their own control. We use innovation and creativity to make this happen, and we are not afraid to explore new methods to achieve better results.

Our vision:

Sustainable livelihoods and healthy lives for all in a changing climate

Our mission:

We aim to alleviate hunger, poverty, social inequality and the impact of climate change through community-led, market-based and enterprise-focused approaches, so that people have access to nutritious food, clean water, decent employment and incomes, while sustaining natural resources.

See the impact we had last year, in our Supporter Review 2021.

Village Aid

In 2014, we merged with the Bakewell-based charity, Village Aid. This has been hugely successful for both United Purpose and Village Aid, allowing both organisations to come together and work in partnership to secure long-term positive change for people in Africa.

International Inspiration

In October 2016, we merged with the 2012 Olympic legacy charity, International Inspiration. We are now able to use the universal language of sport to empower and educate young people, and improve people's lives.

CUMO

Our micro-finance organisation, CUMO, works in remote areas of Malawi that most other financial service providers fail to reach. Our service enables entrepreneurs to start successful businesses and earn their own income. With a client base of over 81,000 - of which 83% are women - we are lifting more rural communities up out of poverty.