For 15 years, your customer subscription fees have allowed us to make significant contributions to charities that make a difference.
Aisling Smith·
In October last year, we reached a big milestone: the total amount donated by Cliniko ticked over the $3 million AUD mark! In fact, at the time of writing this, we’re officially at $3,413,135.13 AUD donated. It’s solely your customer subscription fees that made this possible, so thank you to everyone who chooses Cliniko. One of our goals has always been to leave the world a slightly better place than we found it, and making charitable donations is a big part of this.
Since Cliniko launched in 2011, our founders Joel and Liora have donated a percentage of our revenue (yes, revenue, not profit!) to charity. These days we give a minimum 2%, which we increased from 1% as the business grew.
Sea Shepherd Australia is currently our main charitable partner. We’re deeply impressed by the amazing work they do to protect the world’s oceans and marine life. The way that the charity is organised is also admirable; they run lean, with a small team and minimal bureaucracy, which means the donations they receive make a direct impact on the causes they support. We want our donations to be as effective as possible, so they’re a great fit for us.
Kristie Newton, Philanthropy and Partnerships Specialist at Sea Shepherd Australia had some kind words about our contributions:
“The team at Cliniko genuinely cares. They are brilliant partners, and we are proud to stand shoulder to shoulder with them in the fight to protect our oceans. Through their generosity, Sea Shepherd has been able to launch a new campaign to conserve and protect the endangered Australian sea lion, fuel and prepare our vessel for operations in the Southern Ocean, support Indigenous rangers in clearing marine debris from remote coastlines, and deliver training to maritime police in the Pacific. You are driving real change and helping shape a healthier future for our oceans, and for us all.”
Before Sea Shepherd Australia, we’d partnered with Beyond the Orphanage from 2014 until they closed their doors in 2025. There are also many one-off donations that we’ve made, which you can view. Plus, we currently provide over 500 registered charities with a Cliniko account free of charge.
We don’t expect you to choose Cliniko because it’s the most ethical (you’d likely choose us if you think we’re the best fit for your practice), but we nonetheless want to be an ethical choice. If it’s commercially advantageous to be more socially engaged, more companies in this space are likely to follow suit—so if our approach creates some peer pressure, we’re okay with that too!
Our donations are a hugely important part of the Cliniko ethos. “It’s hard to be proud of what you do if it’s only for your own personal gain,” Joel says. And if you ask anyone on the Cliniko team, they’ll tell you it’s a lovely feeling as an employee as well. When I ask Joel what the milestone means to him, his answer surprises me. “I just think about how I want to do more,” he replies. In that sense, the $3 million dollar milestone is incidental to our larger goal of wanting to make a difference.
Sustainability matters a lot to us at Cliniko. These are the latest of the steps we’ve taken to minimise our impact on the planet, including offsetting our carbon emissions all the way back to 2010.
Beyond the Orphanage is a charity that has made a profound impact on the lives of thousands of children in need during its 17 years of operation. Here’s a look back at what they achieved and our partnership with them.
At Cliniko we’re committed to being ethical. This post explains our values, some of the actions we take, and why it’s such a central part of the Cliniko ethos.