New partners join the Geneva Centre for Philanthropy

Less than two years after its launch, the Geneva Centre for Philanthropy (GCP) welcomes two new strategic partners as it pushes ahead with its rapid expansion.

The Leenaards Foundation and the Pictet Group Charitable Foundation have joined the GCP’s circle of strategic partners. The Centre was founded 18 months ago by the University of Geneva (UNIGE) in collaboration with the Edmond de Rothschild Foundations, the Lombard Odier Foundation and a Geneva-based private foundation. The Swiss Life Perspectives Foundation has also become a partner since the summer of 2018. The active participation of these grassroots actors, with their acknowledged excellence in a fast-expanding sector, will strengthen the Centre’s local identity and reflects the genuine needs which it addresses.

«The fact that the strategic partners complement each other is a huge asset in the perspective of the GCP’s governance and growth «, points out Henry Peter, Head of the Centre and Professor at the UNIGE Faculty of Law. «The commitment shown by these six Swiss foundations, all key players in the area, demonstrates the Centre’s  crucial role in a rapidly-changing landscape.» The GCP operates at the interface between research and action, drawing on the expertise of UNIGE to strengthen its interdisciplinary approach.

The Centre’s activities focus on building philanthropy training and research, as well as organising events opened to the public at large. Master students in law have already enjoyed a first course, and eight academic fellows have been appointed to carry out researches. Over 300 people took part in a debate on 10 December 2018 on the links between philanthropy, emotions and empathy as part of a conference jointly organised by GCP and the Swiss Center for Affective Sciences (SCAS).

An interface on the regional level

«The Leenaards Foundation has chosen to support the Centre’s expansion as an interface at a regional level between practice and research in the philanthropic sector», explains Pierre-Luc Maillefer, Chairman of the Foundation. In signing up to the GCP’s club of strategic partners, the Leenaards Foundation is actively helping to promote good philanthropic practices, an approach that is reflected in its long-standing commitments as part of the SwissFoundations group of charitable associations.

A long term vision

«As a private company, we are in a position to think long term,» says Nicolas Pictet, Senior Partner and President of the Pictet Group Charitable Foundation. «We’re privileged in that our purpose is to help our clients, and because we can see the financial benefits not as an end in itself but as the reflection of a job well done. We’re driven by the same concern regarding society as a whole. In addition to the jobs we provide, and above and beyond the taxes we pay, we have to be useful, and philanthropy is an expression of this. That’s why we’re proud and happy to have teamed up with the Geneva Centre for Philanthropy»

About the Leenaards Foundation

The Leenaards Foundation, which operates in the Lake Geneva region, aims to stimulate initiatives that anticipate, challenge and keep pace with the fast-moving changes taking place in society. The Foundation’s three areas of action are culture, age and society (the quality of life of older people) and science. The Foundation helps actors in these fields devise creative and innovative projects, with particular emphasis on projects that promote the common good and social cohesion.

About the Pictet Group Charitable Foundation

The Pictet Group Charitable Foundation was established in 2009 with the aim of formalising the approach to charitable and philanthropic work under-taken by Pictet’s Partners. A foundation under Swiss law recognised as serving the public interest, it is chaired by the Senior Partner of the Pictet Group. Its main purpose is to provide financial support to charitable organisations and public interest projects in Switzerland and abroad. In Switzerland, the Chari-table Foundation’s work is focused on health and medical research, the arts and social welfare projects. Elsewhere, it helps to fund projects that benefit disadvantaged communities in developing countries, with a focus on emer-gency humanitarian aid, as well as youth and education projects.

2019