ai4abundance.org/switzerland · Among the highest foundation densities in the world, supervised at three different levels depending on reach, and overwhelmingly run by very small teams against very large balance sheets.
| Feature | Why it changes our advice |
|---|---|
| Three levels of supervision | Federal, cantonal or communal, decided by how far the foundation reaches. Getting this wrong means preparing for the wrong authority |
| ESA, the federal authority | The Eidgenössische Stiftungsaufsicht sits within the Federal Department of Home Affairs and supervises foundations of national or international reach, around 5,500 of them |
| Most foundations are not federal | Roughly two thirds sit under cantonal or communal supervision, across 19 cantonal authorities, so practice varies by where you are |
| Supervision runs on annual reporting | An ESA-supervised foundation files a defined package shortly after year end, including audited annual accounts. The reporting is the relationship |
| Civil Code articles 80 to 89c | Swiss foundation law is liberal and stable, which is why the sector is as large as it is |
| Swiss data protection, not the GDPR | Switzerland has its own revised regime rather than EU law, so a policy written for an EU foundation does not simply transfer |
A new foundation is created in Switzerland roughly every day. Most have no staff to speak of and a balance sheet that would command a finance team anywhere else. That mismatch is the whole opportunity.
Thousands of grant-makers running serious money on spreadsheets and goodwill. This is the single clearest fit for the work we do.
One page before each board meeting, built for trustees who meet a few times a year and decide quickly.
Built so the annual filing falls out of the system rather than being assembled each year.
The supervisory structure, the authority names and the sector figures here were checked against primary and official sources on 12 November 2026. Which authority supervises a given foundation depends on its reach and its canton, so treat this as orientation rather than a determination. Nothing here is legal or tax advice.
Large balance sheet, few people, and a board that needs to decide well. That is the brief.
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