Z Zurich Foundation
The Z Zurich Foundation is a private foundation under Swiss law, funded by the Zurich Insurance Group, and the vehicle by which the Group delivers on its global community investment strategy. Please note, because we believe focus is essential for maximizing impact, we do not accept any unsolicited requests for funding.
Who we are
The Jubilee Foundation was set up in June 1973 to commemorate Zurich’s 100-year anniversary. In 2008, it was renamed the Z Zurich Foundation (‘the Foundation’), and received additional funding from the Zurich Insurance Group of CHF 23 million. From 2010 to 2015, the Zurich Insurance Group donated USD 100 million to the Foundation, aiming to create long-term, sustainable strategic collaborations that benefit the communities in which we live and work. The Foundation is based in Zurich, Switzerland.
The Z Zurich Foundation’s Board of Trustees are:
Gary Shaughnessy (Chair), CEO Europe, Middle East & Africa
Claudia Dill, CEO Latin America
Mario Greco, Group Chief Executive Officer
Sylvia Martinez, Head of Strategy, Innovation & Business Development, Latin America
Kathleen Savio, CEO North America
The Z Zurich Foundation’s management consists of:
What we do
The Foundation’s funding supports three pillars of activity; our global program, our local programs, and encouraging employee engagement. Within these pillars, we focus our efforts on three key areas of need. We do the following:
How we do it
In all our activities, we adhere to seven guiding principles:
- We support effective solutions that address social or environmental issues and have a meaningful, positive impact in communities where we are present.
- We take a strategic, long-term approach to social engagement and clearly define the impact we want to have, the issues we wish to address, and the communities on which we want to focus.
- We work with organizations in the non-profit, public and private sectors to achieve greater impact beyond that which each participant could achieve individually.
- We make it possible for Zurich employees to participate in community work and involve them in the design, funding and governance of local community programs, while encouraging them to volunteer.
- We do not limit our contributions to cash, but also offer the time, skills and expertise of Zurich employees.
- We commit dedicated, skilled people to ensure sustainability and appropriate management.
- We set objectives and monitor and evaluate performance against these indicators to ensure that we continue to improve in the areas we support. We are accountable to our stakeholders and report on our activities in a clear, transparent way.
The Foundation is an active member of the SwissFoundations network, and aligns its governance principles with those that SwissFoundations considers to be best practice.
Contact us
We welcome your comments, thoughts and suggestions, which can be sent to us at z.foundation@zurich.com. Please note that, because we believe focus is essential for maximizing impact, we do not accept unsolicited requests for funding.