Introduction
Z Zurich Foundation (formerly the Jubilee Foundation) was renamed in 2008 as part of a major transformation to align the Foundation with best practice governance and community investment standards. The reforms enable us to make a greater positive impact on society and ensure that our community investments are supportive of our overall corporate responsibility strategy.
The Foundation’s work complements existing community investment programs across the Group. Zurich also continues to support select organizations active in Switzerland through the Foundation. In line with the new strategic approach, support is provided through long-term partnerships rather than one-off grants.
The Foundation is a private foundation under Swiss law funded by Zurich Insurance Company and Zurich Life Insurance Company.
The Foundation’s mission is to equip people with the knowledge and resources to better manage change and risk in their lives and in the world around them. The Foundation supports initiatives aimed at finding lasting solutions to pressing challenges. In doing so, the Foundation makes a valuable contribution to sustainable social and economic development.
To realize the Foundation’s mission, we focus contributions on the following areas:
Insurance-relevant research and education
- Promotion of insurance literacy, risk awareness, risk reduction and management
Emerging social and environmental risk reduction
- Awareness and understanding of emerging social and environmental challenges, the risks they pose to society, and research and education on the means to reduce them
Alleviation of poverty and the consequences of catastrophes
- Access to insurance for marginalized and vulnerable segments of the population both in developed and developing countries
- Immediate relief and long-term efforts to rebuild lives and communities devastated by natural catastrophes, pandemics or war
- Economic and social development and governance improvements in developing countries
The Foundation makes monetary and in-kind contributions to non-profit organizations with well-defined projects aligned to one or more of our contribution areas.
To invest our resources most responsibly, we select organizations that demonstrate good governance, fiscal and administrative stability and produce measurable results.
Programs and projects are chosen based on their potential to create sustainable value to society. Preference is given to long-term projects and partnerships, particularly those where the foundation is also able to use the financial, managerial, and technical expertise of Zurich Insurance Group and its employees for in-kind contributions, thereby achieving a greater positive impact for society.
To ensure continuous improvement, impact objectives and measures are agreed at the outset of any program or project and jointly evaluated on a regular basis. Progress against agreed key measures is an expected condition of continued funding.
We actively select our partners and therefore do not accept unsolicited requests for funding.
What we do not support
- Projects which are not aligned with our guidelines
- Short-term projects or one-off grants
- Events
- Non-registered organizations
- General public sector services
- Political parties, candidates or partisan political organizations
- Programs for religious purposes or religious activities
- Advertising, or publications outside the scope of our partnerships
The Foundation is governed by a Board of Trustees. We are committed to transparency and continuous improvement in the effective use of foundation means. The Foundation is a member of SwissFoundations, the Association for grant-making foundations in Switzerland and the first organization in Europe to publish generally applicable governance guidelines on modern and professional foundation management, promoting transparency, professionalism, and the effective use of foundation means.
Martin Senn, Chief Investment Officer and Chairman of the Board of Trustees of Z Zurich Foundation
Richard Kearns, Chief Administrative Officer
Markus Hongler, Chief Executive Officer of Zurich Switzerland
Peter Buomberger, Group Head of Government & Industry Affairs
Francis Bouchard, Global Head of Corporate Communications
Chris Gillies, Global Life Head of Growth and Strategic Marketing and Chair of Zurich UK Community Trust
Mark Puccio, Director of Claims Client Services for Zurich North America Commercial and member of the Zurich US Foundation Board
