What Australian Philanthropic Services does

Australian Philanthropic Services (APS) is an independent Australian not-for-profit founded in 2012 and headquartered in Sydney that provides structured philanthropic services to high-net-worth individuals and families. The organisation operates two core products: Private Ancillary Funds (PAFs), which are charitable trusts established by donors (ideally with $1.5M+ of capital) where APS administers accounting, compliance, governance, and audit while the donor or their adviser controls investments; and the APS Foundation, a public ancillary fund where donors establish named giving sub-funds (minimum $40,000 donation) whose capital is pooled across two professionally managed investment portfolios (a General Portfolio managed by Chris Cuffe and a Focused Portfolio with an RI/ESG mandate managed by David Wright of Zenith Investment Partners). APS handles all compliance for both structures, with PAFs requiring a minimum 5% annual distribution and sub-funds a 4% minimum distribution.

APS generates revenue through management fees on these services; specific fee schedules are not publicly disclosed. The go-to-market is primarily sales-led via referrals from professional advisers (accountants, lawyers, financial planners, and wealth advisers), supplemented by direct content marketing, client events, webinars, and an adviser-segmented email newsletter. The client base spans 1,090+ HNW givers and families who collectively committed over $2.4 billion to charity through APS-managed structures, with the APS Foundation alone holding 600+ sub-funds totalling more than $350 million. APS establishes approximately one-third of all PAFs created in Australia each year and positions the APS Foundation as Australia's fastest-growing public ancillary fund.

The technology layer consists of an online client portal for fund management and performance reporting; the proprietary intellectual property is concentrated in the operational and compliance workflows supporting ancillary fund administration rather than software. The organisation is governed by a high-profile board chaired by Jan Swinhoe, with CEO Judith Fiander (in role since June 2022), and has expanded its product surface with the May 2025 launch of the Giving Legacy service for estate and succession planning integration.

Name

Australian Philanthropic Services

Legal name

Australian Philanthropic Services

Website

https://australianphilanthropicservices.com.au

Company type

Private

Founded year

2012

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Australian Philanthropic Services is an independent Australian not-for-profit that helps high-net-worth individuals and families establish and manage structured philanthropic vehicles, including Private Ancillary Funds and the APS Foundation public ancillary fund, handling compliance, governance, and investment administration.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Philanthropy Administration Services

NAICS

Grantmaking Foundations (813211), Grantmaking and Giving Services (81321)

SIC

Investment Advice (6282)

akta.pro primary industry

Public Charities & Grantmaking Intermediaries (BPAGAKAE)

akta.pro secondary industries

Charitable Giving & Philanthropic Trust Advisory (FSAEAKAH), Philanthropy & Foundations Advisory (Donor-Advised Funds, Endowments) (FSAAABAH)

Keywords

• Structured philanthropy services
• Private ancillary funds
• Charitable giving vehicles
• Philanthropy administration
• Legacy giving planning

Headquarters

HQ city

Sydney

HQ country

Australia

HQ region

Oceania

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. PAF Management Services: Fees for establishing and managing Private Ancillary Funds, including administration, accounting, compliance, governance, and facilitation of trustee meetings and annual audit.
2. APS Foundation Sub-fund Management: Management of pooled giving funds within the APS Foundation public ancillary fund, including investment management through two portfolio options (General and Focused) and compliance responsibilities.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Australian Philanthropic Services (APS) is an independent not-for-profit organisation that establishes and administers structured giving vehicles for affluent individuals and families in Australia. Its core offerings are Private Ancillary Funds (PAFs), which are charitable trusts the donor or their adviser invests, and the APS Foundation, a public ancillary fund where APS pools and invests donations on the donor's behalf. APS handles all administration, accounting, compliance, governance and trustee meeting support so clients can focus on selecting charities to support.

Product overview

Australian Philanthropic Services is a not-for-profit organisation offering structured philanthropy solutions through two core giving vehicles: Private Ancillary Funds (PAFs) and the APS Foundation public ancillary fund. PAFs provide donors with direct control over investment management while APS handles administration, compliance and governance. The APS Foundation offers pooled giving funds where APS manages investments, allowing donors to focus on selecting charities. Additional services include the Giving Legacy estate planning module and a client portal for online fund management. The organisation positions itself as Australia's leading independent not-for-profit expert in structured giving.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• APS Foundation: The APS Foundation is a public ancillary fund (PuAF), a communal philanthropic structure that allows holders to establish a named sub-fund. It is Australia's fastest growing public ancillary fund, comprising more than 600 giving funds totalling over $350 million.
• Giving Legacy

Products and services

• Private Ancillary Funds (PAFs)

Named customers7 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Five partnerships are on record, tiered event partner, regulatory, industry association and investment partner.

• Australian Ethicalevent partnerStrategic or Co-development Partner · 27 March 2024John McMurdo, CEO of Australian Ethical ($10B ethical investment manager), participated as panelist at APS Capital with a Conscience event on impact and ethical investing alongside APS Board member Michael Traill.
• Save the Children Global Venturesevent partnerStrategic or Co-development Partner · 27 March 2024Julianne Wilkin, Head of Impact Investing Australia at Save the Children Global Ventures, participated as panelist at APS Capital with a Conscience event on impact and ethical investing.
• Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission (ACNC)regulatoryOthersAPS acknowledges the ACNC as the regulator for charities in Australia. The ACNC website is referenced for viewing charity audited financials. APS and its clients interact with ACNC for compliance purposes.
• Philanthropy Australiaindustry associationOthersAPS is a member of Philanthropy Australia, the peak body for philanthropy in Australia. Displayed as logo on website footer indicating membership.
• Zenith Investment Partnersinvestment partnerTechnology or IntegrationDavid Wright, co-founder and Investment Director of Zenith Investment Partners, manages the Focused Portfolio for APS Foundation. The Focused Portfolio is diversified across investment funds and individually managed accounts with Responsible Investing (RI) and/or ESG objective.

Scale indicators12 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Equity Trustees (EQT Holdings): Listed Australian trustee and wealth services firm that establishes and administers charitable trusts and Private Ancillary Funds, directly competing with APS for HNW foundation clients in Australia.
• Perpetual Private: Australian wealth manager with a dedicated philanthropic services arm that establishes and manages charitable structures for HNW clients, overlapping directly with APS's PAF and advice offering.
• JBWere: Long-established Australian private wealth firm with a focused philanthropy advisory practice, competing for the same HNW philanthropy budgets as APS, often via accountant/lawyer referral channels.
• Australian Communities Foundation: Australian public ancillary fund running pooled sub-funds for donors, structurally similar to APS Foundation and competing head-on in the public ancillary fund sub-fund category.
• Lord Mayor's Charitable Foundation: One of Australia's oldest public ancillary funds offering sub-funds to HNW donors; competes directly with APS Foundation for philanthropic dollars and adviser-sourced clients.
• Foundation for Rural and Regional Renewal: Australian grantmaking intermediary that pools philanthropic capital for distribution to community programs, functioning as a comparable giving vehicle to APS Foundation.

Emerging players

• Good2Give: Australian workplace giving and giving fund platform that aggregates small-dollar donations and offers donor-advised fund-style functionality, competing for some of the same HNW donor relationships via workplace channels.
• MyCause: Australian online fundraising and giving platform that could draw HNW donors toward lower-friction digital giving, putting indirect pressure on traditional PAF/PuAF formation volume.
• GiveNow (Our Community): Not-for-profit Australian online giving service enabling charitable donations and recurring giving, representing an alternative digital channel for philanthropic capital that competes for donor attention.

Others

• Philanthropy Australia: Peak body for Australian philanthropy of which APS is a member; not a competitor, but an ecosystem orchestrator that influences sector standards and where APS engages its member families and grantmakers.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/AusPhilServ
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/australian-philanthropic-services

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles15 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments1 record

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Australian Philanthropic Services