The Forum is a fellowship of Australian and New Zealand donors characterised by their strategic and significant giving to Christian ministries. At the Forum we seek to create a “safe place” for donors to network and discuss their inspiration and challenges, so that we can be better equipped to do what we do better, bolder and bigger! Grant seekers may only attend by invitation.

We welcome all strategic and significant Christian donors to attend the Forum. Past, current or aspirational giving of $100,000+pa is indicative for most Forum attendees.

We primarily attend the Forum each year to share our giving journey with each other; encouraging and building each other up in our giving efforts. While most of the Forum is based on member-to-member discussions, we also engage appropriate external speakers to share cutting-edge information and insightful bible teaching.

Together, we celebrate how our Lord has blessed us, seek His guidance to our challenges and find ways to effectively grow His Kingdom.

The Forum Format

Our annual event always involves lively and focussed discussions, workshops and testimonies, as well as plenty of time to get to know other like-minded people. We also make time to pray and sing together as well as listen to world-class bible teaching.

The topics for each Forum change year to year. Recent examples include:

Friendships and bonds over common interests regularly form between Forum Members, which often results in Forum Members collaborating on strategic and major giving initiatives as well as travelling together to visit projects. In recent years, shared Member trips have included Australian indigenous projects and a bible history tour of Israel.

The Forum history

The Forum was conceived and organised at the request of the attendees at a day meeting of Christian foundations and major givers on 12 February 2007. This meeting consisted of nearly 40 people and unanimously called for the creation of an Australian and New Zealand community of Christian foundation founders and other generous donors to share their respective visions and experiences so as to learn and grow.

As a result, the first Forum meeting was held later that year and has been held annually ever since in either Melbourne or Sydney.

Organising Committee

The organising committee oversees the work of The Forum. The Committee have adopted a team-based leadership approach, with a revolving Chair to facilitate its operation each year.

David Smith (Patron)

David Smith gave expression to the Forum as a network of Australian and New Zealand Christian givers in 2007. He stepped down as Convenor in 2018, and into the role of Patron of The Forum. David and his wife Trisha are Directors of Genesis Foundation, which was established in 1998. David has established a number of businesses and not-for-profit organisations in Australia and overseas, and has focussed on Genesis Foundation work since 2003.

Andrew Sypkes (Current Chair)

Andrew worked with McKinsey & Company, a global management consulting firm, and several start-up technology businesses before completing an MBA at Stanford University. He now manages his family’s investment business and foundation, and is a co-founder and director of several private companies and Christian community organisations.

Scott Parry-Jones

Scott is the founder of a software company, but now serves on a number of Boards. Through Journey Partners Foundation, Scott and his wife Kim have been involved in many overseas poverty alleviation and business development enterprises as well as investing in Gospel outreach.

Philippa Tyndale

Philippa is an author and former financial journalist. She is involved in programs in Asia and Africa focusing on anti-human trafficking, micro-finance, street dweller rehabilitation, girls’ education, digital literacy and maternal health. She has served on a number of not-for-profit boards. Most recently, she co-authored The School of Restoration with Alice Achan, released in March 2020. She now steers the Australian support arm of Te-Kworo Foundation, which provides education and maternal health services to vulnerable girls in northern Uganda.

John Zeckendorf

John Zeckendorf is a troubleshooting accountant who has worked with PwC, the Brunei Royal family and in his own businesses. Over the past 20 years, John has built up a regional hospitality fund, developed townships in India, done crazy deals around Asia, advised the World Bank, accidentally bought an IT company and climbed a bunch of mountains. John is passionate about using the gifts (and stuff) that the Lord has entrusted to him to reach the lost and build the believer around the world.

Andrew Harrisson

Andrew is a serial entrepreneur and currently acts as CEO of Cornerstone Solutions, a collection of companies with interests in construction, education, agriculture, and Christian ministry. Andrew is passionate about helping to connect people with a common vision, and accelerating business and ministry initiatives that can have a positive Kingdom impact.