Take part in our groundbreaking research set to unlock collective giving in Australia

Collective giving is on the rise globally. To explore its potential here, Philanthropy Australia, a group of advocates and the Minderoo Foundation are launching a major research initiative aimed at growing the movement that is democratising philanthropy. We invite members involved in collective giving to take part and others to share widely.

If you are a leader or a participant of a collective giving group, we invite you to take the survey by Monday 13 October and help shape the research outcomes:

Leaders please click the link go to the leaders survey: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/CollectiveGivingLeaders2025

Participants please click the link to go the participants survey: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/CollectiveGivingParticipants2025

In Australia, the two most common collective giving models are giving circles and live crowdfunding   events.
Giving circles range from small book-club style groups to large organisations, focused on specific causes or issues. They typically provide an accessible pathway into philanthropy for everyday givers, with lower financial commitment than many other forms of structured giving. Participants pool funds and collectively decide which initiatives to support. The benefits are twofold: charities gain increased funding to amplify their impact, while participants deepen their understanding about the causes and issues they care about in a social setting. Thriving examples are The Sydney Women’s Fund, Melbourne Women’s Foundation, Rainbow Giving, Impact100 groups and Groundswell Giving, while newcomers like Five Bucks, launched only a year ago, are rapidly attracting members.

Live Crowdfunding sees for-purpose organisations pitch directly to audiences, who pledge their financial support, often matched by host organisations. This model has been particularly effective in funding the social enterprise sector, and includes The Funding Network and 10×10 Philanthropy.

There is a compelling case for supporting the development of collective giving in Australia. The Productivity Commission’s Future Foundations for Giving report highlighted the trend of decreasing participation in giving, with average donation amounts in Australia rising but the number of people giving falling.[1] The report observed that collective giving can help contribute to building social capital, including by building donors’ knowledge, engagement and learning in areas of civic engagement.[KS1]  In addition, there is a recent report from the US that collective giving is a catalyst for social cohesion and greatly expands the kinds of programs that get funded.   
As part of Philanthropy Australia’s commitment to supporting and enabling inclusive and diverse forms of giving, collective giving is one of our ‘sector development’ priorities in 2025 and 2026, with this initiative forming the centrepiece of this work.

The research will build on the 2017 report Collective Giving and Its Role in Australian Philanthropy by James Boyd and Lee Partridge. It will provide insights into how collective giving in Australia has evolved, highlight the opportunities and challenges, and help us to identify how we can develop the infrastructure and resources needed to support its growth.

Maree Sidey, CEO of Philanthropy Australia, said: “This is a really important piece of work that Philanthropy Australia is proud to be coordinating, working alongside a group of advocates and practitioners with lots of experience building and growing collective giving groups.

“There’s so much potential to grow collective giving, with a big opportunity to get more Australians hooked on the joys of collaborative approaches to structured philanthropy. This is why we are driving this initiative, with the generous principal support of the Minderoo Foundation, along with 5Point Foundation and Australian Communities Foundation.”

Christine Darcas, who was involved in developing this initiative from the early stages, said: “Collective giving is far more powerful than I realised when I first became involved 11 years ago. Not only does it encourage more people, beyond the wealthy, to give, but to give with intention and understanding.”

“With a growing range of models, there’s a way for almost everyone to get involved. But if we want collective giving to truly take off in Australia, we need to raise awareness and show people what’s possible.”

Take part in the survey and you could win a free registration to the 2026 Philanthropy Australia Conference! Surveys close on Monday 13 October.

Survey respondents will be entered into a draw to win one of two free registrations to the 2026 Philanthropy Australia Conference in Brisbane!

If you are a leader of a collective giving group please complete the leaders survey: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/CollectiveGivingLeaders2025

If you are a participant ina collective giving group please complete the participants survey: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/CollectiveGivingParticipants2025

We are keen to hear from as many people involved in collective giving as possible, so please share this link with your networks.
 
 
[1] Productivity Commission 2024, Future foundations for giving, Box 8.1, pp. 271, Inquiry report no. 104, Canberra