Tech elite embrace philanthropy on their terms

The study revealed that the entrepreneurial founders of successful start-ups in the tech community are more likely to give and give more than those who inherited their wealth, and give differently.

The Australian Tech Giving Report was released by tech community focused not-for-profit StartGiving and the Centre for Social Impact at the University of Western Australia.

They said the report provides the first comprehensive benchmark of philanthropy in Australia's rapidly growing tech sector, which is projected to contribute $250 billion a year to Australia's GDP by 2030.

The report found:

• tech founders’ contribution to major philanthropy has increased from one per cent to 21 per cent of total grants made by Australia’s top 50 givers

• Australia's tech community is twice as likely to give as the average Australian, with more than 67.8 per cent of those surveyed saying they donate, compared to 27.5 per cent of taxpayers

• more than half (57.7 per cent) of those surveyed said they expect to increase their philanthropic efforts next year, with about one-fifth planning to establish foundations.

Just a handful of the nation's top 30 wealthiest tech entrepreneurs already donate more than $19 billion through philanthropy, and the report found this could potentially be boosted by a further $6 billion.

Australian tech investor Daniel Petre, founder and chair of StartGiving, said the tech sector is uniquely positioned to unlock a new era of giving.

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

“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.”

The cause most commonly supported by tech start-up founders was improving health (62.7 per cent), followed by social or public welfare (57.3 per cent), education (56.0 per cent), promoting or protecting human rights (45.3 per cent), and protecting the environment (30.7 per cent).

The research found that tech founders exhibit a different relationship with wealth than those in traditional sectors.

Many of those who took part in the survey cited luck as a significant factor in their success and expressed discomfort with their wealth.

The report suggested that tech philanthropy will continue growing in both scale and sophistication, potentially transforming not just how much is given, but how it's distributed.

Centre for Social Impact CEO Arminé Nalbandian said tech founders are bringing an entrepreneurial mindset to philanthropy, backing people over projects, offering flexible multi-year funding, and prioritising impact over recognition.

“This shift in approach has the potential to fundamentally rebalance the power dynamics of giving.”

StartGiving was founded in 2022 with the aim of creating a culture of giving in Australia inspired by the philanthropy of US tech leaders such as Microsoft founder Bill Gates, who also sit's on the NFPs advisory board.

StartGiving CEO Antonia Ruffell described tech givers as “action oriented.”

“Often with the means to give earlier in life, they’re motivated to start their philanthropy earlier, not decades down the track,” she said.

“We hope this report will inspire and encourage more tech founders with the means to start giving now.”