The last issue of the newspaper “Réformés” devoted a file on the new ways of giving today. The opportunity for Etienne Eichenberger, President of the Swiss Philanthropy Foundation, to share his view on the culture of giving today, and how to encourage it?
In the last ten years, social networks have changed the way of giving. Foundations and NGOs find themselves rubbing shoulders and competing with other actors. A movement that knows its successes, its excesses, to the point of questioning our way of giving. The under-30s want immediacy and advocate integrating the general interest in all their decisions, including professional ones, rather than waiting until they have the means to think about philanthropy.
Historic foundations are seeking to rethink the way they work, to become more professional and to reach their public in new ways. While a majority of foundations in French-speaking Switzerland are lagging behind in terms of online communication, the global trend in this field is towards digitalization in order to be able to measure the effectiveness of a programme and optimize humanitarian action. However, there are many aspects of giving that are not easily dismissed. Getting involved in a problem, understanding its operational aspects in nuance, committing oneself in the long term, building relationships of trust with partners, facing ethical dilemmas…
Discover the dossier How do we give today? By Camille Andres (in French)
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