About Karma Currency

The Karma Currency Foundation (ABN 54120979809) is a national, independent, charitable non-for-profit that seeks to revitalize the philanthropic landscape in Australia.

Karma Currency is a registered charity that has deductible gift recipient and income tax exempt status approved by the Australian Tax Office.

Karma Currency Vision

Our vision is to change the world! Well… maybe not the whole world. But certainly some of it! Through connecting people with the charities and causes that are closest to their hearts (whether it be starving children in Africa or a soup kitchen down the street) we hope to make charitable acts part of our everyday lives.

What We Do

We look for innovative ways to help people and companies support their favourite charities. Whether it’s Charity Gifts, Charity Gift Vouchers, Charity Gift Registries, Fundraising Pages or Workplace Giving Platforms we strive to make donating simpler, easier and more enjoyable.

Charity Gifts and Charity Gift Vouchers – Instead of giving platters, socks, photo frames and other useless gifts our initiative allows companies and individuals to give the gift of Charity Gifts and Charity Gift Vouchers. A Charitable voucher can be sent to families or friends, customers or colleagues, empowering them to pass on the donation to the charities they care about most. And with the largest gift registry in the Southern Hemisphere there is sure to be something for everyone. With over $1 billion spent in unwanted gifts each year we hope our charity donations and gift vouchers make the most thoughtful, unique and innovative gift idea – a gift that won’t get thrown in the trash or left sitting idle in the corner. Donation gifts are great for a range of occasions and recipients. Give them to friends for birthdays, your Mum on Mother’s Day or a colleague at Christmas – no matter whom or when, charity donation vouchers are great gift ideas. For more click here.

Charity Gift Registries – Kate and Prince William set up one for their wedding. So why not do it for yours? And best of all you don’t have to be royalty to set up a charity gift registry. It’s free to set up, plus upload images, write welcome notes, send invites, track donations and your guests get sent an instant tax deduction as all donations over $2 are fully tax deductible. Perfect for wedding, birthday’s, anniversaries and more your charity gift registry is waiting to begin. For more click here.

Fundraising Pages – Whether you are running a marathon, climbing a mountain, shaving your hair or simply celebrating your birthday, you can set up free Fundraising Project Pages (individually or as teams) with your goals, photos, videos and blogs. Then, your family and friends can make tax deductible donations towards your page and favourite charitable projects. With unlimited access to share your Fundraising page through emails, facebook, linkedin, twitter, posters and widgets your fundraising potential is limitless. For more click here.

Workplace Giving – Karma Currency partners with businesses small and large to set up online Workplace Giving and Matched Giving Schemes which enable employees to support their favourite charities on a pre-tax basis. Through setting up a bespoke workplace giving program your company will be able to fundraise for your community, care for those less fortunate, donate to charity and invigorate a positive business profile. For more click here.

Karma Currency Philosophy

We believe that "what goes around comes around". If we look after our staff - they will look after us. If we support other charities - they will support us. If we hero our Corporate Sponsors - they will hero us. It's really that simple.

Inspiration

Each year over $1 billion is wasted on unwanted gifts that end up in the closet, in storage and ultimately in landfill. But imagine a gift that could save a child, protect a forest, find a cure, educate a mind, aid the arts, spur on spirituality or perform countless other wonderful acts. Well we have come up with such a gift and it's called Karma Currency - Australia's first Charity Gift Certificate.

Guarantee

The charities that deliver the 'directed gifts' have all signed legal agreements that state that their Directed Gift will accurately reflect the nature of the goods and services they provide and prominently state any qualifications, conditions or exclusions associated with that Directed Gift. In other words, you know where your money goes. And that's great karma!

Board

Karma Currency's board sets policy and strategic goals that guide Karma Currency's operations.

Ashley Rosshandler - Founder and Director

Working in advertising and selling 2-minute-noodles left Ashley feeling a little low on good karma. But one day, when invited to an engagement party, Ashley and his wife wondered if it would be nice to give the happy couple a 'goat' in Africa. But what if they weren't into goats? Maybe they were into saving forests, or rescuing animals, or finding cures or education or the arts or any number of worthwhile causes? That's when the idea dawned on them for Charity Gift Vouchers. And they haven't looked back since! In his spare time Ashley studies for an MBA at Monash and enjoys spending every free moment with his new child.

Denis J O’Hara

Denis is a consultant with expertise in IT sourcing, IT contracts, professional services management, manufacturing and team and organisational improvement.  With a variety of experiences gained over 30 years, Denis can be a "wise old man" for organisations of all kinds.  In other areas, Denis works on his French and Bridge play, and ought to get more tennis practice.  He enjoys travel, theatre, food and wine, preferably with his wife and two grown children, who do not always react well to his quirky sense of humour. 

Leeora D. Black, Ph.D.

Leeora Black established the Australian Centre for Corporate Social Responsibility in 2003 to help organisations become more socially responsible. With over 20 years experience in developing evidence-based solutions to complex organisation issues and problems, she has developed and implemented strategies for global corporations, not-for-profit and community-based organisations, government owned businesses and government departments. Her work today focuses on analysing and solving complex CSR issues and problems and building organisational CSR capacity and strategy.

Nick Cummins

After studying Graphic Design and Majoring in Advertising at Monash University Nick worked for 11 years for some of Melbourne’s major advertising agencies such as J. Walter Thompson, Grey and Young and Rubicam as a main stream Art Director. He produced award-winning work for local and international brands in traditional medias such as T.V, radio and print. In 1999 Nick left mainstream advertising and started an online agency, Sputnik. Digital advertising was in its infancy in ‘99 in Melbourne and Nick was excited about the potential of this new medium. After 10 years of growing the agency into one of Australia’s most accomplished digital businesses with over 60 staff and a client list of international and national brands Nick decided it was time for a new challenge and went to head up tribal DDB in Melbourne working with a team of digital specialist and the broader DDB group. Today, Nick heads up a new start up The Royals which is set to revolutionize the digital landscape one again.

Advisors

Dion Hershan —MBA, BCom, BA

Dion joined Goldman Sachs JBWere Asset Management (GSJBWAM) in July 2007 as Head of Australian Equities. He is responsible for managing the Australian Equities team and the equities investment process. Dion transitioned into this role from the Proprietary Trading area of Goldman Sachs JBWere where he commenced in 2006.
Before joining Goldman Sachs JBWere, Dion spent a number of years in New York as a Fund Manager at Citadel Investment Group where he managed a long/short portfolio. Previously he worked as an Analyst and Fund Manager for Boston-based Fidelity Investments, where he was responsible for managing a diversified fund. Before moving to the US, Dion worked at Boston Consulting Group where he undertook financial and quantitative analysis, project and client account management.
Dion has a Bachelor of Commerce and a Bachelor of Arts from Monash University and a Master of Business Administration from Columbia Business School, New York.

Dr Judith Slocombe

Dr Judith Slocombe is CEO of the children's charity The Alannah and Madeline Foundation. The foundation provides support for children who are victims of violent crime or sudden family loss as well as running programs to address the serious issue of bullying in schools. Judith also holds numerous directorships, including the Open Universities Australia, Agriculture Victoria Services, is Chairman of the Animal Welfare League of Victoria (Lord Smith Animal Hospital). She has an MBA from the Melbourne Business School. Judith has also been awarded the Telstra Australian Business Woman of the Year and in 2003 she was awarded a centenary medal for service to Australian society in business leadership.

John Dalziel

John Dalziel was the Communications Director of The Salvation Army for 15 years prior to his retirement in 2006. His background is in marketing and for 27 years, prior to his work for the Salvos he was involved in advertising. He was the Managing Director for Dalziel Harper and Grey Advertising and Founder and joint owner of Grey Buchan Public Relations. The clients he worked on included Transport Accident Commission, Mars, State Bank and The Salvation Army. He sold his advertising and public relations businesses to work full time for the Salvos and thus brought together the two great interests in his life; working for the alleviation of injustice and poverty and communication of ideas.

Supporters

The Karma Currency Foundation would be but a dream if not for the support of our wonderful sponsors. Please feel free to support them as they have supported us.

And if you'd like to help us achieve our vision, please feel free to phone us on 03 9686 6100 or email us at 0