A platform built to strengthen charities
Helping charities raise more money, reach more people and do more good.
Many organisations rely on grants, donations, sponsorships, fundraising events and government contracts. These sources matter. But they can also be unpredictable, competitive, restricted or short term.
That uncertainty makes it difficult for charities to plan, invest, grow and respond to increasing community need. Swell was created to explore new funding pathways for the charitable sector.
Swell exists to strengthen community and voluntary organisations by exploring funding opportunities for registered charities across New Zealand. We focus on practical funding innovation, building models that help charities access new income, reach new audiences and grow their long-term impact.
Impact
We focus on funding that helps charities create meaningful change.
Integrity
We operate with transparency, accountability and care.
Innovation
We look for new ways to solve longstanding funding challenges.
Partnership
We work alongside charities, funders, communities and commercial partners.
Practicality
We build funding models charities can actually use, not ideas that add more complexity.
Not-For-Profit
All income and assets are directed toward advancing charitable outcomes. No activity carried on for private profit.
Curious what "operating with transparency" looks like in practice? See our guide to how NZ lottery law actually works.
Ryan’s background is in media and audience growth. Over two decades he’s worked on high performance brands, and marketing campaigns connected to Vodafone (now One), Emirates Team New Zealand, the America’s Cup and more, building audiences, telling stories at scale, and delivering under pressure. That’s the experience Swell leans on: public trust, strong campaigns, and the ability to turn attention into measurable outcomes for charity partners.
As chief wave maker, Ryan’s role is hands on. He’s leading Swell’s strategy, brand, partner relationships and early build, turning the idea into something real, tested and ready to support the organisations already doing the work.
For Ryan, this one’s personal too. He’s seen first hand how much energy charities pour into fundraising, and how hard it is to grow when funding never settles. Swell is his attempt to build something more durable, not to replace existing funding, but to add something new alongside it.
Swell's board brings experience across impact, funding, governance, technology and the charitable sector.
Rachel Skeates-Millar
Rachel brings deep experience across impact, funding, social investment, programme design, evaluation and international development. Her work has spanned complex funding environments, humanitarian and development programmes, research, operations and the design of systems that help organisations understand whether their work is creating meaningful change.
Rachel’s contribution to Swell is especially important because Swell is not simply trying to create another fundraising campaign. It is trying to build a model that can strengthen charities over time. That requires clear thinking about impact, accountability, funding design, partner relationships, reporting and the real world pressures faced by organisations delivering frontline services.
As a board member, Rachel supports Swell with governance, impact discipline and sector insight. Her role is to help ensure that Swell remains grounded in its charitable purpose, that funding solutions are developed with care, and that the organisation keeps the needs of charity partners and communities at the centre of its decisions.
Cowan Pettigrew
Cowan brings more than 25 years of technology, digital and systems leadership experience, including senior CIO and CTO level work and his current role as Chief Digital Officer at KPMG New Zealand. His background includes the design and delivery of technology systems across small, medium and enterprise scale environments, with a focus on aligning technology, people and process to business goals.
That experience is highly relevant to Swell because the organisation is not just a campaign idea. It is a platform model. To work well, Swell will need reliable systems, thoughtful data handling, operational discipline, privacy awareness, risk management, reporting capability and the ability to scale without losing trust.
As a board member, Cowan supports Swell’s governance around technology, digital infrastructure, data, operational systems and risk. His perspective helps ensure that Swell is built practically from the beginning, with the right foundations to support future growth, partner confidence and responsible delivery.
