Support for startups and young companies through foundations
The start of your investor search should be with foundations - Many foundations fund startups, technology and innovation
Start request
There are 13000 charitable foundations in Switzerland. Of these, around 7000 are under federal and 6000 under cantonal supervision. Many of these foundations support startups, young companies, innovation, technology, entrepreneurship and research & development. Many startup programs (e.g. Venture Kick), funding vehicles and awards are also backed by foundations. It is therefore worthwhile to clarify which foundations are suitable investors for your own startup project.
With foundations, there is still a lot of room for improvement for young companies/startups
Foundations are attractive financial backers because they are non-profit organizations and accordingly primarily focused on fulfilling the foundation's purpose. The profit motive is not as dominant as with venture capitalists. Funding from a foundation often also means access to the network behind the foundation, which is usually made up of established people in business and politics. Nevertheless, foundations are not as well known as funders in the Swiss startup scene. There is room for improvement. Fundraiso.ch maintains a list of foundations that are active as investors. In total, there are hundreds of foundations that are active in different subject areas. For a specific project, fundraiso can also provide a customized extract of relevant institutions to give you an overview of your potential investors. You can start a non-binding inquiry here.
Fundraising for foundations
If you are trying to win over a foundation as an investor, it makes sense to first select those foundations that are thematically suitable for your own project. Foundations are very strongly bound to their own foundation purpose as well as to their own statutes and can accordingly only act within these possibilities. Once the right foundations have been identified, each foundation should be contacted in the way it wishes to be contacted. More modern foundations offer standardized application processes via the Internet. Traditionally held foundations still insist on a dossier by mail. In addition to a management summary, the budget plan should also be included so that the foundation can immediately see what a financial commitment would look like.
Scope and nature of an endowment investment
Larger foundations are not active at all as long as a minimum amount is not exceeded. Often, commitments of less than 100,000 francs are not even considered. Smaller foundations, on the other hand, can donate larger amounts if they are convinced of a project. It is therefore not only worthwhile to approach the large institutions, but all thematically relevant organizations. Foundations are also happy to grant interest-free (or reduced-interest) loans. Foundations offer a great alternative to debt financing, especially in these times of restrictive corporate credit. The rule, however, is that a foundation wants to participate in the equity. Some also pre-define what a minimum share must be for a commitment to take place.
fundraiso.ch can help
The daily updated database of fundraiso.ch allows timely and precise searches, which show you all funding opportunities from the areas of foundations, funds, awards and support associations. Search yourself as a premium member or submit the search.