Poverty can take many forms, and systemic poverty goes well beyond a homelessness or cost of living crisis.

In Western Australia alone, the statistics paint a stark picture: 325,700 people are currently living in poverty, with children bearing the brunt of this burden and a widening wealth gap.

The Equity Project was a client and a social movement dedicated to creating a fairer, just, and more compassionate WA where everyone has the opportunity to reach their full potential. They engaged Anthologie with a bold mission: To help end poverty in WA.

This required two moments of impact – creating positive change for a problem most people don’t see, and building a compelling social movement from scratch.

TACKLING AN INVISIBLE PROBLEM

Modern poverty refers to the lack of resources or money to fulfil immediate basic needs – such as food, housing, and clothing – and for long-term savings or wealth. More than just a scarcity of money, poverty restricts people’s choices and prevents them from living a safe, secure and purposeful life.

In Australia, 1 in 8 adults and 1 in 6 children in Australia are living in poverty. That’s 3.32 million or 13.4% of the total population. Our insight was that Western Australians pride themselves on being a place for all, where communities help one another. We could play off these strong cultural associations by calling out the disconnect between the myth and reality.

No Place for Poverty was born – as a name, an organisational purpose and a call to action.

A Partnership to End Poverty

Tackling such a large issue with impact required Anthologie to work with multiple partners and collaborators, facilitated through No Place for Poverty. Through an alliance of NGO organisations and working groups from Lived Experience, Communications & Events and Advocacy and Research, Anthologie helped define and create a vision for the movement, to:

  • Better understand the public perception of poverty in WA
  • Build a shared community understanding of what ‘modern poverty’ is
  • Raise awareness of ‘modern poverty’ in a WA context
  • Shift the existing poverty stereotypes

We then helped develop a multi-year strategic roadmap and marketing/communications strategy, focusing on how to effectively reach, engage and mobilise a disengaged (yet caring) WA audience to take action on poverty.
Amidst these challenges, the collective spirit of Australians shines bright. We believe public attitudes and behaviour hold the key to unlocking systemic change.”
Josh Edge EXECUTIVE CREATIVE DIRECTOR

A COLLABORATIVE APPROACH FOR IMPACT

Building a grassroots social movement from the ground up required a design thinking methodology with extensive workshop collaborations. A number of key themes quickly emerged, including:

A MULTI-STAGED SOLUTION

Anthologie’s impact roadmap for No Place for Poverty outlined internal and external actions and considerations across five key stages:

  1. Lay the Initiative’s Foundations
  2. Educate the Public
  3. Seed the story and build support
  4. Give WA People direction and empower through autonomy
  5. Put poverty on the political agenda

Stage One involved engaging key Equity Project stakeholders to develop the new name (No Place for Poverty), visual identity and messaging.

Stage Two required a self-service brand toolkit that could be used by No Place for Poverty and its partners to extend the reach of the message.
Anthologie developed a toolkit to include:

  • Visual identity: Bold colour and imagery that embodies the project’s spirit.
  • Messaging Framework: A clear set of messages, principles and an elevator pitch to communicate the project’s goals and values.
  • Tone of Voice: A consistent voice and style for all communications to ensure messages resonate with the target audience.
  • Narrative Development: A compelling narrative to engage potential partners, promoters, and the broader community.
  • Branded Assets: Templates for presentations, merchandise, and other collateral to ensure a consistent look and feel.

This all came together in the launch of the immersive ‘MVP’ website – a scalable online platform that will serve as the central hub for educational resources, designed to grow and evolve over time.

Early Momentum

Since launch, the movement has begun to gain real traction. The No Place for Poverty website has attracted an average of 420 visitors each month, with an impressive engagement rate of 43% demonstrating strong relevance and resonance with its audience. The community is also growing, with the email database expanding from 160 to almost 500 subscribers since February 2025. Recent digital outreach efforts, including Meta ad campaigns, have contributed to this steady growth in support.

These early signals show that Western Australians are ready to engage with the issue of modern poverty when presented with the right narrative, tools, and invitation to act. As No Place for Poverty continues to scale, this growing base will serve as a foundation for wider public education, advocacy, and political engagement.

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