The Zewo Foundation - the certification body for non-profit organisations that collect donations in Switzerland - has announced that international companies, families, individuals and charitable foundations donated over 2 billion Swiss francs to charities in 2021. Donations were made for causes both at home and abroad, with more than half of the donations coming from private households.

Switzerland donates 2,05 billion to good causes

According to the report, given to Blick, Switzerland donated 2,05 billion Swiss francs to charitable causes in 2021. It is the second time the country has donated over 2 billion francs to charity and matches the record set in 2020. 

Most of the donations (53 percent) came from private individuals or households, followed by charitable foundations and churches (23 percent), humanitarian organisations (17 percent) and entrepreneurs and Swiss companies (7 percent). According to Zewo, 2021 saw the number of donations transferred by the internet, SMS or through banking apps like Twint double from levels seen in 2020.

Swiss public donate to causes both at home and abroad

With nations around the world still in the midst of the COVID pandemic, with many people experiencing food and fuel insecurity, the most popular organisations to donate to in 2021 were those that operate internationally, with every other franc being donated to a cause from abroad. The report also found that more money was paid to charities focusing on nature and environmental protection, while slightly less was given to health and social organisations.

Interestingly, Zewo found that the number of charities that said that the government was their main benefactor has declined from 20 percent in 2020, to 14 percent in 2021. Finally, they found that for around half of all aid organisations in Switzerland, individual donations are their most common source of income.