{"id":54890,"date":"2021-12-06T10:33:07","date_gmt":"2021-12-06T09:33:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.deinadieu.ch\/ratgeber\/set-up-a-charitable-foundation\/"},"modified":"2023-05-13T09:10:00","modified_gmt":"2023-05-13T07:10:00","slug":"set-up-a-charitable-foundation","status":"publish","type":"ratgeber","link":"https:\/\/www.deinadieu.ch\/en\/advisor\/set-up-a-charitable-foundation\/","title":{"rendered":"Set up a charitable foundation"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>There are around 13,400 charitable foundations in Switzerland. Their aims are just as diverse as the people and organisations that established them or profit from them. But what exactly is a foundation? And how can I set one up?<\/p>\n\n<!--more-->\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-die-stiftung-ein-besitzerloses-vermogen\">The foundation: an asset without an owner?<\/h2>\n\n<p><strong>A charitable foundation is a legal construct that holds an asset and uses it only for certain purposes defined in advance<\/strong>. Once the foundation has been set up, its founder can no longer freely dispose of the assets paid into it. And dissolving a foundation isn\u2019t easy. Neither the founder nor the administrator can do it. However, if the foundation&#8217;s purpose is unlawful or immoral, a judge can dissolve the foundation. Besides illegality, another reason for dissolution is the unattainability of the foundation\u2019s purpose. If this is the case, the supervisory authority can order that a foundation be dissolved.<\/p>\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-die-grundung-einer-stiftung\">Setting up a foundation<\/h2>\n\n<p>To set up a foundation in accordance with the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.fedlex.admin.ch\/eli\/cc\/24\/233_245_233\/de\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Swiss Civil Code<\/a>, three items are required: the \u201cDedication of an asset for a certain purpose\u201d. These characteristics must be set out in the necessary foundation deed. In addition, a set of rules similar to the statutes in company law is often created. But this is not required by law. The founder may establish the purpose freely as long as it falls within the statutory limits and does not offend public morals.<\/p>\n\n<p>Foundations can even be set up after a person\u2019s lifetime. It is often the last will of a deceased person that a foundation be established with their estate.<\/p>\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-was-ein-stiftungsgrunder-beachten-sollte\">What should a foundation\u2019s founder be aware of?<\/h2>\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Irrevocability<\/strong>: As mentioned above, foundations in Switzerland are irrevocable. Therefore, a founder should carefully consider whether they really want to establish a foundation. This especially applies if a large volume of assets will be paid into a foundation.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Costs<\/strong>: Setting up a foundation will incur numerous costs. For example, the invoice for fees, attorney\u2019s fees etc. can quickly add up to several thousand francs.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Third-party interests<\/strong>: if a founder considers paying a large portion of their assets into a foundation, the interests of third parties might be restricted. For example: foundations set up on the basis of a will might infringe on the compulsory portion of heirs. In such cases, the establishment of the foundation can be contested.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Save taxes<\/strong>: If a founder pays money or other valuables into a foundation, their personal assets will be reduced. This will exempt them from paying wealth tax on the portion paid into the foundation. And that will reduce their tax burden. But it must be pointed out again that taking the step to establish a foundation must be well thought out. The tax benefits might not be enough to offset some of the disadvantages.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n<div style=\"height:38px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-buttons is-layout-flex wp-block-buttons-is-layout-flex\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-button\"><a class=\"wp-block-button__link wp-element-button\" href=\"https:\/\/app.deinadieu.ch\/testamentgenerator\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Create a will online<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">You might also be interested in<\/h2>\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.deinadieu.ch\/ratgeber\/die-unternehmensnachfolge-sinnvoll-finanzieren\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Financing the company succession wisely<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.deinadieu.ch\/ratgeber\/wie-funktioniert-das-notariat-in-der-schweiz\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">How do notary offices work in Switzerland?<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.deinadieu.ch\/ratgeber\/spare-ich-steuern-wenn-ich-einer-ngo-spende\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Will I save on taxes if I donate money to an NGO?<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.deinadieu.ch\/ratgeber\/erben-verlieren-haeufig-viel-geld\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Heirs often lose a lot of money \u2013 but this does not have to be the case<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.deinadieu.ch\/ratgeber\/stiftungen-und-trusts\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Foundations and trusts<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>There are around 13,400 charitable foundations in Switzerland. Their aims are just as diverse as the people and organisations that established them or profit from them. But what exactly is a foundation? And how can I set one up?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2400,"featured_media":40753,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","template":"","tags":[2651,3122],"ratgeber-category":[3038],"class_list":["post-54890","ratgeber","type-ratgeber","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","tag-assets","tag-foundation","ratgeber-category-bequest-donations"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<title>Set up a charitable foundation | DeinAdieu<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"How to set up a charitable foundation in Switzerland. What are the costs and advantages of a charitable foundation and how can you save taxes?\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.deinadieu.ch\/en\/advisor\/set-up-a-charitable-foundation\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Set up a charitable foundation\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"There are around 13,400 charitable foundations in Switzerland. Their aims are just as diverse as the people and organisations that established them or\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.deinadieu.ch\/en\/advisor\/set-up-a-charitable-foundation\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"DeinAdieu.ch\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/deinadieu\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2023-05-13T07:10:00+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/static.deinadieu.ch\/uploads\/2019\/02\/Rat_vom_grunden_einer_gemeinnutzigen_Stiftung_190227.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"4000\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"2680\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@DeinAdieu\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.deinadieu.ch\\\/en\\\/advisor\\\/set-up-a-charitable-foundation\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.deinadieu.ch\\\/en\\\/advisor\\\/set-up-a-charitable-foundation\\\/\",\"name\":\"Set up a charitable foundation | DeinAdieu\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.deinadieu.ch\\\/en\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.deinadieu.ch\\\/en\\\/advisor\\\/set-up-a-charitable-foundation\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.deinadieu.ch\\\/en\\\/advisor\\\/set-up-a-charitable-foundation\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.deinadieu.ch\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2019\\\/02\\\/Rat_vom_grunden_einer_gemeinnutzigen_Stiftung_190227.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2021-12-06T09:33:07+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2023-05-13T07:10:00+00:00\",\"description\":\"How to set up a charitable foundation in Switzerland. What are the costs and advantages of a charitable foundation and how can you save taxes?\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.deinadieu.ch\\\/en\\\/advisor\\\/set-up-a-charitable-foundation\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.deinadieu.ch\\\/en\\\/advisor\\\/set-up-a-charitable-foundation\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.deinadieu.ch\\\/en\\\/advisor\\\/set-up-a-charitable-foundation\\\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.deinadieu.ch\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2019\\\/02\\\/Rat_vom_grunden_einer_gemeinnutzigen_Stiftung_190227.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.deinadieu.ch\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2019\\\/02\\\/Rat_vom_grunden_einer_gemeinnutzigen_Stiftung_190227.jpg\",\"width\":4000,\"height\":2680,\"caption\":\"How to establish a charitable foundation (Foto: iStock)\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.deinadieu.ch\\\/en\\\/advisor\\\/set-up-a-charitable-foundation\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.deinadieu.ch\\\/en\\\/deinadieu-dialog-und-serviceportal-zum-lebensende\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Ratgeber\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.deinadieu.ch\\\/en\\\/advisor\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":3,\"name\":\"Set up a charitable foundation\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.deinadieu.ch\\\/en\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.deinadieu.ch\\\/en\\\/\",\"name\":\"DeinAdieu.ch\",\"description\":\"Testament, Patientenverf\u00fcgung und Vorsorgeauftrag\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.deinadieu.ch\\\/en\\\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.deinadieu.ch\\\/en\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.deinadieu.ch\\\/en\\\/#organization\",\"name\":\"EMNA Web GmbH\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.deinadieu.ch\\\/en\\\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.deinadieu.ch\\\/en\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.deinadieu.ch\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2016\\\/01\\\/DeinAdieu_Logo.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.deinadieu.ch\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2016\\\/01\\\/DeinAdieu_Logo.png\",\"width\":300,\"height\":117,\"caption\":\"EMNA Web GmbH\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.deinadieu.ch\\\/en\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.facebook.com\\\/deinadieu\",\"https:\\\/\\\/x.com\\\/DeinAdieu\",\"https:\\\/\\\/www.instagram.com\\\/deinadieu\\\/\",\"https:\\\/\\\/www.linkedin.com\\\/company\\\/deinadieu.ch\"]}]}<\/script>","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Set up a charitable foundation | DeinAdieu","description":"How to set up a charitable foundation in Switzerland. What are the costs and advantages of a charitable foundation and how can you save taxes?","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.deinadieu.ch\/en\/advisor\/set-up-a-charitable-foundation\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Set up a charitable foundation","og_description":"There are around 13,400 charitable foundations in Switzerland. Their aims are just as diverse as the people and organisations that established them or","og_url":"https:\/\/www.deinadieu.ch\/en\/advisor\/set-up-a-charitable-foundation\/","og_site_name":"DeinAdieu.ch","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/deinadieu","article_modified_time":"2023-05-13T07:10:00+00:00","og_image":[{"width":4000,"height":2680,"url":"https:\/\/static.deinadieu.ch\/uploads\/2019\/02\/Rat_vom_grunden_einer_gemeinnutzigen_Stiftung_190227.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_site":"@DeinAdieu","twitter_misc":{"Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.deinadieu.ch\/en\/advisor\/set-up-a-charitable-foundation\/","url":"https:\/\/www.deinadieu.ch\/en\/advisor\/set-up-a-charitable-foundation\/","name":"Set up a charitable foundation | DeinAdieu","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.deinadieu.ch\/en\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.deinadieu.ch\/en\/advisor\/set-up-a-charitable-foundation\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.deinadieu.ch\/en\/advisor\/set-up-a-charitable-foundation\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.deinadieu.ch\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/Rat_vom_grunden_einer_gemeinnutzigen_Stiftung_190227.jpg","datePublished":"2021-12-06T09:33:07+00:00","dateModified":"2023-05-13T07:10:00+00:00","description":"How to set up a charitable foundation in Switzerland. What are the costs and advantages of a charitable foundation and how can you save taxes?","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.deinadieu.ch\/en\/advisor\/set-up-a-charitable-foundation\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.deinadieu.ch\/en\/advisor\/set-up-a-charitable-foundation\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.deinadieu.ch\/en\/advisor\/set-up-a-charitable-foundation\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/www.deinadieu.ch\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/Rat_vom_grunden_einer_gemeinnutzigen_Stiftung_190227.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.deinadieu.ch\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/Rat_vom_grunden_einer_gemeinnutzigen_Stiftung_190227.jpg","width":4000,"height":2680,"caption":"How to establish a charitable foundation (Foto: iStock)"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.deinadieu.ch\/en\/advisor\/set-up-a-charitable-foundation\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.deinadieu.ch\/en\/deinadieu-dialog-und-serviceportal-zum-lebensende\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Ratgeber","item":"https:\/\/www.deinadieu.ch\/en\/advisor\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"Set up a charitable foundation"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.deinadieu.ch\/en\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.deinadieu.ch\/en\/","name":"DeinAdieu.ch","description":"Testament, Patientenverf\u00fcgung und Vorsorgeauftrag","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.deinadieu.ch\/en\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.deinadieu.ch\/en\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/www.deinadieu.ch\/en\/#organization","name":"EMNA Web GmbH","url":"https:\/\/www.deinadieu.ch\/en\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.deinadieu.ch\/en\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/www.deinadieu.ch\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/01\/DeinAdieu_Logo.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.deinadieu.ch\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/01\/DeinAdieu_Logo.png","width":300,"height":117,"caption":"EMNA Web GmbH"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.deinadieu.ch\/en\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/deinadieu","https:\/\/x.com\/DeinAdieu","https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/deinadieu\/","https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/company\/deinadieu.ch"]}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.deinadieu.ch\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/ratgeber\/54890","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.deinadieu.ch\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/ratgeber"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.deinadieu.ch\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/ratgeber"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.deinadieu.ch\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2400"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.deinadieu.ch\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=54890"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/www.deinadieu.ch\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/ratgeber\/54890\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":63652,"href":"https:\/\/www.deinadieu.ch\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/ratgeber\/54890\/revisions\/63652"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.deinadieu.ch\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/40753"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.deinadieu.ch\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=54890"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.deinadieu.ch\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=54890"},{"taxonomy":"ratgeber-category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.deinadieu.ch\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/ratgeber-category?post=54890"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}