What Grassroots Trust Limited does

Grassroots Trust Limited is a New Zealand-incorporated, non-profit charitable trust headquartered in Hamilton that operates licensed gaming machines at venues across 8 regions (Northland, Auckland, Bay of Plenty, Hawkes Bay, Waikato, Marlborough, Canterbury, and Otago) and redistributes the net proceeds as grants to sport, education, and community organisations. The trust is licensed under the Gambling Act 2003, with a Net Proceeds Committee (NPC) that meets monthly to review grant applications submitted through its Online Grants Portal; funding is distributed within the geographic areas where the gaming revenue was generated.

Its primary digital product is the cloud-based Online Grants Portal (hosted at grassrootstrust.grants.comssystems.cloud), which provides applicant account creation with role-based access (Owner and Co-Applicant), online grant application submission, application status tracking, and accountability reporting. Supporting services include downloadable event signage and logo/branding assets that grant recipients use to acknowledge Grassroots Trust funding. The trust employs 9 people and is governed by a Board of Directors and the Net Proceeds Committee.

Grassroots Trust has no traditional pricing model or revenue line; rather, its operating model is fund intermediation between gaming-machine net proceeds and community grants. Total community contributions were NZ$27,652,506.04 in FY2025/26 (1 April 2025 – 31 March 2026), NZ$27,779,274.87 in FY2024/25, NZ$29,244,083.15 in FY2023/24, and NZ$29,590,978.77 in FY2022/23. The trust's three primary recipient segments are registered charities and non-profit organisations, schools and educational institutions, and sporting bodies, all accessed through the same self-service portal. In 2024 Grassroots Trust signed a partnership with Infinity Foundation to operate under a unified brand, signalling consolidation within the New Zealand community-gaming sector.

Name

Grassroots Trust Limited

Legal name

Grassroots Trust Limited

Website

https://grassrootstrust.co.nz

Company type

Private

Founded year

2012

Operating status

Operating

Short description

Grassroots Trust Limited is a New Zealand charitable trust that operates licensed gaming machines across 8 regions and redistributes the net proceeds as grants to registered charities, schools, and sporting bodies through an online grants portal.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Community Grant Funding

NAICS

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

SIC

Services-Social Services (8300), Services-Membership Organizations (8600)

akta.pro primary industry

Sports Fundraising & Development Services (Foundations, NIL Collectives Support) (MPAKAKAK)

Keywords

• Community grant funding
• Gaming machine operations
• Charitable trust services
• Amateur sport funding
• Non-profit grant distribution

Headquarters

HQ city

Hamilton

HQ country

New Zealand

HQ region

Oceania

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Operations, Personnel, Others, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Gaming Machine Net Proceeds Distribution: Grassroots Trust operates gaming machines at licensed venues throughout New Zealand. The net proceeds from gaming operations are distributed as grants to community organisations in the sport, education and community sectors. Funds are distributed in the geographic areas where they were generated.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Grassroots Trust Limited operates licensed gaming machines at venues across eight regions of New Zealand and redistributes the net proceeds as grants to registered charities, not-for-profit organisations, schools, and sporting bodies for amateur sport, education, and community purposes. Grant applications and accountability reporting are managed through an online grants portal. Funds are returned to the local communities in the regions where they were generated.

Product overview

Grassroots Trust Limited operates as a gaming machine trust that distributes grant funding to sport, education, and community groups across New Zealand. The organization offers the Online Grants Portal as its primary digital service, enabling eligible organizations (registered charities, not-for-profits, schools, and affiliated groups) to submit grant applications and accountability reports. Supporting services include event signage and logo/branding materials that grant recipients use to acknowledge funding. The grants portal is accessible at grassrootstrust.grants.comssystems.cloud.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Online Grants Portal A web-based grants management platform that lets eligible New Zealand community organisations (registered charities, not-for-profits, schools, sporting bodies) create accounts, link to their organisation, submit grant applications, track application status, and submit accountability reports. Supports Owner and Co-Applicant role-based access.

Quantifiable outcome

• $27.65M+ distributed annually to community organisations

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature1 record

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• Infinity FoundationcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerGrassroots Trust and Infinity Foundation have signed an agreement to create a new partnership, joining under one brand. This represents a significant strategic alliance combining two community funding organisations under unified branding.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• The Lion Foundation: The Lion Foundation is one of New Zealand's largest non-casino gaming trusts, operating Class 4 gaming machines and distributing net proceeds to community organisations. It is directly comparable to Grassroots Trust in funding model, regulatory framework, and grantmaking purpose.
• Pub Charity: Pub Charity is another large NZ Class 4 gaming trust that returns net proceeds to sport, education and community groups. Like Grassroots Trust, it operates under the Gambling Act 2003 and competes for both venue partnerships and grant visibility.
• New Zealand Community Trust (NZCT): NZCT is a nationwide gaming trust that distributes net proceeds from gaming machines to community organisations. It is directly comparable in mission, regulatory license, and grantmaking structure to Grassroots Trust.
• Infinity Foundation: Infinity Foundation is a NZ gaming trust that has signed a partnership agreement to join with Grassroots Trust under one brand. It is a direct peer in funding model and is currently in the process of becoming part of the same entity.
• Trillian Trust: Trillian Trust is a smaller NZ gaming trust that distributes gaming machine net proceeds to community causes. It is comparable to Grassroots Trust in regulatory structure and grantmaking purpose, though smaller in scale.
• Akarana Community Trust: Akarana Community Trust is an Auckland-focused NZ gaming trust distributing net proceeds to community organisations. It is a regional direct peer with the same funding model and authorised-purpose grantmaking mandate.
• Foundation North: Foundation North is a NZ community trust providing grants across the upper North Island. While its funding source differs (endowment-based), its grantmaking mission to community, education, and amateur sport is comparable to Grassroots Trust.

Regional players

• COGS (Community Organisation Grants Scheme): COGS is a government-administered grant programme funding community organisations in NZ, with a similar grantmaking mandate. It is comparable as a community funding channel but operates under a different (government-funded) revenue model.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles7 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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

M&A

Investments

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

Frequently asked questions about Grassroots Trust Limited