Our Community
Our Community is an Australian social business providing technology (SmartyGrants, GiveNow, Funding Centre), governance training (ICDA), and capacity-building content for not-for-profit organisations and grantmakers, operating a cross-subsidisation model with recent UK expansion.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded1999
- HeadquartersMelbourne, Australia
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingServices
What Our Community does
Our Community Pty Ltd is an Australian social business founded in 1999 by Denis Moriarty that builds technology, content, and governance products for the country's not-for-profit sector. Its core platform is SmartyGrants, a grantmaking software used by 750+ funders to process over 1.4 million grant applications, supplemented by GiveNow (a donations and ticketing platform that has collected $220 million for 5,460 NFPs), the Funding Centre (a grants database), SmartyFile (a data-sharing tool), and the Institute of Community Directors Australia (ICDA) governance network. The company also produces 80+ capacity-building books, an NFP news service (The Community Advocate), free templates via Policy Bank, and a Board Matching Service, alongside a physical co-working space (Our Community House) in Melbourne.
The company operates a cross-subsidisation business model where profitable products fund free or low-cost services. Revenue is generated through annual subscriptions to the Funding Centre ($150/year for NFPs, $336/year for individuals, $400/year for the PLUS team tier), SmartyGrants software subscriptions for grantmakers, paid training and diploma programs, the annual Communities in Control conference, and book sales at $39 per title. Distribution is a hybrid of self-service digital channels and field sales for enterprise grantmaking customers, supported by an 80,000+ member newsletter list and content marketing across multiple sub-brand domains. In 2024, the company launched Our Community International to extend SmartyGrants into the UK and European markets, establishing a London regional office.
Our Community firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Our Community
- Legal name
- Our Community Pty Ltd
- Website
- https://ourcommunity.com.au
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 1999
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Short description
- Our Community is an Australian social business providing technology (SmartyGrants, GiveNow, Funding Centre), governance training (ICDA), and capacity-building content for not-for-profit organisations and grantmakers, operating a cross-subsidisation model with recent UK expansion.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Our Community industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Nonprofit Capacity Building Services
- NAICS
- Educational Support Services (61171), Civic and Social Organizations (813410)
- SIC
- Services-Social Services (8300), Services-Prepackaged Software (7372), Services-Membership Organizations (8600)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Grantmaking & Philanthropic Funds (Institutional Donors) (BPADAOAB)
- akta.pro secondary industry
- Social Justice & Human Rights Grantmaking Foundations (BPAGAKAN)
Keywords
Where Our Community is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Melbourne
- HQ country
- Australia
- HQ region
- Oceania
Offices2 records
Markets served
Our Community business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Operations, Others
Revenue model
- Subscription Services: Paid subscriptions for the Funding Centre (grants database and capacity building), with tiered pricing: BASIC at $336/year for individuals and $150/year for not-for-profits, PLUS at $400/year for organisations up to 10 users. SmartyGrants software subscriptions for grantmakers.
- Training and Conferences: Revenue from workshops, conferences (Communities in Control), and Australia's first diploma-level course for not-for-profit directors. Tens of thousands have been educated through these programs.
- Book Sales: Sale of 80+ capacity-building books covering governance, fundraising, marketing, and management topics. Individual books priced at $39, with bundle discounts available.
- Membership Fees: Institute of Community Directors Australia (ICDA) membership for individual directors (free tier available). Premium services and certifications provide additional revenue.
- Free Services Cross-Subsidisation: Free or reduced-cost services (GiveNow donations platform, Policy Bank, Board Matching Service) subsidised by paid products. Cross-subsidisation model aims to reach as many organisations as possible at lowest cost.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Subscription | Annual | Funding Centre BASIC - Individual |
| Subscription | Annual | Funding Centre BASIC - Not-for-profit |
| Subscription | Annual | Funding Centre PLUS |
| Freemium | Annual | ICDA Individual Membership |
| One time/ perpetual license | Pay-as-you-go | Individual Books |
| One time/ perpetual license | Pay-as-you-go | Book Bundles |
Go-to-market motion2 records
Distribution channels5 records
Marketing channels6 records
Our Community product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Our Community provides practical training, governance, leadership and technology solutions for Australia's not-for-profit sector. Its core offerings are SmartyGrants grantmaking software (used by 750+ funders to process 1.4M+ applications), the Funding Centre grants database subscription, the GiveNow donations/ticketing/membership platform (which has routed $220M to 5,460 NFPs), and SmartyFile data-sharing. These are complemented by the ICDA governance network, Succession Media news service, 80+ capacity-building books, training programs and conferences, and a Melbourne co-working space.
Product overview
Our Community is an Australian social business operating as a platform-plus-services model for the not-for-profit sector. The core platform is SmartyGrants, a comprehensive grantmaking software used by 750+ funders to process 1.4 million+ applications, supported by the Funding Centre (grants database), GiveNow (donation/ticketing platform), and SmartyFile (data-sharing tool). The governance vertical is served through the Institute of Community Directors Australia (ICDA) providing training and the Board Matching Service. Content and knowledge services include The Community Advocate news service and 80+ published books. The company also operates Our Community House (co-working space) and has recently launched Our Community International to expand SmartyGrants to the UK and Europe. The enterprise uses a cross-subsidization model where paid products (subscriptions, books, SmartyGrants fees) subsidize free services (newsletters, Policy Bank, Board Matching Service).
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- Institute of Community Directors Australia: The best-practice governance network for the not-for-profit sector.
- Funding Centre
- GiveNow
- Succession Media
- SmartyGrants
- SmartyFile
- Our Community House
- Our Community International
Products and services
- SmartyGrants Grantmaking software, data science, and grantmaking intelligence platform for funders and grant applicants. Used by 750+ grantmakers to process 1.4M+ grant applications and savings of 75,500+ hours. Available in Australia and, since 2024, the UK via smartygrants.co.uk.
- Funding Centre Australia's smartest grants database and fundraising capacity building website, providing tools for grantseekers to find and apply for funding. Sold via annual subscriptions (BASIC $336 individual / $150 NFP / $420 business; PLUS $400 for up to 10 users).
- GiveNow Australia's first and best giving platform providing donations, ticketing and membership services for Australian not-for-profits. Free or low-cost for NFPs; has collected over $220 million for 5,460 not-for-profits.
- Institute of Community Directors Australia (ICDA) Best-practice governance network providing ideas, training, and resources for members of Australian not-for-profit and government boards and committees. Offers freemium membership, premium services, Australia's first diploma-level course for NFP directors, and certification.
- SmartyFile A red tape-busting data-storage and data-sharing tool for not-for-profits and other grant applicants, designed to streamline grant application and compliance processes.
- Succession Media / The Community Advocate News service for Australia's not-for-profit sector delivering the weekly Community Advocate publication and sector news, complemented by the Community Directors Intelligence thought-leadership newsletter.
- Our Community House A green and creative co-working space for the social sector in Melbourne, Victoria, providing physical workspace for community organisations while also serving as Our Community's national headquarters.
- Our Community International International arm taking the Australian-born SmartyGrants grantmaking revolution to the UK, Europe and beyond, with offices at 167-169 Great Portland Street, 5th Floor, London W1W 5PF. Launched 2024.
- Publications & Books Over 80 capacity-building books covering governance, fundraising, marketing, and management topics for not-for-profits. Priced at $39 per book with bundle discounts (~30% off for curated kits).
- Training, Conferences and Diploma Program Workshops, the Communities in Control annual conference, sector awards and Australia's first diploma-level course for not-for-profit directors; in-person and online, having educated 515,000+ individuals.
- Board Matching Service Free matching service connecting not-for-profit organisations with new board members; has facilitated 5,500+ connections across the network.
Quantifiable outcome
- 750+ grantmakers using SmartyGrants have processed 1,400,000+ grant applications, saving 75,500+ hours
- +3 more outcomes
Companies that use Our Community
Customer profileNamed customers2 records
Segments4 records
Ideal customer profiles3 records
Our Community technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Feature5 records
Our Community partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Four partnerships are on record, tiered minor and foundational.
- PozibleminorPartnership with Pozible (crowdfunding platform) announced May 2014 to expand not-for-profits' access to funding and slash red tape. Combined Pozible's crowdfunding with GiveNow's donation capabilities.
- MooresminorLegal firm partnership for co-authoring books. Co-wrote 'Recruiting for Your Not-for-profit' with Moores' team of lawyers dedicated to not-for-profits, providing best-practice recruitment guidance and templates.
- Australian Community MediaminorPartnership with Australian Community Media (publisher of 170+ regional and suburban newspapers) to distribute founder Denis Moriarty's opinion pieces across Australia, building thought leadership and brand awareness.
- Vincent Fairfax FoundationfoundationalThe Vincent Fairfax Fellowship program run through the Ethics Centre inspired founder Denis Moriarty to start Our Community. The organisation credits this foundation for its ongoing commitment to ethical leadership.
Scale indicators13 records
Recent moves7 records
Expansion highlights5 records
Our Community competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Submittable: Application management and review platform serving grantmakers, foundations and other funders with workflow automation; overlaps significantly with SmartyGrants in grantmaker workflow tooling.
- TechSoup Global: Global non-profit technology provider offering software donations, capacity-building resources, and learning services to civil-society organizations - a closely aligned multi-enterprise social business model to Our Community's NFP support stack.
- Instrumentl: Grant discovery and management platform for nonprofits and grantseekers, with a curated grants database comparable to Funding Centre and matching workflow comparable to SmartyGrants.
- Fluxx: Cloud-based grantmaking platform used by foundations and corporate giving programs to manage applications, awards and reporting; competes directly with SmartyGrants in the grantmaker software category.
- Foundant Technologies: Provides grant management software and scholarship management solutions to community foundations and grantmakers; directly comparable to SmartyGrants for philanthropic funders.
Broad incumbents
- Bonterra (formerly Network for Good / Kindful): Suite of fundraising, CRM, and grant software products serving small to mid-sized nonprofits; broader incumbent in NFP technology with overlapping donation and grantmaking workflows.
- GoFundMe / Classy: Major online giving and fundraising platform (including Classy for nonprofits) with donation infrastructure that competes with GiveNow in Australia and internationally.
- Blackbaud: Large US-listed provider of software, services and expertise for the social good community across fundraising, CRM, financial management and grants; broad incumbent whose portfolio touches most of Our Community's product lines.
- Salesforce.org / Salesforce Nonprofit Cloud: Enterprise CRM platform with a dedicated nonprofit offering including grants management, fundraising and program management; represents the larger-platform competitive threat to standalone products like SmartyGrants.
Emerging players
- Propel (Nonprofits First / GiveGab): Modern giving and volunteer platform for nonprofits; a smaller-scale peer that overlaps with GiveNow's donations, ticketing and membership capabilities for the community sector.
Market position
Strengths4 records
Weaknesses4 records
Competitive moat5 records
Key risks5 records
Key highlights6 records
Customer concentration
Our Community social profiles
Digital presenceOur Community financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Our Community leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles3 records
Our Community subsidiaries and ownership
Company hierarchySubsidiaries8 records
Our Community funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Our Community M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Our Community
What does Our Community do?
Our Community provides practical training, governance, leadership and technology solutions for Australia's not-for-profit sector. Its core offerings are SmartyGrants grantmaking software (used by 750+ funders to process 1.4M+ applications), the Funding Centre grants database subscription, the GiveNow donations/ticketing/membership platform (which has routed $220M to 5,460 NFPs), and SmartyFile data-sharing. These are complemented by the ICDA governance network, Succession Media news service, 80+ capacity-building books, training programs and conferences, and a Melbourne co-working space.
Is Our Community a public or private company?
Our Community is a private company. It is classified as founder individual operated bootstrapped and is currently operating.
When was Our Community founded?
Our Community was founded in 1999. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is Our Community based?
Our Community is headquartered in Melbourne, Australia, in the Oceania region.
How does Our Community make money?
Five revenue lines are on record. Subscription Services are the primary driver. The others are training and Conferences, book Sales, membership Fees and free Services Cross-Subsidisation.
Who are Our Community's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Submittable, TechSoup Global, Instrumentl, Fluxx and Foundant Technologies. Broad incumbents are Bonterra (formerly Network for Good / Kindful), GoFundMe / Classy, Blackbaud and Salesforce.org / Salesforce Nonprofit Cloud. Propel (Nonprofits First / GiveGab) is listed as an emerging player.
Does Our Community have an API?
No public API is recorded for Our Community.
What industry is Our Community in?
Our Community's product category is Nonprofit Capacity Building Services. Its primary akta.pro industry code is BPADAOAB, Grantmaking & Philanthropic Funds (Institutional Donors), with a secondary code of BPAGAKAN, Social Justice & Human Rights Grantmaking Foundations. Its NAICS code is 61171 and its SIC code is 8300.