Workplace giving is one of Australia's fastest-growing philanthropic mechanisms — enabling employees to make regular charitable donations through their payroll while employers amplify impact through matching. For nonprofits, workplace giving programmes represent a significant and often overlooked source of funding. For companies, workplace giving is a powerful employee engagement and corporate responsibility tool.
The basic model
Employees nominate a charity and a regular donation amount to be deducted from their pre-tax salary each pay period. The donation is made directly to the charity by the employer. Because the donation comes before income tax, employees effectively receive a tax benefit equivalent to their marginal tax rate.
For example: an employee on a 34.5% marginal tax rate donating $100/month to charity effectively gives $100 but only foregoes $65.50 of take-home pay — the $34.50 difference is the tax saving.
Employer matching
Many employers enhance workplace giving by matching employee donations — dollar-for-dollar, or sometimes two-to-one. Employer matching dramatically multiplies the philanthropic impact: a $100 employee donation becomes $200 or $300 when matched.
Some employers cap matching (e.g., matching up to $1,000 per employee per year); others match all donations.
Payroll giving platforms
Rather than managing workplace giving manually, most medium and large employers use third-party platforms that:
- Allow employees to select and manage their nominated charities
- Process donations through payroll
- Administer employer matching
- Provide reporting for both employers and charities
- Handle receipts and tax documentation
Major payroll giving platforms in Australia include Good2Give, Benevity, and others.
Reliable, recurring income
Workplace donors tend to be consistent — monthly donations continuing for the duration of employment (often years). This predictability is valuable for financial planning.
Low transaction costs
For charities registered on payroll giving platforms, the donations arrive with minimal administrative overhead — no direct fundraising required.
Employee engagement
Workplace giving connects charities with engaged donor communities — employees who have actively chosen to support.
Employer matching amplification
Many workplace donors choose charities that are employer-match eligible — meaning the charity receives significantly more than the employee donation alone.
Good2Give is Australia's primary workplace giving platform, processing hundreds of millions of dollars annually:
- Charities must register with Good2Give to be listed on participating employer programmes
- Registration requires DGR status and ACNC registration
- Good2Give charges a small transaction fee (typically 3-5%)
- Registered charities gain access to employees across all Good2Give-connected employers
Other platforms (Benevity, YourCause) operate similarly — charities register, employees select from the registered list.
Large Australian employers with matching programmes include:
- Major banks (ANZ, NAB, Westpac, Commonwealth Bank)
- Mining companies (BHP, Rio Tinto)
- Professional services firms (PwC, Deloitte, KPMG, EY)
- Retail and consumer companies
- Technology companies
Each employer sets its own matching rules, eligible charity categories, and caps. Charities should identify which employers have matching programmes and ensure they are registered on relevant platforms.
Beyond payroll giving, corporate workplace programmes often include:
- Team volunteering days: groups of employees volunteering together at a charity site
- Skills-based volunteering: professionals (lawyers, accountants, marketers) donating professional services
- Secondments: employees embedded at charities for extended periods
- In-kind support: companies donating products, services, or equipment
- Pro bono work: professional firms donating billable services
These in-kind contributions can be as valuable as cash donations for capacity-building activities.
Get DGR endorsement
All workplace giving requires DGR (Deductible Gift Recipient) status. Item 1 DGR is required for most payroll giving purposes.
Register on payroll giving platforms
Register your charity on Good2Give and other major platforms. Once registered, you become discoverable to employees at all connected employers.
Corporate partnerships
Beyond passive platform listing, develop direct relationships with corporate employers:
- Contact CSR (Corporate Social Responsibility) managers at target companies
- Present your organisation as a charity of the year candidate
- Propose specific partnership projects that align with corporate priorities (e.g., environmental projects for resources companies, financial literacy for banks)
Charity of the year programmes
Some companies select an annual charity partner — receiving a committed fundraising campaign, matching programme, and often senior executive engagement. Competing for charity of the year status requires a formal proposal and often a relationship with internal advocates.
Employee-led initiatives
Workplace campaigns are often driven by employee enthusiasm — a passionate employee advocating for their favourite charity can mobilise colleagues and management. Building relationships with individual employee advocates is an underrated strategy.
While workplace giving is distinct from grant programmes, for grants managers it's useful to understand:
- Corporate foundations and workplace giving are often different programmes at the same company — the CSR team manages workplace giving while the corporate foundation manages grants
- Workplace giving provides reliable base income; grants provide project-specific or capital funding
- Some companies connect workplace giving to grant matching — employees who volunteer receive grant dollars for their charity of choice
Charities receiving workplace giving should:
- Provide impact reports to corporate partners
- Recognise employee donors appropriately (acknowledging corporate partners, not individual employees)
- Maintain DGR compliance to remain platform-eligible
Tahua's grants management platform supports organisations managing corporate philanthropic relationships — including workplace giving partnerships, corporate foundation grants, and in-kind contribution tracking alongside traditional grant portfolio management.