A generous American family moves to New Zealand, and wants a donor-advised fund similar to what they’d been using in the USA. Unable to find one, they speak to Prometheus Finance, a social finance company that provided Kiwi with ethical and sustainable savings and loan choices.

The Gift Trust is founded as The Prometheus Gift Trust, an independent entity under the branding umbrella of Prometheus Finance.

The Gift Trust reaches its first big milestone, gifting $100,000 to charity in a single year. (We now gift more than $1 million every year!)

The Gift Trust takes on its current name, following the closure of Prometheus Finance.

Cheryl Spain joins as Executive Director, bringing two decades’ experience in the charitable sector.

The amount held in Gift Accounts, and committed for future giving, reaches $5 million.

In our first decade, we gift more than $1 million to good causes.

We launch our borderless giving service, allowing U.S. donors to make tax-effective charitable gifts to New Zealand causes, through a partnership with RSF Social Finance.

We launch Gift Collective, our fiscal hosting service, helping charitable initiatives to get up and running quickly.

Gift Account balances reach $10 million, and $1m is gifted to a diverse range of local and global charities.

Total gifts to charities reach $5 million, and Gift Collective brings in its first $500k in funding for unincorporated charitable groups.

In our biggest financial year ever, our donors commit $65 million to future giving through Gift Accounts, and gift $23 million to charities.

John Prendergast becomes Chair, replacing founding trustee Phil McKinstry who retires after ten years on the Board.

The Gift Trust joins Myriad, the alliance for borderless giving, as the New Zealand member.

Total gifts to charities reach $100 million, and total funding through Gift Collective reaches $4 million.