Australian Charity Changes Name, Aims to Raise $300M

The Australian arm of a global charity that works with companies to encourage corporate philanthropy has announced it will undergo an identity shake-up while setting an ambitious goal to facilitate $300 million in donations by 2020.

Charities Aid Foundation (CAF) Australia will be renamed Good2Give in April this year, with CEO of the organisation, Lisa Grinham, telling Pro Bono Australia News that after 15 years a change of brand was needed.

Good2Give will remain affiliated with the CAF Global Alliance, which includes Brazil, Bulgaria, India, Russia, Southern Africa, UK and the USA.

Grinham said the change of brand would give the organisation more control to position itself more strongly in local markets.

“Essentially we feel that being independent from CAF we’re a bit more in charge of our own destiny and we can do more in Australia and New Zealand in terms of increasing giving,” Grinham said.

“We’re very much still part of the CAF Global Alliance of organisations, so we’ll continue to share knowledge and expertise, but we feel with our own independence in Australia and New Zealand that we can do more.”

While announcing the change of name, Good2Give also said that it aimed to reach $300 million in donations within the next five years by continuing to invest in and leverage software to deliver ever more efficient ways for business and donors to support the charities they care about.

Since it was established in 2001 the Australian organisation has distributed over $130 million to more than 4,000 charitable organisations, meaning it will be aiming to deliver 14 per cent more than it already has in just one-third of the time.

Grinham said she believed the target would be met.

“The numbers have been done and I absolutely believe that they’re achievable, in fact I think we’ll [achieve it] easily,” she said.

“The work that we’re doing around technology is absolutely paramount, not only workplace giving donations but also in managing grants programs. I think that technology is such a great enabler.

“Our purpose-built software solutions are having great outcomes in significantly increasing donations across workplace giving and corporate grants programs –  both of which are providing critical support for the charity and Not for Profit sector.”

CAF was founded in the UK in 1924, and Grinham said Good2Give would still work closely with the founding organisation.

“Our new name embodies this commitment. It’s about Good2Give making it easy, efficient and rewarding to give to the causes we all care about. We know it’s good to give, we know how great it makes you feel and we are excited to help make this a part of people’s everyday lives,” she said.

“Being part of a global family of organisations spanning Britain, the United States, Canada, Russia, India, South Africa, and Brazil is integral to our heritage. We’re continuing to work closely with our CAF colleagues, and look forward to building our expertise to ensure maximum impact in Australia and New Zealand in the coming years.”

CEO of the UK-based Charities Aid Foundation, John Low, welcomed the announcement.

“Good2Give is an amazing Australian success story. We have been investing heavily to support the culture of giving across the world and we are delighted that our colleagues have built a strong, sustainable organisation in Australia which will continue to support people to give,” Low said.

“As we work together to grow giving worldwide at a time of immense economic change we look forward to working with Good2Give as a valued affiliate of the global CAF family.”