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Our approach

Fondation Botnar is a philanthropic foundation dedicated to the wellbeing of young people who live, learn, work, connect and play in urban and digital spaces around the world. ​

Enabling the meaningful participation of young people, the foundation invests in and supports innovative initiatives and research, bringing together actors from across sectors to create purposeful dialogue and partnerships.

What we do
How we get there
The Botnar Legacy

Geographic focus

Fondation Botnar’s headquarters are in Basel, Switzerland, home of the life sciences. Our work here in Switzerland is based on cutting-edge research. Fondation Botnar is also committed to supporting work in Israel and Palestine to strengthen child rights research and implementation.

Colombia

Ecuador

Ghana

Indonesia

Romania

Senegal

Tanzania

Vietnam

Meet the team

Working together to improve young people’s wellbeing

Job opportunities

Contribute to a world where young people can thrive

Thank you for your interest in working with Fondation Botnar. We don’t have vacancies open at the moment.

Governance

At Fondation Botnar, we are committed to informed decision making, and holding ourselves accountable

Fondation Botnar is committed to evidence-based decision-making through robust governance, reporting, and analysis. As a member of SwissFoundations, we adhere to best practice governance lin line with the Swiss Foundation Code. Our accounting follows Swiss GAAP FER 21 for philanthropic social non-profit organisations, and our activities are supervised by the Swiss Federal Department of Home Affairs.

Code of conduct

In line with our mission to work with and for young people towards a world that fulfils their rights and supports their wellbeing, we operate as a partner that values transparency, distinctiveness and pioneering positive impact. Read our Code of Conduct here.

Whistleblowing

Our whistleblowing guidelines ensure transparent reporting procedures. It outlines the appropriate actions to take if you encounter or discover a violation of the Fondation Botnar Code of Conduct. Download the guidelines here and report issues via the Ethicspoint website.

Please see below the three
ways to report an issue.

01

Point of contact

Inform your point of contact at Fondation Botnar.

02

Risk & Compliance Manager

Contact the Fondation Botnar Risk & Compliance Manager via info@fondationbotnar.org.

03

Whistle Blowing System

Anonymous and/or confidential report through the whistleblowing system.

By hotline. For your relevant country code visit:
http://www.expolink.co.uk/whistle blowing-hotline/PDF/International-Freephone-listing pdf

By web platforms:
wrs.expolinkc.co.uk/fondationbotnar

Organisational Structure

The Board

The Board jointly oversees the governance and decision making of the foundation. It is made up of at least six members who act in accordance with the Foundation’s mission and the will of our founder, Marcela Botnar.

Audit & Risk Committee (ARCO)

The ARCO is responsible for monitoring and optimising the Foundation’s internal processes, including ensuring good governance and due diligence.

HR & Organisational Committee (HOCO)

The HOCO is responsible for strategic matters relating to good governance and due diligence, long-term succession planning, human resources and social policy, and organisational development.

Investment Commission (IC)

The Investment Commission is responsible for managing the Foundation’s financial assets in the best interests of the Foundation.

Philanthropy Committee (PHICO)

PHICO oversees the overall philanthropic strategy, including strategic guidance on funding instruments, grantmaking tools and processes. It reviews grant applications and specialist reviews and prepares recommendations that are the basis for decisions by the Board.

Mangement Office

The Management Office is led by the CEO. It is responsible for the operational and strategic day-to-day management of the Foundation.

Finance

We follow an operational framework for investment which encompasses the Fondation Botnar values and institutional best practices. This includes investing responsibly and considering environmental, social and governance (ESG) criteria, basing our investment decisions on solid theoretical and empirical knowledge and diversifying our overall portfolio to reduce risk. Click here to read our Investment Beliefs and Principles.

The Fondation Botnar assets of CHF 3.5 billion (as of 31 December 2022) are invested according to leading principles of sustainable institutional asset management.

Read our Investment Beliefs and Principles here.

Since 2019, Fondation Botnar annually offers CHF 60 million in funding to improve the wellbeing of young people.

The Future Now.
For Young People
Worldwide.

Fondation Botnar
St. Alban-Vorstadt 56
4052 Basel
Switzerland
info@fondationbotnar.org
+41 61 201 04 74

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