Chive is a volunteer-run platform that helps people discover and support smaller charities across New Zealand. Big-name charities often dominate search results, but our platform ensures grassroots organisations get the visibility they deserve. To date, we’ve facilitated over $70,000 in donations, helping connect everyday donors with charities that align with their passions.
Chive is completely free for charities, ensuring that organisations can focus on their mission while we help bring in support. It was founded in 2020 by Stephen and Alice as a way to bridge the gap between donors and lesser-known charities making a big impact in their communities.
Chive is 100% volunteer-run. It was started by Stephen and Alice in 2020 and continues to be operated as a passion project to support grassroots charities.
Chive is funded by its founders, Stephen and Alice. In the early days, we experimented with subscriptions for charities to have premium profiles but ultimately decided to move to a completely free model for charities and self-fund instead.
Chive is completely free for charities.
We recently introduced a 5% fee on donations. Previously, we covered these costs ourselves, but that approach was becoming unsustainable. This fee covers the payment processing fees from our partner, including a fixed Donorbox fee of 1.75% along with a variable Stripe payment processing fee. Our 5% fee is among the lowest on any giving platform in Aotearoa, ensuring that a larger share of each donation reaches the charities.
Visit this page to apply. We have an approval process to verify that organisations are legitimate charities. If your application is not approved, feel free to follow up. The review process typically takes 1-2 weeks.
Use this link or email us at hello@chivecharities.nz.
We previously offered a login function with a charity dashboard, but the tool we used was expensive and unreliable. While we explore new options, we ask that charities rely on our email communications for all donation details.
We are happy to provide CSV files summarising donations for any time period—just email us at hello@chivecharities.nz. If you need to update your profile or contact details, please email us as well.
Each charity has a unique donation link so we can track the impact of Chive. Donations are collected and then distributed at the beginning of the following month, minus the 5% fee.
Your charity will receive:
If you’re unsure whether we have your correct email address on file, please contact us at hello@chivecharities.nz.
Since all donations go through our Charitable Trust, donors technically donate to that trust. We then hold the funds on your behalf and distribute them. This means Chive provides the donation receipt, so you don’t have to.
Yes! Donors receive a thank-you message after donating. However, many donors appreciate being able to give anonymously without being added to mailing lists. While we do share donor details with charities, we ask that you ensure proper opt-in before adding them to any marketing lists.
All donations go through a charitable trust. We also have a separate limited company that has a service agreement with the trust. Currently, the limited company funds website costs, such as hosting and subscriptions.