Foundations in the Canton of Zurich
The most populous canton is also the one with the most foundations. Zurich is number 1 among the cantons in terms of the number of foundations: with 2’225 foundations, according to the Swiss Foundation Report, Zurich leads the ranking by a large margin, ahead of the canton of Vaud (1’374), the canton of Geneva (1’333) and the canton of Basel-Stadt (905).
Canton of Zurich: Foundations Top the List in a Switzerland-wide Comparison
The most populous canton is also the one with the most foundations. Zurich is number 1 among the cantons in terms of the number of foundations: with 2’225 foundations, according to the Swiss Foundation Report, Zurich leads the ranking by a large margin, ahead of the canton of Vaud (1’374), the canton of Geneva (1’333) and the canton of Basel-Stadt (905).
Foundations in the Canton of Zurich
In 2021, the canton of Zurich recorded the highest increase in new foundations nationwide: 51 new foundations were offset by 36 liquidations. This trend did not continue in 2022: 41 foundations were newly established and 44 were liquidated, which resulted in a slight decline in foundations.
In the past years: in 2017, there was still a net growth of 22 foundations in Zurich. In 2018, for the first time, there were more liquidations than new foundations (net growth -6), and in 2019 there was again a decline of -11 foundations.
Education, Social Issues and Art and Culture: the Main Areas of Activity of Zurich’s Foundations
Which topics are the majority of Zurich foundations involved in? A trend can be seen in the foundation purposes: According to the foundation statistics of the Center for Philanthropy Studies (CEPS), most of the foundation purposes are located in the area of «education and research». 720 foundations have a foundation purpose in this area. This is followed by «social services» (704) and «culture and leisure» (589).
This trend is confirmed by a look at the StiftungSchweiz foundation register: most of the grant giving organizations listed on the philanthropy platform according to a specially developed categorisation system are active in the areas of social welfare, education, and art and culture. This means that the Zurich foundations are a reflection of the Swiss average in terms of their main areas of activity: the dominant areas of activity in Switzerland are social welfare, art and culture, education, and leisure and sport.
Many of the largest and most important Swiss grant giving organizations have their roots in the Canton of Zurich. For example, the headquarters of the Swiss Study Foundation is in Zurich, the largest Swiss foundation for the promotion of students. The prominent Jacobs Foundation, active in the field of child and youth development, is also based in Zurich.
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