Thanks to our project partners, we are able to engage ourselves and achieve positive impacts for society. Learn about some of the projects we have supported recently.
Social Welfare
Nature and Science
Culture and Society
Labor market integration as a prerequisite for social participation
The Vontobel Foundation is supporting the mentoring project “Perspective on Work” run by the Zurich section of the Swiss Red Cross (SRC) from 2025 to 2027. The project aims to ease participants’ integration into the labor market.
Strengthening healthcare and young people
The SANNI Foundation is engaged in providing vocational training to healthcare professionals in hospitals, community health workers in remote villages, and marginalized young people in Myanmar. Vontobel is providing support for the project from 2025 to 2027.
Entering working life, step by step
MULTIMONDO supports socially disadvantaged people with migration experience as they enter the labor market, offering individual counseling, mentoring, and training courses. The Vontobel Foundation is supporting the project from 2025 to 2026.
Training and work for a self-determined future
The work of the Association François-Xavier Bagnoud – FXB Switzerland focuses on vocational training and life-skills development for marginalized youth in Myanmar. Between 2025 and 2027, the Vontobel Foundation is supporting their project “Strengthening Employability and Personal Capacities of Vulnerable Youth in Myanmar.”
Fighting extreme poverty through entrepreneurship
elea is a pioneer in philanthropic impact investing. In the fight against extreme poverty, it aims to achieve a lasting impact by applying an entrepreneurial approach. From 2025 to 2027, Vontobel is serving as a member of the elea Philanthropic Investors' Circle.
Sufficient income – thanks to shea butter
From 2025 to 2027, the Vontobel Foundation is supporting the project "Karité – More Income Thanks to Shea Butter" run by the association Brücke Le Pont in the west African country of Benin, one of the world’s poorest countries. Its aim is to combat poverty there.
Climate change and health: Building resilience in Switzerland and the Global South
A program launched by Swiss TPH is studying the impact of climate change on human health, focusing on two climate-related health risks: heat stress and the emergence of communicable diseases. The Vontobel Foundation is supporting this initiative.
Landing an apprenticeship thanks to application training
With its "Application Training" project, Pro Juventute provides support to young people looking for an apprenticeship who don’t receive much practical help from private sources. The Vontobel Foundation is supporting the project from 2024 to 2026.
Living a healthy, secure, and effective life
The family-help Association is committed to improving the mental health of refugee children, adolescents, and families, helping them successfully integrate into society. The Vontobel Foundation provides vital support for their work.
Sport and community as a means of integrating refugees
The Vontobel Foundation is supporting the SPORTEGRATION Association from 2024 to 2026 with basic funding promoting the integration of refugees through a varied and cost-free program of sports.
Health from North Namibia to Zambia
In the name of the Mudiro Association, approximately 20 doctors and nurses from Switzerland and Germany travel annually to Namibia and Zambia to train local healthcare professionals. The Vontobel Foundation is supporting the project “Mudiro Multiplicator: Education” in 2025 and 2026.
Providing New Life Opportunities through Rehabilitation and Integration
The Vontobel Foundation supports the project “iRi – Integration, Rehabilitation, Inclusion" led by the organization Addis Guzo, which aims to improve the living conditions of people with disabilities in Ethiopia.
Supporting Education for Children in Africa and Asia
The organization CO-OPERAID helps young people from the slums and streets of Kenya enter the job market for the first time. Promoting self-sufficiency aligns with one of the objectives of the Vontobel Foundation.
Helping Migrant Women Gain Employment Experience
The pioneering project “Skalierung FEMKooperativen” (Scaling FEMCooperatives) led by the Crescenda Association creates fair jobs for female migrants in self-organized teams, enabling them to become members of the cooperative.
Assuring First Aid for Greater Psychic Steadiness
“Dargebotene Hand” (The Offered Hand) has expanded its pastoral counseling service for teenagers and young adults in Switzerland. Its easy online access allows for swift, anonymous assistance in emergencies and other sensitive situations.
Helping Finance a New, Child-Friendly Building for Zurich’s Children's Hospital
The new construction of the University Children's Hospital Zurich will provide not only more space but also a child-friendly environment and a dedicated research department. The Vontobel Foundation contributed to the financing.
Mentoring for Youth with Refugee Backgrounds
ROCK YOUR LIFE! helps young people who came as refugees to build a stable network of relationships and develop their personal and professional potential.
Saving Lives by Training Midwives
The Vontobel Foundation supports GreenLamp, funding a four-year bachelor's degree for 20 midwives from poor rural regions of Ethiopia. Their know-how gives local women better access to healthcare and education.
Empowering Youth for a Sustainable Future
Boosting education instead of unemployment, the 12-month "SkillsHub" program led by the Pestalozzi Overseas Children’s Foundation in Zambia teaches young people basic skills in math, reading, writing, and IT, along with further professional competencies.
Protecting alpine birds
The Alps are warming rapidly. Using state-of-the-art technology, the Conservation Biology Division of the University of Bern’s Institute of Ecology & Evolution is studying how alpine birds respond to rising temperatures and which microhabitats can best secure their survival. The Vontobel Foundation is supporting the research project from 2026 to 2028.
Free rein for hedgehogs & their friends
Zurich is making space for hedgehogs! The association StadtNatur – “CityNature” – promotes interconnected habitats for these creatures, and raising public awareness of the need for wildlife-friendly environments. The Vontobel Foundation provided support for this project during 2025.
Educational trail raising awareness of environmental issues and biodiversity
The Pro Terra Engiadina Foundation is committed to preserving the diverse natural and cultural landscape of Switzerland’s Lower Engadine region. As part of a biodiversity and climate protection project, the Auasagna/Las Palüds moorland near Bos-cha was restored through rewetting. The Vontobel Foundation is supporting an educational trail designed to raise awareness of environmental and sustainability topics.
Reconstruction of the Orangutan Sanctuary on Sumatra
PanEco has been working on Sumatra since 1996 to preserve orangutans, protect their tropical rainforest habitat, and establish a sustainable livelihood for the local population. The Vontobel Foundation has supported this project for many years.
Hans Vontobel Prize for Agricultural Sciences
Since 1989, the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETH) has awarded the Hans Vontobel Prize every year to a research paper that has produced outstanding findings in the field of agricultural sciences.
Reintroduction of the European Bison in the Solothurn Jura
The Wisent im Thal Association is scientifically testing whether the European bison—extinct in Switzerland for roughly a thousand years—can once again live as wild animals in the mountains of the Jura, and whether any potential damages or conflicts in doing so would be manageable. The Vontobel Foundation supports this project.
Vontobel Prize for Aging Research
The University of Zurich's Center for Gerontology annually awards the University of Zurich's Aging Research Prize, endowed by the Vontobel Foundation.
Boosting Wild Bee Populations with a Web App
The Vontobel Foundation offered support to “IG Wilde Biene” (IG Wild Bees) with a contribution towards the further development of their "Bee Finder" app, a tool that promotes growth of wild bee populations and thus increases biodiversity.
Supporting Dam-Calf Contact Rearing in Dairy Production
So-called “MuKa” rearing is a dairy production method in which newly born calves are not separated from their mothers. The Vontobel Foundation supports this project led by the Centre for Dam-Calf Contact Rearing.
Ensuring Species-Appropriate Wildlife Care
The scientifically managed Goldau Nature and Animal Park is redesigning its red deer enclosure. The Vontobel Foundation is contributing financially.
Promoting the Low-Stress Slaughter of Cattle
The Vontobel Foundation has had a longstanding cooperative relationship with the Research Institute for Organic Agriculture (“FiBL”). From 2022 to 2024, the foundation has supported FiBL with a contribution to the research project "Low-Stress Slaughter – Impact of On-Farm Slaughter on Behavior, Stress Physiology, and Meat Quality of Cattle."
Researching the Impact of Music Therapy for Newborns with Heart Defects
A congenital heart defect can also impair cognitive development. A research project led by Prof. Dr. Cornelia Franziska Hagmann investigates how music therapy can improve children’s brain connectivity and thus also their relationship with their parents.
Personalizing Neuro-Rehabilitation
The Vontobel Foundation supports The LOOP with a contribution to its "StimuLOOP" research consortium, which aims to improve the quality of life of people affected by Parkinson's disease and stroke through personalized, precision gait training.
Improving Prostate Cancer Diagnostics
With contributions to the salaries of young researchers, the Vontobel Foundation supports this medical research project led by Prof. Dr. Irene Burger. The goal: to make possible an efficient, cost-effective examination for prostate cancer.
“Everything’s Fake – Or Is It?”: Promoting Confidence in Dealing with Media and AI
The Public and Society Research Center of the University of Zurich (“fög”) is launching an educational project called “Everything’s Fake – Or Is It?” for schools. It encourages young people to engage with media and Artificial Intelligence and to their own media consumption. The Vontobel Foundation is supporting this project from 2025 to 2028.
Museum Rietberg – The world’s art in Zurich
In 2025, the Vontobel Foundation is supporting the special exhibition “Hallyu! – The Korean Wave” at the Museum Rietberg, which is dedicated to South Korea’s colorful and dynamic popular culture.
In the Service of a Strong Digital-Political Civil Society
Technologies and algorithmic systems are meant to strengthen justice, democracy, human rights, and sustainability for everyone. This is the declared goal of AlgorithmWatch CH, which is supported by the Vontobel Foundation through core funding from 2025 to 2028.
Stapferhaus: Encouraging Dialogue; Reducing Polarization
The Vontobel Foundation is supporting the Stapferhaus with basic funding over three years, from 2024 to 2026, to help the organization strengthen its work leading dialogue and finding solutions in society to counteract polarization and find common answers for the future.
Expanding the Fotomuseum in Winterthur
The new construction and renovation project of the Fotomuseum Winterthur bridges the gap between its existing structures and its vision of a contemporary meeting place – a space for exchange and discourse.
Engaging Young People in Humanitarian Causes
The Vontobel Foundation is committed to the Circle of Young Humanitarians with base funding. The goal is to empower young people to act as advocates and supporters of humanitarian causes.
Admonishing Us Never to Forget
The Jewish Museum of Switzerland aims to professionalize and expand its educational offerings to preserve historical awareness. The Vontobel Foundation supports this endeavor.
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Social Welfare
Labor market integration as a prerequisite for social participation
The Vontobel Foundation is supporting the mentoring project “Perspective on Work” run by the Zurich section of the Swiss Red Cross (SRC) from 2025 to 2027. The project aims to ease participants’ integration into the labor market.
Strengthening healthcare and young people
The SANNI Foundation is engaged in providing vocational training to healthcare professionals in hospitals, community health workers in remote villages, and marginalized young people in Myanmar. Vontobel is providing support for the project from 2025 to 2027.
Entering working life, step by step
MULTIMONDO supports socially disadvantaged people with migration experience as they enter the labor market, offering individual counseling, mentoring, and training courses. The Vontobel Foundation is supporting the project from 2025 to 2026.
Training and work for a self-determined future
The work of the Association François-Xavier Bagnoud – FXB Switzerland focuses on vocational training and life-skills development for marginalized youth in Myanmar. Between 2025 and 2027, the Vontobel Foundation is supporting their project “Strengthening Employability and Personal Capacities of Vulnerable Youth in Myanmar.”
Fighting extreme poverty through entrepreneurship
elea is a pioneer in philanthropic impact investing. In the fight against extreme poverty, it aims to achieve a lasting impact by applying an entrepreneurial approach. From 2025 to 2027, Vontobel is serving as a member of the elea Philanthropic Investors' Circle.
Sufficient income – thanks to shea butter
From 2025 to 2027, the Vontobel Foundation is supporting the project "Karité – More Income Thanks to Shea Butter" run by the association Brücke Le Pont in the west African country of Benin, one of the world’s poorest countries. Its aim is to combat poverty there.
Climate change and health: Building resilience in Switzerland and the Global South
A program launched by Swiss TPH is studying the impact of climate change on human health, focusing on two climate-related health risks: heat stress and the emergence of communicable diseases. The Vontobel Foundation is supporting this initiative.
Landing an apprenticeship thanks to application training
With its "Application Training" project, Pro Juventute provides support to young people looking for an apprenticeship who don’t receive much practical help from private sources. The Vontobel Foundation is supporting the project from 2024 to 2026.
Living a healthy, secure, and effective life
The family-help Association is committed to improving the mental health of refugee children, adolescents, and families, helping them successfully integrate into society. The Vontobel Foundation provides vital support for their work.
Sport and community as a means of integrating refugees
The Vontobel Foundation is supporting the SPORTEGRATION Association from 2024 to 2026 with basic funding promoting the integration of refugees through a varied and cost-free program of sports.
Health from North Namibia to Zambia
In the name of the Mudiro Association, approximately 20 doctors and nurses from Switzerland and Germany travel annually to Namibia and Zambia to train local healthcare professionals. The Vontobel Foundation is supporting the project “Mudiro Multiplicator: Education” in 2025 and 2026.
Providing New Life Opportunities through Rehabilitation and Integration
The Vontobel Foundation supports the project “iRi – Integration, Rehabilitation, Inclusion" led by the organization Addis Guzo, which aims to improve the living conditions of people with disabilities in Ethiopia.
Supporting Education for Children in Africa and Asia
The organization CO-OPERAID helps young people from the slums and streets of Kenya enter the job market for the first time. Promoting self-sufficiency aligns with one of the objectives of the Vontobel Foundation.
Helping Migrant Women Gain Employment Experience
The pioneering project “Skalierung FEMKooperativen” (Scaling FEMCooperatives) led by the Crescenda Association creates fair jobs for female migrants in self-organized teams, enabling them to become members of the cooperative.
Assuring First Aid for Greater Psychic Steadiness
“Dargebotene Hand” (The Offered Hand) has expanded its pastoral counseling service for teenagers and young adults in Switzerland. Its easy online access allows for swift, anonymous assistance in emergencies and other sensitive situations.
Helping Finance a New, Child-Friendly Building for Zurich’s Children's Hospital
The new construction of the University Children's Hospital Zurich will provide not only more space but also a child-friendly environment and a dedicated research department. The Vontobel Foundation contributed to the financing.
Mentoring for Youth with Refugee Backgrounds
ROCK YOUR LIFE! helps young people who came as refugees to build a stable network of relationships and develop their personal and professional potential.
Saving Lives by Training Midwives
The Vontobel Foundation supports GreenLamp, funding a four-year bachelor's degree for 20 midwives from poor rural regions of Ethiopia. Their know-how gives local women better access to healthcare and education.
Empowering Youth for a Sustainable Future
Boosting education instead of unemployment, the 12-month "SkillsHub" program led by the Pestalozzi Overseas Children’s Foundation in Zambia teaches young people basic skills in math, reading, writing, and IT, along with further professional competencies.