38 Degrees
| Founded | May 2009 |
|---|---|
| Focus | political activism |
| Location |
|
| Method | petitions, lobbying MPs, newspaper advertising campaigns, meetings |
|
Members
|
2.5 million. |
|
Key people
|
David Babbs (executive director), Blanche Jones (campaigns director), Maddy Carroll (campaigns director), Laura Townshend (communications director) |
| Website | 38degrees.org.uk |
38 Degrees is a British not-for-profit political-activism organisation. It describes itself as "progressive" and claims to "campaign for fairness, defend rights, promote peace, preserve the planet and deepen democracy in the UK". In October 2013, it was reported to claim 1.9 million UK members.
38 Degrees takes its name from the critical angle at which the incidence of a human-triggered avalanche is greatest.
The organisation launched on 26 May 2009. The 38 Degrees website states: "38 Degrees was founded by a group of activists and funders concerned about the state of our democracy and determined to try something different. Founders include Gordon Roddick, Henry Tinsley, Pete Myers and Paul Hilder. The project was developed by Ben Brandzel, Nina Kowalska, David Babbs and Warren Puckett. 38 Degrees was founded in memory of Anita Roddick, a lifetime champion of the power of ordinary people to make a difference." Gordon Roddick, was previously co-founder of The Body Shop and Henry Tinsley was ex-chairman of Green & Black's chocolate. The organisation launched during the United Kingdom parliamentary expenses scandal, and this formed the backdrop to early campaigns demanding voters were given more powers to sack MPs.
The Executive Director since launch has been David Babbs. Babbs was formerly Head of Activism at Friends of the Earth where he was responsible for the Big Ask Campaign. Babbs also previously worked at People & Planet. Other early staff included Hannah Lownsborough and Johnny Chatterton.
At launch 38 Degrees said it was inspired by groups like MoveOn in the United States, GetUp! in Australia and Avaaz globally. These organisations all use the internet to mobilise people and connect them and their governments. 38 Degrees says that an organisation based on a similar model was needed in the UK.
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