Canva Billionaires Launch Global Platform to Shape Their Philanthropic Giving

Canva co-founders Melanie Perkins and Cliff Obrecht have launched a new global philanthropic initiative designed to help shape how they give away their fortune.

The Global Goals Platform invites people worldwide to share the single goal they would most like to see achieved in their lifetime—whether at the global, national, or local community level. The initiative marks the latest step in one of the tech industry’s most closely watched billionaire-giving commitments.

A Platform Built on Listening

Rather than directing charitable spending from the top down, Perkins and Obrecht say they want the platform to surface what ordinary people and communities actually identify as their own priorities. They want to use that information to help shape where their giving eventually flows.

Related Post: Meet The Woman On a Mission To Disrupt Philanthropy Through Tech

Speaking with Forbes in an exclusive interview, Perkins framed the effort as an attempt to give voice to aspirations that are rarely formally counted. “We have this optimistic belief that there’s enough resources and goodwill in the world to achieve all of our goals, but goals aren’t given much of a voice,” she said. She described the platform’s purpose as asking people directly what they would most want to see achieved in their lifetime, for the world, their country, and their local community, then helping people understand that many of those goals are widely shared.

According to reporting from Forbes, the project aims to build a clearer picture of the priorities communities care about most, which would then inform future charitable investments made through the couple’s foundation.

Part of a Long-Standing Pledge

The launch is not a standalone gesture. It’s presented as the next concrete step toward a commitment Perkins and Obrecht made years ago. It is to eventually transfer more than 80% of their personal wealth to charitable causes. Each of the pair holds an estimated 18% stake in Canva, the design software company they co-founded in 2013 and which is now valued at roughly $42 billion. As part of their long-term plan, they have pledged to move a 30% stake in the company into philanthropic hands through the Canva Foundation.

Relayed Post: 3 Steps for Small Businesses Make a Big Impact Through Philanthropy

Perkins and Obrecht signed the Giving Pledge, the commitment started by Bill Gates and Warren Buffett that asks billionaires to give away the majority of their wealth. This was back in December 2021, the same year the couple married. 

We have this optimistic belief that there’s enough resources and goodwill in the world to achieve all of our goals, but goals aren’t given much of a voice,

The Canva Foundation itself is funded primarily by Perkins and Obrecht’s personal wealth. It’s supplemented by Canva’s broader pledge, made under its “Two-Step Plan,”. It is to contribute 1% of the company’s equity, profits, employee time, and product to social good.

(Scroll down to watch Perkin’s video announcement)

Track Record of $80 Million and Counting

The foundation isn’t starting from scratch. To date, it has distributed more than $80 million to a range of causes, according to reporting on the announcement. The largest single commitment within that is a $150 million pledge. It aims to eradicate extreme poverty in Malawi and is delivered in partnership with GiveDirectly. This nonprofit provides unconditional cash transfers directly to some of the country’s poorest households, without intermediaries or conditions attached. More than $50 million of that pledge has already been deployed.

Related Post: Innovative digital platform takes philanthropy to a new level as users Promise or Pay

Beyond direct cash giving, Canva says it has donated more than $2.5 billion in product value. This was received by students, teachers, and more than 1 million nonprofit organizations globally. This is through its Canva for Education and Canva for Nonprofits programs. This is also part of the same Two-Step Plan that underpins the company’s broader giving strategy.

Perkinas pointed to the Malawi partnership as a direct inspiration for the new Global Goals Platform. She says it reinforced her belief that local communities are best positioned to identify their own needs. Rather than having priorities set for them externally. The new platform is designed to seek input not just from people living in poverty but also from those close to them. This is includes neighbors, local nonprofit staff, and government officials. This is to cast as broad a net as possible.

A Different Kind of Billionaire Philanthropy

Perkins and Obrecht have often spoken about their approach to wealth in terms that push back against conventional tech-founder narratives. She has said that if building Canva had only been about accumulating wealth, she would have found the entire venture uninspiring. That framing has become something of a throughline in the couple’s public discussions of their fortune: as a tool for impact rather than an end in itself.

Related Post: Blank Foundation Awards $4.2M to Nearly 600 Atlanta HBCU Students

The Global Goals Platform launch comes amid growing attention to the couple’s giving. Perkins and Obrecht were listed among Australia’s wealthiest individuals early in Canva’s growth. Their joint net worth has continued to climb alongside the company’s valuation. Private investors set Canva’s valuation at $42 billion as of an August 2025 funding round. Canva has scaled toward 240 million monthly active users and sustained profitability. The scale of what the couple has pledged to give away has scaled with it.

For now, the platform is in its early stages, focused on gathering responses from as many people as possible before that data begins shaping how the Canva Foundation prioritizes its next wave of giving.

Main Image: Canva co-founder Melanie Perkins