Finance Minister Eveline Widmer-Schlumpf takes part in a charity fundraising drive
Keystone
The Swiss donated a total of CHF1.64 billion ($1.82 billion) in 2012 to various charities, CHF28 million more than the year before, according to the Swiss charities certification office (ZEWO).
This content was published on
1 minute
swissinfo.ch and agencies
Almost CHF1.05 billion was given to ZEWO-certified charities, of which a third came from individuals, the office said on Thursday. It also included CHF198 million from members, patrons and sponsors. Bequests were particularly high at CHF141 million.
While total donations increased by 4.3 per cent compared with the previous year, the amount given to non-ZEWO-certified charities decreased by 2.4 per cent.
Sums from NGOs, churches and collections also dropped from CHF236 million to CHF217 million.
The office said that together with public funding and self-generated funds from the likes of foundations and NGOs, the 431 registered ZEWO charities received a total of CHF3.1 billion.
ZEWO director Martina Ziegerer said it was often the case that individuals donate more in economically difficult times because the sense of solidarity is stronger. It was different with companies, she added, whose level of donations depends on business results.
ZEWO also said that the 93,000 volunteers in the evaluated charities had put in more than five million hours of work: 571 years, it calculated.
You can find an overview of ongoing debates with our journalists here. Please join us!
If you want to start a conversation about a topic raised in this article or want to report factual errors, email us at english@swissinfo.ch.
Read more
More
Red Cross to send less blood to Greece
This content was published on
The SRC’s non-profit transfusion service says it prefers to reduce its exposure and focus on helping the Greeks improve their own blood distribution service. Annual shipments of around 28,000 blood pockets to Greece have been considered part of the SRC’s humanitarian mandate. Around ten per cent of the Greek population suffers from thalassaemia, an inherited blood…
This content was published on
Recent projects in Switzerland, such as the revival of a legendary watchmaking company, the building of a humanoid robot or the recording of a Frank Zappa-inspired album have revealed the power of the internet to generate the funding that traditional means might not provide, or no longer provide. In just five years, the number of…
This content was published on
In 2012, organs were harvested from 96 people in Switzerland who had agreed to be donors after death. This was six per cent down on 2011 according to Swisstransplant, the organisation charged with organ allocation. Releasing its annual report on Wednesday, Swisstransplant added that the number of living donors – people who give a kidney,…
You can find an overview of ongoing debates with our journalists here. Please join us!
If you want to start a conversation about a topic raised in this article or want to report factual errors, email us at english@swissinfo.ch.