The philanthropic infrastructure is constituted by all institutional actors that support voluntary

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1 UNIVERSITÄT BASEL Centre for Philanthropy Studies (CEPS) The Swiss Philanthropic Infrastructure by Georg von Schnurbein, Steffen Bethmann Philanthropy can be found in all sectors of the society. Individuals act philanthropic through donations of time, money or goods. The state sets the legal and political framework. Some corporations are engaged in philanthropic activities on top of their Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) programs. Nonprofit organizations (NPO) enable individuals or groups to pursue their philanthropic activities and most have philanthropic goals themselves. However NPO also play another vital role in philanthropy. As intermediary organizations they support other philanthropic actors on various levels. They may provide important knowledge through research, connect volunteers, lobby for public beneficial organization or provide organizational consultancy to other NPO. In this sense NPO also constitute the philanthropic infrastructure that supports and enables philanthropic behavior. Goal of the infrastructure is to strengthen philanthropy within the society. Objective Objective of this abstract is to give an overview of the Swiss Philanthropic Infrastructure. 1 By mapping out the existing players in the field visually and comparing the Swiss infrastructure with other countries`, recommendations can me made how to strengthen philanthropy in Switzerland institutionally. Methodology The philanthropic infrastructure is constituted by all institutional actors that support voluntary action for the public good. 2 However, for this mapping only NPO and academic institutions were taken into account. Corporations, private companies and self-employed such as lawyers or tax advisors that offer services to support philanthropy have not been included. Foundations have also not been included in the mapping even if they do play an important part especially in funding NPO. Goal was to reduce the complexity and to show the most relevant constituents of the philanthropic infrastructure. The mapping does not make claim to be complete even if the research was conducted carefully. It is also necessary to note that the infrastructure is not to be understood as a fixed 1 Originally this abstract is part of a larger study that analyzed holistically the state of being of philanthropy in Switzerland: von Schnurbein, G./ Bethmann, S.: Philanthropie in der Schweiz, CEPS, Basel, http//: 2 Much of the methodology is derived from: The Nonprofit Quarterly Study on Nonprofit and Philanthropic Infrastructure, Boston, 2009.

2 The Swiss Philanthropic Infrastructure Page 2 of 7 entity. NPO may change their institutional goals, new organizations may emerge and other may stop their activities. The infrastructure therefore is more of a snapshot of today`s reality. The identified organizations were categorized by their primary roles in the infrastructure using the following taxonomy. Most organizations pursue activities in more than one category. However, only if these activities constitute a defining role of the organization they were matched with the according category. Additionally only organizations that are active on a national or sector wide scale were recognized. This means e.g. that the local branches of benevol 3, the leading organizations to deploy volunteers, were not included in the infrastructure map but the umbrella organization was. Taxonomy The following taxonomy divides the infrastructure into seven different categories that encompass supporting and informational services for philanthropic organizations. The relatively rough differentiation enables to create a clearly arranged map of today`s Swiss philanthropic infrastructure. Codes and seals These organizations have developed codes and seals for quality insurance or improvement. Most are best practice/governance codes or seals. They set standards for the transparent and impact oriented management of NPO. The seals and codes are also used by the certified organizations as an instrument to communicate credibility. The ZEWO 4 seal e.g. has become a reference for donors that their money is used responsibly and that the organization is following a set of good governance rules and expectations. The Swiss Foundation Code 5 has attracted large attention as it lays down best practices for grant-giving foundations based on the principles: effective realization of the foundation purpose, transparency, checks and balances. Networks Networks connect philanthropic organizations and individuals. They serve as platform to exchange ideas and experiences or to build joint initiatives. Networks with formal membership schemes often represent their members interest in the public and towards the government. Other networks see themselves as informal exchange platforms. In the philanthropic infrastructure networks often play the role of intermediaries or connectors of different sectors and actors. Resource development These organizations support other NPO in acquiring donations or to get into contact with potential donors. Their services are especially important for smaller NPO during their first years of existence. Services may include support for drafting grant applications or information about 6 the donor landscape. The newly founded online-marketplace Socential utilizes the web to Sprecher, T./Egger, P., Janssen, M.: Swiss Foundation Code 2009, Foundation Governance Bd. 5, Basel,

3 The Swiss Philanthropic Infrastructure Page 3 of 7 match donors with social entrepreneurs. Institutions that provide training in fundraising were not classified in this category but subsumed under leadership development. Volunteer deployment These organizations help deploying volunteers in NPO or matching them with people in need. Some provide trainings for other organizations that work with volunteers or for the volunteers themselves. Often these organizations have developed web-based solutions to match offer and demand. Potential volunteers can inform themselves about possibilities to get engaged and organizations and individuals can post their specific needs. Leadership development This category encompasses institutions that offer educational programs for students, experts, freelancers, nonprofit managers and staff. Only those institutions were recognized that offer programs directly related to NPO management or fundraising. Study programs in special fields such as social work, public service, culture, and sports management were not included. Most programs are run by universities or universities of applied sciences. Contrary to other countries such as Germany or Austria, internal organizational training centers are not very common in Switzerland. Research These organizations and institutions conduct research for and about the nonprofit sector. Most disseminate their research results through scientific publications but also through articles in public media or free downloads. Especially the positive development of the universities of applied sciences has led to an increased number of research institutes. The large majority of scientific nonprofit institutes however is not funded fully by their host universities but through private donations or fees from services they provide such as consulting or fee based post study programs. Consulting / organizational development These organizations help other NPO in their organizational development through coaching or consulting services. Due to growing professional standards in the nonprofit sector the demand of such services has increased over the last years. This has lead to a steady rise of the amount of organizations that provide professional organizational development services for NPO.

4 The Swiss Philanthropic Infrastructure Page 4 of 7 Zentrum für Organisations- und Arbeitswissenschaften - ETH Zürich Zentrum für Stiftungsrecht - Uni Zürich Research The Swiss Philanthropic Infrastructure Consulting / Organizational Development Aid Governance Foundation Strategy Group Ashoka Schweiz Schwab Foundation Association Genevoise des Fondations Académiques (AGFA) Roundtable der Philanthropie Networks foundationfinder Philias Swissfundraising Socential Glückskette Spendeplattform SGG ProFonds Stiftungsforum Centre for Philanthropy Studies Uni Basel Institut für Nonprofit- und Public Management - FHNW Centre for Leadershsip and Values in the Society Uni St. Gallen Institut für Verwaltungsmanagement - ZHAW aeb Schweiz EB Zürich Institut für Betriebs- und Regionalökonomie FH Luzern Verbandsmanagement Institut Uni Freiburg Hautes Ecoles Commerciales Genêve Uni Genf Zentrum für Kulturmanagement - ZHAW Vitamin B Zentrum für Verwaltungsmanagement HTW Chur Konferenzen der PräsidentInnen der Grossen Hilfswerke (KPGH) Schweizerische Vereinigung für Qualitätsund Managementsysteme benevol Forum Freiwilligenarbeit innovage Volunteer Deployment SwissFoundations ZEWO SEA Ehrenkodex Codes and Seals Spendenspiegel Stiftungsgesuche Swiss Philanthropy Foundation Resource Development Leadership Development Centre for Philanthropy Studies 2010

5 The Swiss Philanthropic Infrastructure Page 5 of 7 Improving the Swiss philanthropic infrastructure The Swiss philanthropic infrastructure is relatively well developed. For all categories at least two intuitions could be recognized. Many of the institutions are also active in more than one area and fulfill multiple functions. As an example the Centre for Philanthropy Studies 7 is active in research, leadership development and also provides organizational development services. However the structural compilation of the nonprofit supporting organizations also disclosed some blank spots. In comparison to the philanthropic infrastructure of other nations, especially to the US, some missing elements became obvious. Our research has lead to the following recommendations on how to improve the Swiss philanthropic infrastructure. Scientific / informational journals In Switzerland no journal that reports and informs about trends and developments of the Swiss philanthropy or nonprofit sector exists. Normally research results, case studies, articles and the like are published in German journals such as Stiftung & Sponsoring 8 or Die Stiftung 9. However, a Swiss journal that addresses a broad audience of experts, activists and the public in general would be especially important to showcase successful examples of philanthropic activities and organizations but also to take up pressing problems and issues such as changing laws and regulations that affect the whole sector. Due to the lack of such a journal NPO also have limited possibilities to inform the public about their contribution to society and hence attract additional supporters. Online media such as infostelle.ch 10 or nachhaltigkeit.org 11 occasionally take up philanthropic topics but cannot fill the gap. A Swiss journal could serve as an important mean to increase the general awareness of philanthropy in Switzerland on a national and international level. Missing databases Also missing is an elaborative and easy to handle database about NPO in Switzerland. The liberal legislative rules in Switzerland regarding obligations to disclosure information for NPO impede the installation of such a database. Many NPO, especially foundations, publish no or little information about their financial assets or annual grant distributions. In the United States many NPO have taken up the responsibility to provide such information for the public. GuideStar 12 assembles the so called 990 forms that tax exempt organizations have to send to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) annually to retain their status and publishes them on their webpage. Detailed information about financial assets, income, salaries of management and staff as well as the NPO`s purpose and mission are openly accessible. The Charity Navigator 13 uses the same 990 forms and additional resources to provide in depth information and evaluations about charities to support donors decision on where to spend their money most effectively. Such databases improve the transparency of the nonprofit sector, give guidance for

6 The Swiss Philanthropic Infrastructure Page 6 of 7 donors and constitute an important data resource for academic research. Financial data about NPO obviously cannot show how effective the public beneficial services are executed but provide a starting point in assessing such organizations. At this moment the installation of a national foundation database in Switzerland is being discussed based on the Motion Luginbühl to improve the international competiveness of Switzerland to attract foundations. The Motion that specifically asked for an installation of such a database was rejected by the Swiss Federal Council. Financial services Financial services especially tailored for NPO by NPO are almost nonexistent in Switzerland. There are no NPO that offer financial consulting, low interest credits or strategic advice on asset management. These services are offered almost exclusively by for profit organizations or firms such as banks, lawyers, tax attorneys of private consultancies. NPO do have a special need of low cost services and strategic advice in this area that cannot be satisfied by purely for profits. The Nonprofit Finance Fund (NFF) 14 in the United States sets a positive example as a not for profit financial support organization. The NFF follows their specific mission to connect money to mission success through innovative practice, consulting and direct investment in social sector organizations. They do so through offering financial management workshops, consulting and trainings for moderate as wells as by offering credits schemes especially tailored to the needs of NPO. Credit approval processes take factors such as program effectiveness and social impact orientation into account. The installation of such an organization in Switzerland would be of great benefit for the Swiss NPO. Technical support Technical support services for NPO in Switzerland are also necessary to expand. Topics such as the construction of a good websites, fundraising via the internet, customer relationship management programs or the embedment of social media like facebook, twitter or Xing into the webpage necessitate specialized knowledge that is not always present in NPO. Only few can afford to employ skilled personnel or to contract external agencies. Smart IT solutions become increasingly important for NPO but constitute a growing cost factor. Affordable 15 services are of great need. Organizations such as the Nonprofit Technology Network (NTEN) or the CompuMentor Project (Tech Soup) 16 help NPO in the United States to find the appropriate technological solutions. The development of similar models for Switzerland should be supported. Research and education Compared to its neighboring countries academic research about the nonprofit sector is at least institutionally well developed. Various universities and universities of applied sciences conduct research and offer courses in nonprofit management that is based on scientific

7 The Swiss Philanthropic Infrastructure Page 7 of 7 findings. However, even as the situation has become better in the last years the mentioned unsatisfying data availability limits the ability to conduct empirical studies. Often studies are based on a small number of research objects and cannot be regarded as representative for the whole sector. Attempts are being made to push NPO for more transparency but there is only reluctant willingness, especially from foundations, to publish more information as obligated. Also missing are integrative research models about philanthropy that are of interdisciplinary nature and manage to combine findings of different sub topics. Increased cooperation of the academic institutions may improve the overall research results. Volunteer deployment Volunteer deployment and training are well organized in Switzerland. Many cities and municipalities have created their own departments to support volunteerisms. Some have created web pages that match volunteers with organizations or individuals that seek support. The Forum Freiwilligenarbeit 17 advocates for and supports public recognition for voluntary services. It also created the Swiss Sozialzeitausweis 18 that volunteers can use document the time they have donated. The infrastructure is well developed however what is missing are concepts to engage ex patriots and migrant communities as well as new models to encourage younger generations to volunteer. Conclusion Overall, it can be constituted that the Swiss Philanthropic Infrastructure is well developed. There are still some blank spots that need to be filled but various new initiatives and organizations that have been founded in the last years allow for an optimistic outlook in the future. This positive trend though has to be supported and sustained by the public and private sector as well as by the NPO themselves. All actors need to cooperate and help to strengthen the infrastructure in the interest of a strong civil society. The Centre for Philanthropy Studies (CEPS) at the University of Basle is an interdisciplinary research and further education centre of the Swiss Foundation System. The CEPS was established in 2008 by an initiative of SwissFoundations, the Association of Swiss Grantmaking Foundations. The CEPS is a research think tank which deals with the multifaceted topic of philanthropy. Startup capital was provided by Avina Stiftung, Ernst Göhner Stiftung, GEBERT RÜF STIFTUNG, Christoph Merian Stiftung, GGG and SwissFoundations