New charity merger set to shake up workplace giving

“Working in tandem, our goal will be to ensure that we are the leading destination for charitable giving in Australia and beyond” 

Two leading Australian charities have announced they are merging as part of an ambitious plan to dramatically increase workplace giving across the country. 

Good2Give (G2G) and Workplace Giving Australia (WGA) launched the merger with a signing ceremony last Wednesday, attended by members of both charities including G2G chair Michael Graf and WGA chair Nerida Caesar.                                               

The merged entity will focus on reshaping the sector by enabling technology solutions for workplace giving, creating greater awareness of the practice, and motivating more corporate leaders to get involved.  

Graf said G2G and WGA have been working alongside each other for almost 20 years and would thrive as a combined organisation. 

“I’m delighted that we can now combine to create and deliver an exemplary donor experience that ensures giving is transparent, low-cost and of high impact,” Graf said.

“Together, with our combined resources, we will be able to re-invest and strengthen our services to raise millions more in donations and create deeper connection to the causes that employers and their teams care about.”

Across Australia, it is estimated over $80 million is raised a year from workplace donations. 

Caesar said this merger aimed to dramatically increase these giving figures. 

“Working in tandem, our goal will be to ensure that we are the leading destination for charitable giving in Australia and beyond,” Caesar said.

“By 2030, we want to see the new entity contributing $500 million in donations per year. I am confident that we will see our targets reached through our complete end-to-end customer experience utilising robust technology and bespoke consulting. 

“Combining our areas of expertise will ensure that we offer the sector the tools and services needed to truly revolutionise giving.” 

Graf and Caesar will serve as co-chairs of the new entity, while David Mann will become the organisation’s CEO. 

Mann noted the impacts of COVID on the charity sector, and said Australian donors were experiencing significant fatigue and uncertainty amid the pandemic.

But he said much could still be done to significantly grow donations, given that less than 2 per cent of working Australians were currently participating in workplace giving.  

“Our initial goal as a combined organisation is to dramatically increase the number of Australians participating from just over 210,000 today to 1 million in the near term and with a clear runway to achieving 3 or even 4 million donors,” Mann said.