New Zealand crowdfunding platform Givealittle is moving to new owners, Perpetual Guardian (under parent company Complectus), in early 2020.
Now 11 years old, Givealittle is New Zealand’s leading crowdfunding platform. Over $130 million has been donated to a wide range of causes, most notably $10.7 million to the Victim Support page in aid of the Christchurch mosque shooting victims and $2.2 million to buy a beach near the Abel Tasman National Park in 2016. More recently, New Zealanders have turned to Givealittle to show their support for those affected by the Whakaari/White Island eruption, and Australian bush fires, with 25 pages currently live to support various funding efforts from wildlife to firefighters.
Spark Foundation, a charitable trust funded by Spark, has owned Givealittle since 2012 and operated it as a not for profit service. In June 2019, Spark Foundation announced that after a strategic review it was seeking new owners for Givealittle to ensure its continued growth and to free up resources to invest in social programmes which aim to accelerate digital equity in New Zealand.
Spark Foundation Chair Andrew Pirie says: “Givealittle has helped hundreds of thousands of New Zealanders donate to causes they care deeply about. The Foundation became owner when Givealittle was in its infancy and we’re extremely proud to have supported the huge growth of the platform to where it is today.
“In looking for a new owner of Givealittle, our priority has been to find a ‘good home’ for what we regard as a national taonga. We are absolutely delighted to announce Perpetual Guardian as the new owners of Givealittle. We truly believe that their vision for the platform will maximise the positive societal impact Givealittle can achieve for New Zealanders. Perpetual Guardian has extensive knowledge of and experience within the philanthropic sector of New Zealand. We believe their expertise will be the perfect catalyst to take Givealittle to the next level.”
Perpetual Guardian is the country’s largest and premier provider of the full suite of estate planning services. The Givealittle platform will be a welcomed addition to the group’s family of entities which are focused on creating better outcomes for Kiwis and making estate planning and philanthropy services more accessible.
Perpetual Guardian founder and 4 Day Week innovator Andrew Barnes says, “It is great to see technology making a bigger impact on giving. The methodology behind how we give has been changing as the 21st century progresses, and we are happy to be furthering our innovative and comprehensive digital services alongside our traditional offering. The BBC reported recently that charity apps may be making us more generous, and the Charities Aid Foundation (CAF)’ Charity Landscape 2019 report states that 87% of charity chief executives now see investing in technology as a key priority.”
“Givealittle is an established platform and strong Kiwi brand which provides a channel for giving that is treasured by New Zealanders, and we will continue to invest in it and look forward to integrating it into our business.”
This transition is the first step in a planned long-term partnership which will see Perpetual Guardian and Spark Foundation collaborate in their representation of worthy charitable causes and to further their mutual interests and presence in the digital sphere.
Current Givealittle services will not be disrupted by this change in ownership and Givealittle will continue to run as a not-for-profit platform. Impact Ventures were the appointed advisors for this sale.
