Why DonorSeek exists
Charitable giving in New Zealand is declining — not because people are less generous, but because the systems around giving haven’t decreased friction in the entire process, creating barriers. DonorSeek is built to fix that, one receipt at a time.
What we believe
Admin should never get in the way of impact
Every hour a charity volunteer spends wrestling with spreadsheets at year-end is an hour not spent on mission. Back-office efficiency isn’t a luxury — it directly increases a charity’s impact.
The donor–charity relationship is a partnership
Donors aren’t just a source of revenue. The relationship between a donor and a charity is built on shared values and mutual trust. Better tools strengthen that bond.
Claiming a tax credit should be simple
New Zealand donors can claim back 33% of their charitable gifts as a tax credit. But too many don’t — because keeping track of receipts is messy. We’re fixing that.
A new generation of generosity is coming
Future generations will be generous donors — but they’ll expect transparency and outcomes in return. Charities that make giving easy, visible, and trustworthy will thrive. Those that don’t will struggle.
Our Mission
To empower a new generation of generosity in New Zealand — by building trust between donors and the charitable sector, reducing the admin burden on charities, and making every dollar of giving go further.
Meet Adam Clark. Founder - DonorSeek
I’m an accountant and financial adviser based in Northland, New Zealand with my own firm North Financial. Since 2007 I’ve worked with individuals, small businesses, and charities — helping them make sense of their finances, streamline their operations, and plan for what’s ahead.
Working closely with the charitable sector over many years, I kept hearing the same frustrations: end-of-year receipting was a nightmare, donor records were scattered across spreadsheets, and the tools available were either too expensive or built for a different market entirely.
DonorSeek grew out of that. I built the first version in 2016 to solve a specific problem — speeding up the donation receipt process for NZ charities. What started as a simple receipt tool is growing into a full donor management platform, with a connected app for donors to manage their own giving records.
I’m not a developer by background — I’m an accountant who understands the problem deeply. That means DonorSeek is built around how charities actually work, not around what’s easiest to build.
Outside work I’m a dad to three young kids, married to a high school teacher, and happiest when I’m playing football, fishing, or getting stuck into something outdoors.
Donations to NZ charities have been falling for years
Statistics NZ and IRD data show that private donations to charities have been declining steadily since 2004 — even as the number of volunteers helping the not-for-profit sector has grown. People want to give. But there is too much friction in every stage of the giving process.
The three problems I heard most consistently when talking to charity administrators: the administrative burden of end-of-year receipt generation, difficulty engaging with existing donors, and declining donation revenue as a result.
None of those problems are inevitable. They’re the result of charities not having the right tools — tools that are simple enough to use without a dedicated IT team, and priced for organisations that run on goodwill.
60%
of New Zealand donors don’t claim their donation tax credit — most don’t know they’re eligible, or never get around to it. Source: IRD.
$3.8b
in philanthropy and grantmaking flows to NZ charities each year — yet the proportion of everyday donors in the population is falling. Source: JBWere NZ Support Report, 2020.
91%
of all donations go to just 9% of charities. Small and mid-sized charities are underserved by tools built for large organisations. Source: JBWere NZ Support Report, 2020.