Switzerland

Introduction to Philanthropy Research in Switzerland

By Georg von Schnurbein, Dominik Meier, Anja Rogenmoser and Muriel Grassmann

Research on philanthropy and civil society in Switzerland has developed through several distinct traditions. Early interest in nonprofit management was stimulated by the economic importance of cooperatives and the constitutional role of associations in Swiss political life, leading to the establishment of the Verbandsmanagement Institut at the University of Fribourg in the 1970s.

A second important strand emerged around volunteering. From the late 1990s, the Swiss Society for the Common Good promoted systematic research in this area, eventually leading to the Swiss Volunteering Monitor in 2007. Researchers at institutions including ETH Zurich and the Universities of Geneva, Bern and Basel have subsequently contributed to this field.

The growth of Switzerland’s foundation and philanthropy sector after 2000 led to the creation of several specialised research institutions. These include the Institute for Foundation Law at the University of Zurich and the Center for Philanthropy Studies (CEPS) at the University of Basel, both established in 2008, as well as the Chair for Family Philanthropy at IMD Lausanne and the Geneva Center for Philanthropy, both established in 2017.

Despite this strong institutional infrastructure, philanthropy research remains a relatively small field, often conducted by small research teams. CEPS therefore organises an annual Swiss Philanthropy Studies Workshop to encourage collaboration among researchers and institutions.

Overview of Giving in Switzerland

Giving by individuals

Individual giving is the most extensively documented part of Swiss philanthropy. The Swiss Volunteering Monitor found that 71% of residents aged 15 and over had donated money during the previous year. This participation rate was unchanged from 2014, although larger donations had become more common: 36% gave CHF 300 or more, while 12% gave more than CHF 1,000.

The most frequently supported causes were environmental, nature and animal protection, supported by 43% of donors; poverty relief abroad, 40%; and disease prevention and care, 38%. Domestic poverty relief was supported by 30%, people with disabilities by 26%, disaster relief by 24%, churches by 19%, young people by 19%, culture by 12%, sport by 11%, and migrants and refugees by 10%.

Crowdfunding is becoming an increasingly important giving channel, particularly among younger donors. Seven per cent of respondents reported having donated through crowdfunding platforms. Women donated more frequently, while men tended to give larger amounts, and older people were generally more likely to donate.

Administrative data from Zewo provide the best available estimate of total monetary giving. In 2023, individuals donated approximately CHF 754 million to Zewo-certified charities. A further CHF 377 million was estimated to have been donated through churches and organisations without Zewo certification. Together, this produces an estimate of CHF 1.131 billion, approximately €1.165 billion at the conversion used in the underlying source.

Donation behaviour is also changing. The average traditional donation made through a bank or postal transfer was CHF 178, with a median of CHF 100, while digital donations averaged CHF 100 and had a median of CHF 75.

Bequest giving

Information on charitable bequests is less comprehensive. Zewo-certified charities reported receiving approximately CHF 225 million in bequests in 2023. This represents only a part of Switzerland’s total legacy-giving market.

Earlier national research estimated that total charitable bequests could amount to approximately CHF 1.1 billion annually. A substantial share of these legacies is used to establish new foundations rather than being transferred directly to existing nonprofit organisations.

The national overview therefore uses CHF 1.1 billion as the best available broader estimate of bequest giving, while recognising that it is based on considerably older research than most of the other figures.

Corporate giving

Corporate philanthropy is substantial in Switzerland, but comprehensive and current data remain difficult to obtain. Zewo-certified charities received approximately CHF 105.7 million from companies in 2023, representing around 7% of their total donations. This figure captures only monetary donations to Zewo-certified organisations and therefore represents a relatively narrow view of corporate philanthropy.

Broader studies indicate much higher levels of engagement. Earlier research found that 92.4% of surveyed companies donated employee time, 74.1% made monetary contributions and 50% provided in-kind support, producing an estimated total value of corporate contributions between CHF 0.8 billion and CHF 1 billion.

Corporate engagement takes many forms, including direct donations, sponsorship, volunteering and pro-bono services. Research found particularly high levels of support for education-related activities, sport, culture and social causes.

Transparency remains a major limitation. Only around half of Switzerland’s largest listed companies disclose philanthropic activity, and a much smaller proportion publish the total monetary value of their giving. Terminology and reporting standards also vary considerably between companies.

The national source table uses approximately CHF 900 million as the best available broad estimate of corporate philanthropy. This should be interpreted cautiously because it is based on older research and encompasses a broader range of corporate engagement than direct cash donations alone.

Foundations

Switzerland has one of the world’s highest densities of charitable foundations. At the end of 2023, there were 13,721 charitable foundations, equivalent to approximately 15.4 foundations per 10,000 inhabitants. Foundation density varies substantially by region, from 6.9 per 10,000 inhabitants in Aargau to around 45 per 10,000 in Basel.

Around 52% of foundations operate primarily at local, regional or cantonal level, 25% work nationally, and 23% have an international focus.

Swiss foundations collectively hold enormous financial resources. Aggregated foundation assets are estimated at approximately CHF 140.4 billion, representing an increase of 44.3% since 2017. Average assets are estimated at CHF 11.3 million per foundation, although a small number of very large foundations substantially increase this average.

Grantmaking is more difficult to measure because foundations are not required to publish detailed financial information. SwissFoundations, the association of Swiss grantmaking foundations, provides an important benchmark. Its 223 members distributed more than CHF 1 billion in 2023, estimated to represent approximately one-third of total foundation grantmaking in Switzerland.

Among SwissFoundations members, approximately CHF 362.7 million, or 35%, supported international aid, human rights and refugee-related activities. Education and research received CHF 269.3 million, or 26%; domestic public and social benefit CHF 168 million, or 16.2%; environmental causes CHF 139.2 million, or 13.4%; and culture CHF 83.9 million, or 8.1%. Total reported grantmaking among these members amounted to approximately CHF 1.036 billion.

Because SwissFoundations members are estimated to represent roughly one-third of the country’s grantmaking volume, total foundation giving is estimated at approximately CHF 3 billion. This is the figure used in the national overview.

Charity lotteries

Switzerland has two principal charity-lottery systems: Loterie Romande in the French-speaking cantons and Swisslos in the German- and Italian-speaking parts of the country. Both operate as nonprofit associations, and their net proceeds are distributed through the cantons to public-benefit activities.

Lottery funding supports more than 12,000 projects annually. Allocations cover sport and a broad category of cultural and public-benefit activities, including arts, social services and community initiatives. Because distribution is handled through cantonal structures, these funds are often perceived more as a form of public funding than conventional private philanthropy.

In 2022, Swiss lottery funds distributed approximately CHF 616 million. Culture received the largest share at CHF 284.5 million, or 46.2%, followed by sport and recreation at CHF 154.9 million, or 25.1%. Domestic public and social-benefit activities received CHF 48.4 million, education and research CHF 44.2 million, the combined category of environment and international aid CHF 29.2 million, and health CHF 22.1 million.

There is no centralised national database of individual lottery-funded projects. The national figures therefore result from manually aggregating cantonal reports.

Sources of Contributions in Switzerland

The available estimates suggest philanthropic contributions of approximately CHF 6.74 billion across the main sources. Foundations constitute the largest component, at an estimated CHF 3 billion, followed by individual lifetime giving at CHF 1.131 billion, bequests at CHF 1.1 billion, corporate philanthropy at approximately CHF 900 million and lottery distributions at CHF 616 million.

Excluding lottery distributions—which are often understood in Switzerland as quasi-public funding rather than private philanthropy—the combined estimate is approximately CHF 6.12 billion.

These figures require particular caution because they combine estimates from very different years and sources. Individual and foundation figures are relatively recent, whereas the broad bequest and corporate estimates rely on older research. The underlying publication also assumes approximate parity between Swiss francs and euros for the summary table to simplify international comparison, even though exchange-rate movements can materially affect the figures.

Switzerland nevertheless has one of Europe’s most substantial philanthropic ecosystems. Its liberal legal framework, strong financial infrastructure, political stability and long tradition of civic engagement have helped make it an important centre for foundations, major donors and international nonprofit organisations.

* The publication presents the summary figures on an approximate CHF/euro parity basis for comparability.

Source

von Schnurbein, G., Meier, D., Rogenmoser, A., & Grassmann, M. (2026). Philanthropy in Switzerland. In B. Hoolwerf & J. Vamstad (Eds.), Philanthropy in Europe: Mapping Research and Data on Donations by Households, Bequests, Foundations, Corporations and Charity Lotteries (pp. 331–344). European Research Network on Philanthropy.

You can download the full publication here: Philanthropy in Europe.