# Our kaupapa Our kaupapa is to support projects with a charitable mission in Aotearoa, transforming how charity funding works through fundholding. Not everyone with a great positive change idea has the capacity or desire to incorporate, register, and manage their own charity entity—but without one, you're locked out of funding opportunities. There is a very real gap, for marginalised communities especially, when it comes to the time, language, and specific knowledge required. Simultaneously, many funders genuinely wish to reach further into communities, but face barriers because they simply can't fund unincorporated groups that don't tick certain boxes. Gift Collective is the bridge; we do the box ticking, benefiting both funders and grant seekers. There are huge inefficiencies in the charity sector in Aotearoa. For every 10,000 people, there are about 15 charities in the US, 24 in the UK and Australia, and 60 in NZ. Each of those charities represents countless hours of admin and paperwork, time that would be better spent on their actual kaupapa. And how many are missing from those stats altogether because they couldn't even start? By mutualising legal and financial structures as a shared resource, we can relieve admin burdens, increase access, and help our limited charity dollars to go further toward what really matters. A lot of groups are already using Open Collective around the world, like meetups, open source software projects, community initiatives, grassroots citizen movements, mutual aid groups, sector or interest-based coalitions, and projects receiving grants. What they have in common is being collectively organised, valuing transparency, and needing to get up and running quickly and easily without getting bogged down in paperwork and admin. But Aotearoa is unique, and Gift Collective is new, so who knows what will emerge! # What we offer Gift Collective provides a fundholding service for unincorporated charitable projects, and an online platform for managing money. ## Fundholding 101 [Fundholding](https://opencollective.com/fiscal-hosting) (also known as fiscal sponsorship, fiscal hosting, or auspicing) is when an *unincorporated* project (one without a legal entity) sits under the umbrella of an *incorporated* entity, using its bank accounts and legal status. Funding is received by the incorporated entity (the 'fundholder'), and spent on the unincorporated project's expenses. Grants and donations are received by the fundholder, into their bank account, and (in many cases) the fundholder is legally responsible for them. For small unincorporated projects, this is often the easiest way to get up and running. For larger unincorporated projects, working with a fundholder cuts out all the financial administration that comes with running an entity. Gift Collective offers *charity* fundholding, for projects that are charitable in nature. Gift Collective is run by The Gift Trust, a [registered charity](https://register.charities.govt.nz/Charity/CC40774), which can issue donation receipts eligible for New Zealand donation tax credits. The projects we host can utilise our charity status to qualify for grants, and have raised more than $5m since 2021. We also take care of accounting and legal reporting, including to IRD and Charities Services. ## Managing your Collective's funds online Gift Collective uses an online platform called [Open Collective](https://opencollective.com/), which is used around the world to enable fundholding for thousands of projects. Every Gift Collective project gets its own online page, where it can fundraise, tell its story, engage its community, and track and spend money transparently. With Open Collective and Gift Collective, you can: * Receive donations which are eligible for New Zealand tax credits * Receive other financial contributions, including grants * Tell your story and engage your community on a bespoke web page, with a transparent budget * Create and submit expenses, which we process and pay * Create crowdfunding pages, events, and projects, to manage your budget * Send updates to all your donors and supporters, with one click ## Other services Alongside what we facilitate through Open Collective, we'll also: * Check your expenses for alignment with your charitable purpose * Sign contracts with vendors, venues, and contractors as needed * Help you engage contractors and employ people to work on your Collective's mahi * Provide documentation for your grant applications * Engage with your funders and submit your funding applications when required as the legal entity ## What we don't do We do a lot for our Collectives, but not everything. Importantly, we don't: * Operate like a bank account - we only make payments weekly, and only when valid expenses have been submitted and approved * Employ people - we can help with payroll and HR, but you or another incorporated entity must be the legal employer * Get funding for you, or write your funding applications # Who we are Gift Collective is a project of The Gift Trust. [The Gift Trust](https://www.thegifttrust.org.nz/) is a registered charitable trust and donor advised fund, with a decade of experience in the charity sector in Aotearoa, and a track record of managing millions in philanthropic funding. It is the fundholder for all Gift Collective funds. [Open Collective](https://opencollective.com/) is an international company that makes a software platform many entities around the world use to provide crowdfunding and fundholding services. The relationship between the kiwi ventures and Open Collective Inc is like that of any software vendor and customer (not a parent company or owner). If you join, your project, initiative, or community will become a Collective, with its own page on the platform to fundraise and manage your budget. 1. Transparent—everyone can see where the money comes from and where it goes. 2. Collective & Ongoing—designed for collaborative communities to be funded over time, not one-off campaigns or tied to a single individual. 3. Fundholding (a.k.a. fiscal sponsorship or auspicing)—instead of simply transferring you the funds, we hold them in our bank account and pay them out as you go, taking care of painful stuff like taxes, accounting, liability, and payment processing, so you don't have to. We offer charity fundholding as well, to help you meet philanthropic grant requirements and provide donation tax credits. **Are you a not-for-profit?** Gift Collective is under the umbrella of a registered charitable trust and is completely not-for-profit. Everything about [our budget](https://opencollective.com/giftcollective) is transparent, too! # Identifying grants We've found some tools that can help you identify grants that fit your Collective's mahi. ## Fundsorter [Fundsorter](https://fundsorter.com) is a new tool that helps New Zealand charities **find and apply** for **contestable grant funding**. > Within a matter of minutes, community organisations can find strategically aligned opportunities, generate high-quality applications, and then submit those applications to the funders. We have developed: > > * A **comprehensive database** of available **funding opportunities** (currently over 2,200 and growing each day) > * A **matching algorithm** that matches community organisations needs with available grants. > * A tool that writes excellent **draft funding applications** based on information from the funder and the fund-seeker. > * And coming soon... funding accountability drafts and predictive funding suggestions. > > Fundsorter is driven by a vision of a more equitable funding landscape, and a tech-enabled reduction in the funding burden. We hope Fundsorter will allow the people working and volunteering in community organisations to focus their efforts more on the mahi, and less on the resourcing. If you'd like to join Fundsorter, [get in touch with us](mailto:contact@giftcollective.nz), and we can get you set up. ## Other resources * Attend a Gift Collective webinar with funders - we try to do these bi-monthly. * Check out The Centre for Social Impact's[ Funding Guide](https://www.centreforsocialimpact.org.nz/knowledge-base/funding-guide) * Check out [Strategic Grants](https://www.strategicgrants.co.nz/) and register for their database of grants. # Writing grant applications We've put together some useful information to help you with your grant applications. When applying for grants/funds through an application form, you will generally be responsible for completing the form, but we will always need to approve your answers before you apply. {% hint style="danger" %} Applying for grants or signing a grant agreement without our prior authorisation is a violation of our [Terms](https://giftcollective.nz/terms), and may result in your Collective being de-hosted. {% endhint %} ## Describing the fundholding relationship You will need to state that you are with a fundholder - we suggest using this wording to describe the relationship: > Gift Collective is a service operated by The Gift Trust (registered charity CC40774) which supports charitable initiatives with their financial administration. Grants to projects hosted by Gift Collective, including `Your Collective's Name`, are received by The Gift Trust and held in their bank accounts. Project team members then submit invoices and expenses to Gift Collective for review, which (if deemed compliant with charity law and the project's charitable purpose) are paid from the project’s balance. ## Basic info you'll need for applications When applying for grants, use our details as the applicant's details, unless your funder allows you to provide separate details for your fundholder/umbrella organisation. If there's other information you need about us, it's probably on the [Charities Register](https://register.charities.govt.nz/Charity/CC40774), otherwise [get in touch](mailto:contact@giftcollective.nz) and we'll help you out. ### Organisational details * Our charity registration number: `CC40774` * Our NZBN (New Zealand Business Number): `9429043100934` * Our legal structure: Charitable trust and registered charity * Our address: * Our postal address: PO Box 19120, Marion Square, Wellington 6141, New Zealand * Our physical address: Level 4, 265 Wakefield Street, Wellington 6011, New Zealand * Formation date: 10 June 2009 * Email: * Phone: 04 391 4242 ### Bank details Before providing these bank details to *anyone*, even if it's to a funder you've applied to previously, please make sure to tell us. If money comes in without us knowing in advance, it'll take longer for us to add it to your Collective's budget. * Account number: `02-0506-0375133-002` (if asked for a two-digit suffix, use `-02`) * Account owner: `The Gift Trust` * Reference: If we've given you a six-digit reference number for a specific grant, use that. Otherwise, use your Collective's name. * If your funder needs a deposit slip or bank letter, [use this](https://drive.google.com/file/d/1cjJyukZKt01nPlC1V_JwhHfZmXB3W06r/view?usp=sharing). If you're receiving a grant from outside of New Zealand, please [get in touch](mailto:contact@giftcollective.nz), as we have overseas bank details and partnerships which may make this easier. ### Documents you might need Funders often need these key documents: * [Audited financial statements](https://thegifttrust.org.nz/financials) * [Annual report](https://thegifttrust.org.nz/annual-report) * [Trust deed](https://thegifttrust.org.nz/deed) ### Our people #### Contact person * Chloe Spedding (Programme Lead) * Trish Given (Community Outreach Coordinator) * Katie Forshaw (Client Support & Finance Administrator) #### Trustees * Philip John Paul Prendergast (Chair) * Hana Maihi * Matthew McCracken * Auraya (Michelle) Wanwimolruk #### Other officers * Cheryl Spain (Executive Director) # Applying for grants Your Collective can apply for and receive grants from funders - just make sure to follow the right processes. Applying for grants with Gift Collective as your fundholder can be a bit different than applying for grants on your own. We don't write your grant applications, but we do need to be involved in the process. {% hint style="danger" %} Applying for grants or signing a grant agreement without our prior authorisation is a violation of our [Terms](https://giftcollective.nz/terms), and may result in your Collective being de-hosted. {% endhint %} Applying for a grant from a funder for your Collective is a four-step process: 1. Either through your own research, or through a tool like [Fundsorter](https://www.fundsorter.com/), identify the funder you wish to apply to. 2. Get in touch with your funder, before you apply, to check a couple of details: * Make sure they're happy to work with a fundholder or 'umbrella organisation'. * Ask them if they'd prefer the application to come directly from you (as the group doing the mahi), or if they'd want us to submit it on your behalf (as the legal entity). 3. Write your draft application, and [send it to us](mailto:contact@giftcollective.nz) for review **before you apply**, so we can make sure that you're representing the relationship between Gift Collective and your Collective correctly, and so we can credit the grant to your balance if it's approved. If your funder wants us to submit the application on your behalf, we'll do it at this point. Please give us at least a week to review your application before the due date. 4. Keep us in the loop - let us know if you're successful, and if there's anything we need to sign. ## Receiving grants If your application is accepted, here's some things to note: * Let us know as soon as possible, as we will need to see and/or sign the funding agreement. * If your funder needs an invoice, *do not* create one yourself - let us know and we'll create one for you. * Tell your funder that remittance notices and payment notifications should be sent to - if they send them to you directly, forward them to us. {% hint style="warning" %} We can't credit a grant to your Collective's balance unless we have proof from your funder that the grant payment is for your Collective. {% endhint %} Once we receive the funds, and can prove that the grant payment is for your Collective, we'll credit the funds to your Collective's balance. ## Refunding unspent grant money If you underspend on a grant, or are unable to follow through with what's promised in a grant application for any reason, we can refund the money directly to the funder. Please note in these situations we will still take our 8% deduction off the initial grant. This means that if the funder requires the grant paid back in full, you'll need to cover that 8% cost. # Receiving contributions Your Collective can easily receive contributions from members of the public, by credit card or bank transfer. For general guidance about receiving contributions through Open Collective, check out [their documentation](https://documentation.opencollective.com/getting-started/understanding-contributions). ## Payment methods Contributions made by credit/debit card are automatically credited to your Collective's balance. Contributions made by bank transfer are credited to your Collective's balance when we receive them. Each contribution has its own six-digit reference number, which should be included in the payment reference. {% hint style="warning" %} If a bank transfer is made without including the right reference number, the funds may not be credited to your Collective's balance. {% endhint %} ## Purchases vs. donations When creating a [contribution tier](https://documentation.opencollective.com/collectives/raising-money/setting-goals-and-tiers), you'll be asked to select a receipt type. The receipt type you should select depends on whether the contribution is for a purchase, or for a donation. ### Purchases If there is *any* way the donor could obtain a material benefit from a contribution in a given tier, then it is a purchase, and you **must** select `Non-Donation Payment Receipt` for that tier. This includes: * Merchandise and ticket sales * Workshops and training, even if the training is free of charge for other participants * Other goods or services ### Donations If there is no material benefit available to the donor from from a contribution in a given tier, then it is a donation, and you should select `Donation Receipt` for that tier. {% hint style="info" %} Even if there's no direct link between a contribution and a benefit, you shouldn't describe your tiers in such a way that it could be confused. For example, avoid using phrases like "covers the cost of one person". {% endhint %} Donations for which donation receipts are issued are eligible for donation tax credits in New Zealand, as The Gift Trust is a registered [donee organisation](https://myir.ird.govt.nz/tools/?LINK=DONREQ). ## Refunds Purchases are refundable at our sole discretion, as long as a `Non-Donation Payment Receipt` was issued for the contribution. If a `Donation Receipt` was issued for the contribution, **no refund is available**, as we have no way of ensuring that the associated donation tax credit will not be claimed. This applies regardless of whether the contribution was a donation or a purchase. Exceptions may be made if a contribution was made fraudulently, if an error occurred, or in other exceptional circumstances at our sole discretion. No partial refunds can be made, and your Collective will still be charged a [host fee](/collectives/costs#fiscal-host-fees) on refunded amounts. We can only give a refund if your Collective has sufficient balance to cover it, and to cover the host fee on the refunded amount. ### Requesting a refund To request a refund on behalf of a contributor, email with: * The reference number of the contribution * The name and contact details of the contributor * The circumstances that require the refund * (Bank transfer contributions only) The bank account to which the contribution should be refunded Requests for refunds must be made within 30 days of the contribution. # Overview Here's what you need to know about submitting expenses to Gift Collective. We process expenses weekly on a Wednesday. If you want your expenses to be paid in a particular fortnightly pay-run, please make sure you have approved them by 5pm the Tuesday preceding this. It can take a day or two for payments to come through. ## Invoices To have us pay a supplier or contractor directly, select `Invoice` as the expense type. Invoices should ideally be addressed to your Collective's name. (If a billing address is needed, [use ours](/raising-money/writing-grant-applications#organisational-details).) If an invoice is addressed to another person or entity, add a comment confirming that this other person or entity *has not* already paid the invoice. If they have, then the expense should be submitted as a reimbursement. ### Reimbursements To have us reimburse you or someone else for an expense you've already paid, select `Reimbursement` as the expense type. Reimbursement expenses should clearly show proof of payment. The best way of showing this is a receipt, which should be submitted with the expense as an additional attachment (*not* an additional line item), or as a photo in the comments. If you don't have a receipt from the supplier, attach a screenshot from your internet banking as an additional file with the expense, or as a photo in the comments. # Resolving common issues If we've flagged something about your expense, we can't pay it until the issue is resolved. Here's how to solve some common issues. {% hint style="info" %} If we've raised an issue with an expense, you don't have to delete it and resubmit it, you can just edit the existing expense - just click the pencil icon (![](/files/bUKntaiq2hGtWqO8zUvf)) next to any detail on the expense page. {% endhint %}
Insufficient documentation Every expense needs to be backed up by enough information to prove that it support your Collective's charitable purpose. Sometimes, we may need you to attach additional documents. There's two ways to do this: **Adding an attachment** 1. Click the pencil icon (![](/files/bUKntaiq2hGtWqO8zUvf)) next to `Expense Details`. 2. Use the `Additional Attachments` section to upload one or more files.
3. Click `Save` to finalise your attachment. **Attaching an image** 1. Scroll down to the comments section, near the bottom of the expense page. 2. Click the picture icon (![](/files/RzibkDCqNDAJ3SMqKa2P)) and select an image file.
3. If you don't want the Collective's admins to see your comment, tick the box to `Post as a private note`. {% hint style="info" %} Regardless of what you choose, your comment will not be public, but will be visible to Gift Collective staff. {% endhint %} 4. Click `Post reply` to finalise your comment.
Pay To and Payout Method don't match The person or entity under `Pay To` and the person or entity under `Payout Method` **always** need to match. For example, this is **incorrect**:
If you control/represent the entity being paid: 1. Go to [opencollective.com/signup/organization](https://opencollective.com/signup/organization) and create an organisation. 2. Return to the expense page, refresh it, and click the pencil icon (![](/files/bUKntaiq2hGtWqO8zUvf)) next to `Pay To`. 3. Select `An account I administer`, then select your new organisation. 4. Select or add a payment method for your organisation, then click `Save`. If you *do not* control or represent the entity being paid: 1. Email with the legal name of the entity, its contact details, and a document confirming its bank details. 2. Our team will create a `Vendor` for the entity, and will tell you when it's ready. 3. Return to the expense page, and click the pencil icon (![](/files/bUKntaiq2hGtWqO8zUvf)) next to `Pay To.` 4. Select `A vendor`, search for the vendor created by our team, select it, and click `Save`.
Unclear connection to charitable purpose Every expense needs to show its connection to your Collective's charitable purpose. {% hint style="success" %} If a [Project](https://documentation.opencollective.com/collectives/managing-money/projects) or [Event](https://documentation.opencollective.com/collectives/events) itself clearly demonstrates how it supports your Collective's charitable purpose, then expenses submitted to that account just needs to show their connection to that project or event. {% endhint %} Sometimes, this is just a matter of a few words: | Not enough information ❌ | Enough information ✅ | | ------------------------ | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | Flights to Auckland | Flights to Auckland *for leadership team meeting* | | October invoice - $800 |

October invoice - project admin and coordination
20 hours @ $40/hour

| | Catering for hui |

Catering for 20 November team hui
5 attendees

| Koha is a valid expense, as long as your Collective can justify why it is being paid. Some things to note: * If koha is being given in cash: get an ATM receipt, sign it, and submit a scan or photo of the signed receipt. * If you wish to pay someone a koha by bank transfer without having to have them submit an expense, email with their contact information and confirmation of their bank details, and ask us to set them up as a vendor.
Amounts don't add up If you're submitting a separate PDF invoice, or if you're submitting receipts and being reimbursed, the amounts you're claiming need to match the amounts on the documentation. If they don't match (for example, your receipt includes both a personal purchase and a purchase for your Collective, but you're only claiming the latter), you'll need to tell us in the expense notes, or in a comment. If you need to submit multiple documents for a single item, **do not** add additional line items. Instead, [add an attachment or a comment](#insufficient-documentation). For example, this is **incorrect**:
This is **correct**:
No proof of payment If you're being reimbursed for an expense you've paid out of pocket, we need proof that you've actually spent the money. An invoice addressed to you isn't enough - we need a receipt. {% hint style="success" %} If you have been sent an invoice, but you haven't paid it yet, submit it as an `Invoice` expense rather than a `Reimbursement` expense, as in many cases we can pay the supplier directly. {% endhint %} * If you paid in-person, for example at a supermarket, a photo or scan of your receipt is fine. * If you paid online with a credit/debit card, a copy of your digital/email receipt from the supplier is fine. * If you don't have a physical or digital receipt, submit a screenshot from your online banking showing the date, amount, and payee. * If you paid with cash and did not get a receipt, email , and we will tell you what information you will need to provide.
Insufficient funds to cover payment processing fee In addition to the expense amount itself, each expense incurs a payment processing fee ($1.38 NZD, or more for international payments), which is charged to us by [Wise](https://wise.com) and debited from the same account (Collective, Project, or Event) as the expense. For example, to pay a $100 expense to a New Zealand bank account, the account must have a balance of at least $101.38 NZD. If you have funds in another account (Collective, Project, or Event), you can make a transfer between accounts: 1. Go to your Collective's Dashboard, by clicking `Dashboard` on your main profile page, or by navigating to [opencollective.com/dashboard](https://opencollective.com/dashboard)/`your-collective`.
1. Select `Accounts`, then select `New internal transfer`.
3. Choose the sending and receiving accounts, enter the amount to transfer, and click `Transfer`. If you are unable to move or add funds, we can deduct the payment processing fee from the amount the payee receives - just leave a comment authorising us to do so.
# Asset ownership Assets purchased with Collective funds must be managed in accordance with this policy. One of the principles behind Gift Collective is that Collectives have control over how their funds are spent, as long as their spending advances their charitable purpose. In most cases, this spending is on single-use or short-term operating expenses: accommodation for a film crew, kai for an event, or web hosting fees for an online course, to name a few examples. In some cases, Collectives may need to purchase assets. Assets are any item purchased which is expected to have a useful life of more than one year and purchased at a cost greater than $1000, with an upper limit of $10,000. For example, a media production project may need to purchase cameras or microphones—these will be purchased once, but will be used multiple times. Because Collectives are not separate legal entities, assets purchased using Collective funds are the legal property of Gift Collective, unless another owner is determined with the agreement of The Gift Trust. This policy sets out the rules and procedures Collectives must follow when purchasing and using assets. ## Purchasing assets using Collective funds Once you’ve identified the asset you wish to purchase, ask your supplier for an invoice that can be paid by bank transfer, and submit that invoice for payment through the Open Collective platform (or invite your supplier to do so). We request that you do not take delivery of the asset until we have reviewed and paid your submitted expense. The billing address for the invoice should be as follows: > **The Gift Trust t/a Gift Collective**\ > Attention: Chloe Spedding\ > PO Box 19120, Marion Square, Wellington 6141, New Zealand > > / 04 391 4438 Before you take delivery of the asset, we will send you a link to electronically sign an Asset Ownership Agreement, acknowledging that the asset legally belongs to us, but that you and persons listed as admins on your Collective page may use the asset solely for your Collective’s charitable purposes. {% hint style="danger" %} We do not currently allow the purchase of motor vehicles or real property (houses, land, buildings, etc.) using Collective funds. {% endhint %} ## Using assets for charitable purposes Just as you may only use funds raised by your Collective for charitable purposes, so may you only use assets purchased using those funds for charitable purposes. If we find out you’ve been using Collective assets for non-charitable purposes, we’ll reach out to you to clarify our expectations. If you continue to use assets improperly, then we may require you to return the asset to us. ## If the asset is damaged, lost, or stolen If the asset is damaged, lost, or stolen, you must notify us immediately by emailing . Please provide as much detail as you can, including photos if possible. We will then work with you to figure out what happened, and we may then choose to submit an insurance claim on your behalf. Do not submit a claim with your personal or business insurer to cover the damage, loss, or theft of any asset paid for with Collective funds—as you are not the legal owner, this may be considered fraud. If the insurance claim results in a cash payout, we will credit it to your Collective balance. If our insurance company instead arranges for a repair or replacement of the asset, we may need to organise a courier on your behalf to pick up and return the asset, and any costs associated will be debited from your Collective balance. Any replacement asset will remain the legal property of Gift Collective, and we may require you to sign an additional Asset Ownership Agreement. ## If your circumstances change You may be required to return the asset to Gift Collective if: * You cease to be a Collective admin and cannot hand the asset over to another admin * Your Collective closes or becomes dormant (i.e. does not receive funding or submit an expense for twelve months) * We believe you are using the asset for non-charitable purposes Rather than requiring you to return the asset to us physically, we may allow you to sell the asset and credit the proceeds to your Collective balance. Do not sell or dispose of any assets without our written permission. If your Collective incorporates as a registered charity, we may gift the asset to your new entity—please contact us if you’re considering this.
# Acceptance criteria All Collectives must comply with Gift Collective's acceptance criteria. When we become your fundholder, we take on a degree of liability for your activities. As such, we can only accept Collectives which comply with our strict criteria. ## Charitable purpose Your Collective's activities must be of [charitable purpose](https://www.charities.govt.nz/ready-to-register/need-to-know-to-register/charitable-purpose/) according to New Zealand law. You must demonstrate in your application how your Collective's activities will contribute to: * The relief of poverty, * The advancement of education, and/or * Any other purpose beneficial to the community. To avoid conflicts of interest or perceived endorsement of specific religious beliefs, Gift Collective does not accept Collectives with a primarily religious purpose. ## Public benefit As well as being of charitable purpose, your Collective's activities must also be of public benefit within New Zealand. (You may *spend* Collective funds outside of New Zealand, but the *benefit* of those funds must be within New Zealand.) Activities of 'public benefit' cannot be of private benefit, or provide profit to any individual. In addition, hate speech and hateful activities are not of public benefit. We do not accept Collectives that we believe, in our sole discretion, are engaging in [hate speech or hateful activities](https://guide.thegifttrust.org.nz/gifts/our-grants-policy#prohibited-purposes) (online or offline). ## Advocacy Advocacy is permitted only when it is clearly connected to a Collective's charitable purpose, and when it is carried out in accordance with [Charities Services' guidance](https://www.charities.govt.nz/ready-to-register/need-to-know-to-register/charitable-purpose/advocacy-for-causes). Collectives [**may not**](https://www.charities.govt.nz/im-a-registered-charity/running-your-charity/charities-elections-and-political-parties) support or oppose a political party or candidate. If the principal purpose of your Collective is to advocate for a specific cause, then the cause must be self-evidently beneficial to the public, and for ends that are themselves charitable. Such determinations will be made at our sole discretion. ## Additional criteria The Gift Trust may decline any application to Gift Collective, for any reason, at its sole discretion. If an already-accepted Collective violates these criteria, it may be removed, in accordance with our [Terms](https://giftcollective.nz/terms/). # Costs We deduct amounts from Collectives' balances to cover the services we provide to support your kaupapa. We also pass on the payment processing fees charged by our partners. ## Cost schedule To cover our costs, we deduct a percentage of all funds received, as follows: | Amount raised per year | Amount deducted | | ------------------------------- | --------------- | | On the first $200,000 | 8% | | On the next $300,000 (to $500k) | 6% | | On the next $500,000 (to $1m) | 4% | | On amounts above $1m | By arrangement | Totals reset on 1 April of each year. {% hint style="info" %} ### Example Let's say your Collective raises $350,000 in a year. We'd deduct 8% of the first $200,000, which is $16,000, then we'd deduct 6% of the remaining $150,000, which is $9,000. That's a total deduction of $25,000 on the funds your Collective raised in that year, which is equivalent to 7.1%. {% endhint %} ### What our deduction covers Our deduction covers the costs of running Gift Collective, such as: * Our staff, who review every expense and respond to your queries * Use of [Open Collective](https://opencollective.com), the system that keeps track of everything * Expert advice and support from our lawyers and accountants [Our own budget](https://opencollective.com/giftcollective#section-budget) is tracked transparently too, using the same system our Collectives use. ### How we compare A traditional crowdfunding platform would charge 5-7%, but those platforms don't provide fundholding services - you have to account for all the money yourself. On the other hand, most fundholders charge around 10% (it varies a lot!), but don't generally provide online donation forms or an easy way to manage your expenses. With Gift Collective, you get an end-to-end crowdfunding and fundholding solution, for one simple amount. Our deductions reflect these higher overheads, including the enhanced assessment, monitoring, and reporting we have to do to ensure everything is compliant with the laws and regulations that apply to charities. For projects that want to offer donation tax receipts to their supporters, or which need a registered charity to be their umbrella organisation for a grant, it's a pretty sweet deal! ## Payment processing We also deduct from Collectives' balances to cover the costs charged to us by payment processors. #### Contributions Debit and credit card payments are processed by [Stripe](https://stripe.com), which charges a fee of 2.7% + $0.30 per transaction. (Higher fees may apply to some payment methods.) No fee applies to contributions received via bank transfer. #### Expenses Outgoing expense payments are processed by [Wise](https://wise.com). For expenses paid in NZD to accounts within New Zealand, they charge $1.38 per transaction. For other expense payments, you can get an estimate of Wise's fee by using the [calculator](https://wise.com/nz/pricing/send-money) on their website - make sure to select 'Your balance' as the payment method. {% hint style="warning" %} If there isn't enough in your Collective's balance (at time of processing) to cover the Wise fee applicable to an expense, we won't be able to pay that expense. {% endhint %} In all cases, the Wise fee is calculated and an equivalent cost deducted from your balance at the time of processing. ## Employment services Additional costs are deducted from Collectives which employ staff, as there's more work involved for us. * $2,000 NZD is deducted for each new employee when they are onboarded, to cover our costs in onboarding them, and to cover the HR and legal advice we facilitate. * $165 NZD is deducted per employee per month, to cover our ongoing costs, plus the facilitation of five hours of annual legal/HR support. * If we facilitate additional legal/HR support for you, the costs we incur for this will also be deducted. ## Discounts We **do not** offer discounts on our deductions. From time to time, The Gift Trust may decide to make a contribution to a kaupapa that's aligned with its strategic priorities. If that kaupapa is a Collective, then that contribution may take the form of a credit for part of our deduction. We **will not** accept unsolicited applications for such credits. *All figures are in New Zealand Dollars (NZD) unless specified.* # GST Gift Collective is not GST registered. This means you cannot claim GST on any expenses you have, and you must budget for any GST expenses you might incur. ### Do I need to charge GST on funds I raise? It depends. Unconditional donations—where nothing specific is given in return—do not attract GST. Conditional payments—where the buyer gets something in return, like a product, service, or event ticket—may attract GST. The Open Collective platform is set up for both scenarios. # Additional Policies * If a collective doesn't accept the admin rights to the page or respond to communication, we reserve the rights to delete their page after a 6 month period. * If a collective has a page but hasn't received any funding or spent any funding within a year, we will endeavour to contact them to discuss their future plans, and if no contact is returned, we reserve the right to delete their page. * If a collective has received funds and they haven't spent any of those funds within a year, we will contact the collective to discuss their plans, and arrange reports back to the donor. We will discuss our obligations to the funders if funding hasn't been spent, some funders will require it to be paid back after a year. * Asset ownership - larger expenses you claim for will be monitored for approval by us. It is possible to buy big-ticket items, as long as the public benefit of owning them outweighs the personal benefit. For out asset ownership policy, please click [here](https://docs.google.com/document/d/1MpxU1sta6Zb53KEiKhiyhY4PK2S8bnKWjMX5e3XFwmA/edit?usp=sharing). * Anything put through Gift Collective must be charitable, but that can be a portion of a collective's work, it doesn't have to be its whole focus. # Financial Contributors **For more information about contributing financially to a collective please view the main Open Collective Documentation** [**here**](https://docs.opencollective.com/help/financial-contributors/financial-contributors)**.** ### **Can I get a refund of my contribution?** If you set up a recurring contribution to a Collective (e.g. $10/mo) you can cancel this at any time. If there was a mistake (e.g. you typed an extra zero), or it was made fraudulently (e.g. unauthorised use of your credit card), it can always be refunded. As a charity, the Gift Collective has certain restrictions for refunds, based on rules the IRD sets about how money must be spent on charitable purposes once a donation tax receipt has been issued, so refunds are at the discretion of the Gift Collective. If the funds were donated from a charity we can usually refund them back to that charity. We can usually redirect funds to another initiative under the Gift Collective umbrella or another charity working on a similar impact area. If we have signed a grant contract specifying circumstances where funds will be returned, those will be followed. In assessing whether refunds of online donations can be facilitated, we will determine whether the donation in question has already been applied to a charitable purpose or whether it is available to be released back to the donor. # Funders You don't want to weigh down the initiatives you're trying to support, but you have to ensure your compliance and reporting requirements are met. We take the risk out of funding unincorporated groups through our expert vetting process, automatic reporting, and transparent budget tracking. We support projects to follow best practice for managing their funds, and as an established charitable trust, we can meet your fundholder requirements. Our efficient system enables you to distribute more grants to more recipients with less overhead.