AREA OF ACTIVITY <STIFTUNG SCHWEIZ>

SUPPORTING SWITZERLAND AS A TOP LOCATION FOR FOUNDATIONS

SINCE 2003

Best-kept secret: Switzerland as home to foundations

Favourable regulations have made Switzerland a "paradise" for foundations: the Federal Foundation Oversight Agency estimates balance-sheet assets of traditional foundations at CHF 40 billion and growing rapidly. This puts foundation assets per capita at more than CHF 5’000, ten times the figure for Germany and three times that for Great Britain. The foundation sector is a known quantity in the latter countries. In Switzerland, however, there is no discernible foundation sector and no sectoral self-awareness. Reliable data are unavailable, the entire foundation sector is under-researched and, not least, there is no clarity concerning its significance, ways of functioning and performance mechanisms.

Fundaments and tools for more effective foundation work

Grantmaking foundations have enormous potential to address social scarcities. The interplay of effects, however, are hardly a topic of traditional foundation work. In pursuit of its core aim of strengthening Switzerland "as a place to live and do business" as defined in its Statement of Purpose, and as a young foundation dedicated to innovation, GEBERT RÜF STIFTUNG is active in promoting Switzerland as a top location for foundations. At the centre of this area of activity is judicious start-up financing of university-based projects on foundation management understood as an interdisciplinary field, comprising statistical, internationally comparative, managerial, legal and business ethical aspects.

Results

Through its active support in organizing the Association of Grantmaking Foundations in Switzerland (SwissFoundations), in addressing the topic of foundation governance, in developing best practices, and finally in implanting expertise in foundation activities at universities, GEBERT RÜF STIFTUNG has made a name for itself beyond the borders of Switzerland.