As we share the Sheila McKechnie Foundation’s new strategy, Change is Possible (2026–2028), we want to start with you, the campaigners, organisers and changemakers we exist to support.
This strategy is for you.
We have built this strategy on what we hear from you every day: that the challenges are real, the context is getting tougher, but the determination to create change has never been stronger.
We know the world you are campaigning in is shifting. Resources are stretched. Misinformation can travel faster than truth. And speaking out doesn’t always feel easy or safe. At times, the work can feel exhausting.
But we also know this: change still happens because people like you make it happen.
That belief, that change is possible, and that campaigners are at the heart of making it happen, is what drives this strategy.
At SMK, our role is not to lead your campaigns. It is to stand with you, to back you, and to help you thrive.
Over the next three years, we’re doubling down on that commitment, equipping you with the skills, confidence and resilience to keep going, and creating the conditions where your efforts can succeed.
Our priority is connection.
We consistently hear that campaigning can feel isolating, even though so many of you are working towards shared goals. We want to help change that. By bringing people together,across issues, places and experiences,we can create spaces to learn, to exchange ideas, and to support one another. Because when we’re connected, we’re stronger.
Who gets to campaign, and who gets heard?
Too many people with lived experience of injustice still face barriers to participating fully, or to being recognised as leaders in their own right. We want to play our part in shifting that, opening up access, backing diverse leadership, and ensuring campaigns are shaped by the people closest to the issues. Not only is that the right thing to do, it makes campaigns more powerful and more effective.
Campaigning can take a toll.
We need to be honest: campaigning is hard. The persistence, the setbacks, the emotional investment, it all adds up. If change is going to be sustained, the people driving it need to be supported to sustain themselves. That is why wellbeing and resilience are not an add-on in this strategy; they are central to it.
Three central themes in our strategy:
Collaboration and coalition building. From formal coalitions to creative collaborations we will equip and connect campaigners to tackle the complex challenges no organisation can address alone.
Innovation and adaptation. We will explore new tactics, technologies and ways of working that help campaigners adapt to a fast-changing environment, protect democratic participation and seize emerging opportunities.
Bridging and belonging. We will focus on campaigning that builds community agency and values diverse voices, fostering empathy, connection and dignity across our differences .
Our ambition is bold but simple.
We want campaigning to be more visible, more valued, and more effective in shaping the society around us. We want more people to feel able to step into campaigning, and more campaigners to feel supported to stay the course.
But we can’t do this alone. This strategy is an invitation to all of us working for change. To collaborate more. To share what we know. To build the relationships and solidarity that make progress possible.
Change is Possible is not just the title of this strategy, it’s a collective statement of intent. It reflects what we’ve seen time and again: that even in difficult circumstances, campaigns win. Not always quickly, not always easily, but they do.
I am incredibly excited about what we can achieve together over the next three years. At SMK, we are committed to showing up for you, listening, learning, and doing everything we can to support your work.
Because ultimately, this strategy will succeed not because of what we write here, but because of what you do next.
Photo: Some of the wonderful campaigners in our community from this year’s SMK National Campaigner Awards 2026