News

Announcing The 2025 Australian Workplace Giving Awards Finalists

Workplace Giving Australia — Mon, 29 Sep 2025 03:41:45 GMT

Sydney 29th September 2025

Australia’s Generosity in Focus: Insights from the 2025 Giving Report

Workplace Giving Australia — Thu, 24 Jul 2025 04:49:48 GMT

What does generosity look like in Australia today? The 2025 Australia Giving Report, part of the World Giving Report by Workplace Giving Australia and the Charities Aid Foundation, offers a timely snapshot of how Australians engage with giving—financially, with their time, and through everyday acts of kindness.

Workplace giving community unanimously votes to save the rhino!

Workplace Giving Australia — Fri, 04 Jul 2025 05:18:37 GMT

Let the record show that on Friday, 27^th June at 1:55 pm, a crowd of almost 70 from the Melbourne giving community declared that indeed, workplace giving can save the endangered rhinoceros.

Workplace Giving Double Dare

Workplace Giving Australia — Wed, 11 Jun 2025 22:14:06 GMT

Bron’s 'Double Dare' for Workplace Giving Month, June 2025

Workplace giving isn’t just for one month of the year – it thrives with consistent, year-round attention. We’ve previously shared a suite of tips for building a successful program that works across the calendar. One of those tips is to lean into Workplace Giving Month. So let’s lean.

What is Workplace Giving Month?

June is our moment to shine a spotlight on the powerful impact of giving in the workplace. It’s a time to encourage participation, celebrate success stories, and help make workplace giving the norm, not the exception. With the end of the financial year upon us, there’s no better time to highlight the benefits of structured giving.

This year’s theme, ‘Double Your Impact’, is a bold invitation. We’re calling on employers, employees and charities to think creatively and ambitiously about ways to amplify the benefits of giving at work.

Let’s take a moment to reflect on what workplace giving really encompasses. It’s more than just payroll donations – it includes volunteering, fundraising, matched giving, and corporate grantmaking. When these come together, they form a vibrant ecosystem of generosity with the potential to deliver extraordinary outcomes.

To support your efforts, I’m sharing a handful of ideas you can weave into your activities. Take one or take them all. I double dare you!

Launch a Goal to Double Payroll Giving Participation

June is the perfect time to re-energise your workplace giving program. Set a bold target to double participation – or at least take significant steps in that direction. Highlight the personal and collective benefits of giving through payroll, and use storytelling to build emotional connection.

Some standout examples to inspire your approach:

ANZ’s double-matching initiative delivered a 32% uplift in participation
Read the case study
SEEK nearly doubled its year-on-year giving levels
See more here
Mutual Trust achieved a 24% participation rate and retained 90% of donors
Explore the story
AIC increased staff participation from 45% to 83%, with average donation amounts more than doubling
Dive into their approach

These outcomes didn’t happen by accident – they reflect intention, internal champions, and smart engagement strategies.

Double the Impact of Volunteering

Volunteering is a powerful part of workplace giving, and you can magnify its effect with matching, recognition, and storytelling. For example, NAB – a previous Award winner – introduced a $5 donation match for every hour volunteered, effectively doubling the impact of their team’s time and talent.

See how they did it

It’s a creative and cost-effective way to reward giving of time as much as money.

Run a Campaign to Build Momentum

Make Workplace Giving Month visible. Campaigns don’t need to be complex – they just need to be consistent, engaging, and aligned with your goals.

Take Bain & Co, for example. Their “Pledges for Dare Month” campaign tapped into team spirit and raised an additional $50,000.

Read the full story

It could be themed days, events with charity partners, or simple stories shared via internal comms – now is the time to galvanise support.

Whether you're a business, a charity, or an employee, there’s something you can do this June to celebrate and elevate workplace giving. It’s about participation, yes – but also pride. Pride in creating lasting change together.

So – are you in?

That's not Volunteering!

Workplace Giving Australia — Fri, 16 May 2025 00:44:40 GMT

Now that I have your attention, let me explain something that often gets muddled: volunteering and team building. While they can happen at the same time, they’re not the same thing. The key difference lies in why you're doing the activity — what’s driving it. Is the activity about providing skills or time for an organisation that genuinely needs this support, or is the driver more about engaging your people at work? The starting point matters.

Volunteering benefits everyone involved

For individuals, it’s a fulfilling way to support causes you care about through hands-on action or valuable skills you use at your normal place of work. For charities, volunteers are often the backbone of their operations. Many rely on consistent, dedicated support to deliver services. For beneficiaries, the impact is deeply felt. Whether it’s a sick child receiving a lovingly packed gift, an op shop kept afloat by volunteer staff, or cleaner oceans thanks to beach clean-up crews.

Bravo! More of this, please.

At Workplace Giving Australia, we’re beneficiaries too. As a not-for-profit, we thrive thanks to pro bono support. Our Workplace Giving Partners generously roll up their sleeves and help us do what we do best, with legal, consulting, venue space, event support, and more.

Volunteering at work: A worthwhile challenge

It’s not always easy to integrate volunteering into the workplace. My colleagues and I speak with organisations regularly about the opportunities and hurdles. The good news? We’re seeing fantastic outcomes from volunteering, both unskilled and pro bono — when it’s part of a broader workplace giving program that has a strategic approach.

In fact, we celebrate these efforts annually in our Workplace Giving Excellence Awards, with a category specifically dedicated to volunteering and pro bono programs that are impactful, engaging, and well-executed.

Here are a few key takeaways from my time working closely with employers and charities

It must be the right fit. Successful volunteering partnerships align the needs and capacity of both the charity and the corporate. Good governance is crucial to ensure a sustainable relationship for all parties. Objectives, measurement of impact, risk, insurance, brand alignment, and more should all be thoughtfully considered.

Don’t confuse volunteering with team building. They may look similar, but they serve different purposes. Volunteering is about impact for the charity; team building is about engagement and connection. Keep the distinction clear so that impact reporting is accurate.

Success factors include a robust volunteer leave policy and process - support your people in giving their time by matching time with donations - businesses can donate money to match employee volunteer hours. A reasonable starting point is $20–$45 per hour.

Tracking, reporting and feedback - record volunteer hours and matched donations to help tell an important story.

Inclusion within workplace giving - Connect giving activities for a more holistic program. Identify charities that employees already support through giving. Encourage collective fundraising efforts for charities where employees are volunteering. Use platforms like Good2Give that let employees submit volunteer hours that are eligible to be matched by their employer.

Charity Begins At Home

Workplace Giving Australia — Thu, 17 Apr 2025 05:15:27 GMT

We’re seeing a rise in the number of charities which are activating a workplace giving program for their own people, with payroll giving as the key component. There are multiple reasons to do this, including walking the talk!

Workplace Giving: Planning For Year-Round Success

Workplace Giving Australia — Tue, 18 Mar 2025 00:58:01 GMT

Building a successful workplace giving program is a multifactored, multi-layered, multi-departmental task and requires some of that multi-skilling magic as well. The benefits of achieving a high level of engagement can be seen (and measured!) by the sense of community you foster and the collective impact you create. Bringing together the workforce by organising team activities reinforces the giving culture at the heart of a corporate giving program and provides the opportunity for employees to make a difference. Finding what resonates with your people, when and how often as well as what’s feasible for you and your team to deliver is a constant tension point for the workplace giving community. To help you plan for a successful year ahead, here are our top tips for creating a calendar of activity to boost engagement in your workplace giving program.

Cyclone Alfred: How Your Organisation Can Support

Workplace Giving Australia — Tue, 11 Mar 2025 23:05:29 GMT

As corporate organisations, you have a unique opportunity to make a significant impact in the lives of individuals and communities affected by Tropical Cyclone Alfred, which recently struck Southeast Queensland. The cyclone has caused widespread destruction, leaving many residents in need of urgent assistance. Here are several ways your organisation can support these communities:

Workplace Giving Australia announces Nikki Kinloch as new CEO

Workplace Giving Australia — Mon, 02 Dec 2024 01:13:21 GMT

The Board is delighted to announce that Nikki Kinloch has been appointed to the role of Chief Executive Officer of Workplace Giving Australia.

Nikki is an experienced executive leader with a background in FinTech, business transformation, and most recently, innovation in the not-for-profit sector where she has been CEO of Cure Cancer Australia since 2018. The Co-Chairmen of Workplace Giving Australia, Nerida Caesar and Michael Graf, said that Ms Kinloch is the right person to take the organisation into its next stage of growth and innovation.

“We are delighted to have Nikki as the new CEO of Workplace Giving Australia. The company plays a critical role in the industry and Ms Kinloch brings the right experience for our next stage of growth. Her passion for the industry, depth of experience and focus on technology as an enabler will set us up well for the future”.

In recognition of her impact at Cure Cancer, Nikki was honoured to receive the Governor-General of Australia's Medallion in December 2020. Nikki was also nominated for both the 2019 and 2023 CEO of the Year at the Third Sector Awards, Australia.

Prior to Cure Cancer, Nikki was based in Singapore where she was CEO of Asia’s largest online fundraising platforms ‘Simply Giving’. Her leadership culminated in the organisation winning the Success in ASEAN at the 2018 Singapore Business Awards.

Ms Kinloch said she is delighted by the appointment.

“Workplace Giving Australia is a long-standing organisation supporting thousands of charities through many advocacy initiatives and giving solutions. I am committed to continuing the strategy for growth and working hard to lift the participation and opportunity for more Australians to give at work. I look forward to working with our Board and management team to form up the next phase.”

Nikki holds a Master of Science in International Business Economics, and a Bachelor of Arts with Honours in Politics and International Economics.

We look forward to Ms Kinloch joining Workplace Giving Australia in February 2025.

Announcing The 2024 Australian Workplace Giving Award Winners

Workplace Giving Australia — Mon, 02 Dec 2024 01:03:24 GMT