About Purpose

PURPOSE is an inspiratiMLK.Jan01[1]onal/motivational, print and electronic magazine published for 16 years. PURPOSE provides insightful articles to help people meet the challenges of living in the 21st century. It has a special appeal to people seeking self-improvement, spiritual enlightenment and fulfillment in their lives.

VISION

Our vision is to build an international publishing empire that strategically promotes biblical principles, morals and values to positively impact the lives of present and future generations, influencing them to pursue, discover and fulfill their God-given purpose.

PURPOSE / MISSION

The publication’s purpose/mission is to inspire and empower individuals and families by providing messages of hope, encouraging news, useful information, practical and faith-based solutions, and directives for discovering purpose and fulfilling it.

   DISTRIBUTION & CIRCULATION

After 16 years of printed publications, PURPOSE is now provided online, offering an archive of interesting articles on a variety of subjects. Also, the publication is circulated in businesses, corporations, schools, churches, agencies, organizations, and families. Over the years, Purpose has been distributed nationally via subscriptions and on newsstands in the north, south and on the east coast in the U.S. and has some readers in the Caribbean and in other nations.

The PURPOSE Magazine Story

In January of 1991, after having two dreams of a magazine within a week’s time, Ella Coleman received the vision for PURPOSE Magazine. The magazine was to be an inspirational and motivational monthly publication distributed via newsstands and subscriptions as well as in businesses, corporations, agencies and churches.  She began planning and recruiting photographers, editors, writers, design artists, and salespeople, and met with them in the basement of her home.  They worked diligently on the first issue of PURPOSE, which was published in May, 1991.

It was first distributed and sold at retail outlets in Columbus, Ohio.  This was quite an accomplishment, considering that Ella had no start-up capital.  She went out and generated sales to pay the magazine’s expenses.  Although, the first year was extremely difficult and challenging, she and faithful few—Fred Fulson, Patricia Wingard Carson and others contributors managed to get the glossy, quality magazine out on time each month.

In 1992, because of all the business traffic at her residential office, Ella moved PURPOSE to a downtown Columbus location.  The first PURPOSE Anniversary Celebration & Mothers’ Tribute was instituted in May, 1992, featuring national speakers, community, education, and business awards as wells as college scholarships.  By 1993, the newsstand distribution of PURPOSE expanded to Cleveland, Cincinnati, Dayton, other small Ohio cities and bordering states, Pennsylvania, Indiana and Kentucky.

Later, in January of 1996, PURPOSE commenced distribution to Atlanta, Georgia and surrounding areas with its first four-color covers and centerfold. By the end of the year, the magazine had moved into, Detroit, Washington, D.C., Chicago and surrounding areas.

In 2001 the magazine experience triumphs and setbacks.  The 10th Anniversary Celebration was elaborate in June of 2001 and drew national participation from the east to the west coast with national network radio broadcasters Diane Blackmon and Tom Pope emceeing and international motivational speaker, best-selling author and businessman Dr. Myles Munroe delivering a memorable keynote address.  PURPOSE acquired major national sponsors for the event.  Also, the magazine was a nationally featured sponsor and its publisher a guest emcee with Clifton Davis, Vickie Winans and others for Gospelfest II, which aired on national television.  But three months later the 911 attack caused advertisers to severely decreased advertising and the magazine struggled, survived it and continued publishing.

Although PURPOSE’s national and international subscriber base had grown over the years the new millennium ushered profound changes in the publishing industry.  Many print publications, large and small had to change with the times and technology to begin publishing online in addition to print. PURPOSE adjusted by extending the magazine online at PurposeMagazine.com. Also, technological advances, such as podcasting, blogging, email marketing had to be incorporated into our publications expansion plans.  As printing and mailing became more and more expensive, PURPOSE has come to utilize its online even more.

Today, PURPOSE is published here online at PURPOSEMagazine.com.  This expands the publication’s capacity of service for its advertisers, subscribers and readers.

 

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