The Australian Tech Giving Report

As giving in the tech sector is understudied in Australia, this report aims to develop a benchmark. The report focusses on personal giving by tech founders and executives.

Working in collaboration with the Centre for Social Impact at the University of Western Australia (CSI UWA), this StartGiving study reveals how and why founders give, unpacks the opportunities and challenges tech givers face and provides actionable insights for other founders who may want to start their giving journey.

Australia’s growing tech sector has clear, untapped potential for more and greater giving, driven by a new generation of self-made tech founders.

Impact-driven, comfortable with risk, people-oriented, and highly collaborative, tech givers’ contemporary giving styles could revolutionise what it means to be a philanthropist in Australia.

We hope this report will inspire and encourage more tech founders who have the means to start giving now.

Key findings:

• Growing impact: In just a few years, tech founders’ contribution to major philanthropy has grown from 1% to 21% of total grants made by Australia’s Top 50 givers.
• Higher giving rates: 67.8% of survey respondents said they donate their money, compared to 27.5% of Australian taxpayers.
• Significant untapped potential: The 30 wealthiest people in Australian tech could easily
contribute well over $25 billion to philanthropy, with nearly $19 billion already committed by a handful of this group.