Guided tour through the exhibition of Karl Lukas Honegger
During the past few weeks, the staff member of the Limmat Foundation, Thomas Buck, has given six guided tours through the exhibition of the artist Karl Lukas Honegger. The guided tours were organized by the neighbourhood association Fluntern. The permanent exhibition of the painter and sculptor Karl Lukas Honegger (*1902-†2003) offered participants more detailed information about his sculptures, drawings, paintings and ceramics. In addition, the guests learnt many authentic stories from the artist’s life through the responsible employee of the Limmat Foundation. Thomas Buck had already worked with the artist during his lifetime, which resulted in a wonderful connection to him and his art works. If you are interested in a guided tour through the exhibition of Karl Lukas Honegger at the Limmat Foundation, please get in touch with Thomas Buck (buck@limmat.org or 044 266 20 30). MEHR NACHRICHTEN Weiterbildung für Lokalpartner Weiterbildung für Lokalpartner • 10.04.2025 Neuer Bus für Menschen mit Behinderung Neuer Bus für Menschen mit Behinderung • 06.03.2025 16. Workshop für Dachstiftungen 16. Workshop für Dachstiftungen • 06.02.2025
Continuing education for local partners
Since 2022, the Limmat Foundation has been operating a partner network for organizations carrying out social projects. This was initiated by the former project director Ignasi Fainé together with his colleague Ana von Bock. Twice a year, the Foundation hosts interactive online sessions on relevant topics, offering professional development opportunities for staff of social organizations and supporting their institutional empowerment. Expert speakers are invited to share insights on specific topics. The presentations are followed by interactive discussions in small virtual breakout groups or in a plenary session, fostering deeper reflection and exchange. The most recent session took place on the 9th of April 2025 and was led by Rafael Medeiros, CEO of comunicação aberta. His presentation, “Social Impact with Artificial Intelligence,” offered a comprehensive introduction to the use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in the Third Sector. Through clear explications and practical examples, participants deepened their understanding of key concepts such as Machine Learning, Deep Learning, Data Science, and Generative AI. The session also addressed challenges, strategies and opportunities for effectively integrating AI into social impact work. If you are interested in joining the next online session or to access the recordings, which are available after some days of the session, please contact Ana von Bock (vonbock@limmat.org). MEHR NACHRICHTEN Weiterbildung für Lokalpartner Weiterbildung für Lokalpartner • 10.04.2025 Neuer Bus für Menschen mit Behinderung Neuer Bus für Menschen mit Behinderung • 06.03.2025 16. Workshop für Dachstiftungen 16. Workshop für Dachstiftungen • 06.02.2025
New bus for people with disabilities
In 2024, the Limmat Foundation financed a bus for the transportation of children, youth and adults with disabilities in Greece. At the end of last year, project manager Stavros Lapsanidis handed it over to the organization EPS (Open Door) in Athens. Every day, the institution picks up more than 200 people from their homes and takes them to the facility in buses. There, they are cared for, trained and treated by specialists. After lunch, a driver takes them home again in the afternoon. This service gives the parents time to relax and recharge their batteries for the care they provide. The previous bus was replaced after more than 25 years. EPS maintains and looks after the vehicles in an exemplary manner so that they last as long as possible. There are plans to replace another very old bus in 2025. The Limmat Foundation has set up a fund for this purpose. Various donors have already contributed 35% of the 100’000 euros needed for the new bus. If you also want to support this meaningful project and herewith the lives of severely disabled people in Greece, please make your contribution with the remark “EPS Greece” (https://www.limmat.org/en/donation-account/). You can find further information on the following website: https://www.eps-ath.gr/en/. MEHR NACHRICHTEN Neuer Bus für Menschen mit Behinderung Neuer Bus für Menschen mit Behinderung • 06.03.2025 16. Workshop für Dachstiftungen 16. Workshop für Dachstiftungen • 06.02.2025 Snow for Smiles Snow for Smiles • 12.12.2024
16th Workshop for umbrella foundations
Last week, the 16th workshop for umbrella foundations took place at the Université Fribourg-Pérolles (UFP). A big thank you to the institute VMI, which provided the premises. More than 20 umbrella foundations met on this occasion to discuss the topic “Umbrella foundations – Participation of the Donors”. As every year, the workshop was organised by the Limmat Foundation in collaboration with proFonds. At the beginning, François Geinoz, Executive Director of the Limmat Foundation, presented the master thesis by Alexander Berchtold from UFP about “Fondation abritée ou Fondation d’utilité publique indépendante? – Une Analyse Comparative des Coûts”. Afterwards, Isabel Probst, Director of Partnerships of the Limmat Foundation, gave an insight on her experience concerning the participation of donors, followed by the legal perspective, presented by Christoph Degen, Executive Director of proFonds. After a joint lunch, Elisabeth Hasse from the Center for Philanthropy Studies (Ceps) presented the statistics on the survey results of the Swiss umbrella foundations. The program also included a presentation by Natalie Joho, Deputy Executive Director of the ZKB Philanthropie Stiftung, who provided useful insights on the integration of charitable foundations into an umbrella foundation. The Limmat Foundation would like to thank all participants for their valuable contribution and is already looking forward to the next umbrella foundation workshop in 2026. MEHR NACHRICHTEN 16. Workshop für Dachstiftungen 16. Workshop für Dachstiftungen • 06.02.2025 Snow for Smiles Snow for Smiles • 12.12.2024 Projekt in Brasilien gewinnt Best Practice Preis Projekt in Brasilien gewinnt Best Practice Preis • 08.11.2024
Snow for Smiles
52,000 young people under 14 years, 5% of that age, live in Switzerland with a disability, including 25,000 with a severe disability. Although access to leisure activities is a fundamental right for all, many infrastructures are not accessible and opportunities for inclusive leisure activities are severely limited. This is a particular challenge for those who are unable to express themselves. The project “Snow for Smiles” aims to strengthen and extend access to ski areas in Switzerland for people with disabilities. In the winter season 2023/2024, the Limmat Foundation supported this project for the first time, allowing 1,200 beneficiaries to experience the joy of gliding on tandem or dual skis together with specially trained staff on the slopes of Switzerland. The Foundation “Just for Smiles” works closely with specialized institutions, schools and families to identify the beneficiaries who can benefit most from its activities. Safety and professionalism are at the heart of its work. In particular, the safety of the beneficiaries is a top priority for Just for Smiles. Each ski trip is carefully planned and monitored to ensure the well-being of all participants. The success of the project is also reflected in the positive feedback of the beneficiary families, who are very grateful for their children’s wonderful experience. MEHR NACHRICHTEN Projekt in Brasilien gewinnt Best Practice Preis Projekt in Brasilien gewinnt Best Practice Preis • 08.11.2024 Finale 2024 des Esmeralda Charity Cup Finale 2024 des Esmeralda Charity Cup • 18.10.2024 Renovierung des Hauses der Mutter Teresa Schwestern in Thessaloniki Renovierung des Hauses der Mutter Teresa Schwestern in Thessaloniki • 26.09.2024
Project in Brazil wins Best Practice Prize
Since the beginning of 2024, the Limmat Foundation supports the project “Labedu” (Laboratório de Educação) in Brazil. It seeks to improve educational practices by developing methodologies, projects and products through continuous cycles of research, implementation and evaluation. The programme promotes systemic change in a wide variety context and at different scales, ensuring meaningful learning for children, inside and outside of school. Labedu stands for transformative power of public education system, championing equal opportunities for all children to reach their learning potential. This goal is reached by equipping them with the tools and knowledge to take informed decisions amidst school complicities, thereby fostering not just rote learning but meaningful understanding and action. Labedu generates evidence from small-scale pilots to large interventions, designing programs that make research- based practices teachable for educators at all levels, and create equitable as well as high-quality learning environments. This year, Labedu won the Jacobs Foundation’s Best Practice Prize which acknowledges outstanding commitment from institutions or individuals in implementing evidence-based solutions for child learning and education. The Brazilian non-governmental organization is one of the three winning teams which will receive their Best Practice Prize during an award ceremony in Zurich. Ana von Bock, Programs and Partnerships Manager, who is in charge of this project at the Limmat Foundation, visited the project in Brazil in October 2024 and delivered her congratulations: “We are all very proud of their achievement and absolutely happy to support this excellent organization which gives its best every day, to have a positive and sustainable impact on the future of children”. MEHR NACHRICHTEN Finale 2024 des Esmeralda Charity Cup Finale 2024 des Esmeralda Charity Cup • 18.10.2024 Renovierung des Hauses der Mutter Teresa Schwestern in Thessaloniki Renovierung des Hauses der Mutter Teresa Schwestern in Thessaloniki • 26.09.2024 Sicherung der Gesundheitsversorgung für Menschen ohne finanzielle Mittel Sicherung der Gesundheitsversorgung für Menschen ohne finanzielle Mittel • 26.08.2024
Finale 2024 of the Esmeralda Charity Cup
The final of the 29th season of the Esmeraldas Charity Cup was played in September 2024 in dry weather at golf club Wylihof. The best gross score was achieved by the team Ian Ehrat (Hcp 3.5) and Michel Piunti (Hcp 10.9), scoring 34 gross points. A prize was also awarded to the best women’s team which were Marianne Blommers and Marie-Luce Greenaway. The best net score 2024 reached Roberto Botta (Hcp 11.1) and Stefano Botta (Hcp 23.5). The team traveled all the way from Ticino to Solothurn to compete in the final and experience golf club Wylihof, known as a particularly challenging course. “We decided to play the 18 holes the day before the competition, which proved to be very useful,” they explained. Both believe that sports in general, and golf in particular, contribute to a strong bond between father and son. As the winning team of the tournament, Roberto and Stefano Botta will travel to Colombia in spring 2025 as ambassadors of the Limmat Foundation. They will visit the education and school projects for street children, financed with the proceeds from the tournament series. Roberto Botta expressed his pride in being both an ambassador for the Limmat Foundation and a representative of the main sponsor of the Esmeralda Charity Cup, Bank J. Safra Sarasin. For him, the charity tournaments are an excellent example of the positive collaboration between charity and finance. “In the past, I have emphasized the importance of sharing common values. This is especially true when it comes to the role of education and promoting self-responsibility.” MEHR NACHRICHTEN Finale 2024 des Esmeralda Charity Cup Finale 2024 des Esmeralda Charity Cup • 18.10.2024 Renovierung des Hauses der Mutter Teresa Schwestern in Thessaloniki Renovierung des Hauses der Mutter Teresa Schwestern in Thessaloniki • 26.09.2024 Sicherung der Gesundheitsversorgung für Menschen ohne finanzielle Mittel Sicherung der Gesundheitsversorgung für Menschen ohne finanzielle Mittel • 26.08.2024
Renovation of the house of Mother Teresa Sisters in Thessaloniki
19 years ago, it was possible to build a house for the Sisters of Mother Teresa in Thessaloniki (Greece) thanks to a generous donor from the Limmat Foundation. The house can accommodate up to ten sisters and consists of a kitchen as well as a dining room. There are also rooms for women persecuted and homeless. It currently provides accommodation for up to eight women and girls in emergency situations for maximum three months. Afterwards, a solution is sought with the social authorities. This year, the Limmat Foundation financed renovations and a representative visited the home on site. On a daily basis, the seven sisters currently living there cook for those in need. Neighbours and companies deliver basic food for free every day, which the sisters use to cook for the people in need. Anyone who is hungry and has no other option is invited to eat. On the day of the visit by an employee of the Limmat Foundation, the nuns had cooked for 53 people. Their humility and joy in supporting the people in need is exemplary. The Limmat Foundation is delighted to see how the project has been bearing fruit for 19 years and helping many women in need. Best wishes to the sisters and many more fulfilling moments! MEHR NACHRICHTEN Renovierung des Hausen der Mutter Teresa Schwestern in Thessaloniki Renovierung des Hausen der Mutter Teresa Schwestern in Thessaloniki • 26.09.2024 Sicherung der Gesundheitsversorgung für Menschen ohne finanzielle Mittel Sicherung der Gesundheitsversorgung für Menschen ohne finanzielle Mittel • 26.08.2024 Unternehmen widmet seine Jubiläumsspende der Limmat Stiftung Unternehmen widmet seine Jubiläumsspende der Limmat Stiftung • 01.07.2024
How to assure health care for people without financial means
One of the Limmat Foundations supported projects in Africa is the Hospital Monkole in Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo. Currently, the Limmat Foundation invests CHF 74,000 from the total costs of CHF 157,000 to support the establishment of a hemodialysis facility with four dialysers and a strong nephrology team in the Hospital of Monkole. The aim is to ensure continuity of patient care under the best possible conditions at affordable prices. In recent years, Monkole’s statistics show a sharp increase in cases of renal disease: acute or chronic end-stage renal disease (ESRD). Patients are transferred to other hemodialysis units, which are more expensive and can only cover 10% of the current hemodialysis needs. The hospital’s concept assures that inhabitants without financial means can benefit from the service. The cost of examinations is covered through the contributions of the more affluent patients who pay for their services, for example, through insurance, thus helping to pay for the treatments of the impoverished population. Many disadvantaged people have received medical treatment in this way. The Limmat Foundation looks forward to seeing the Hospital and its staff grow so that many people in need can get high-quality health care. MEHR NACHRICHTEN Unternehmen widmet seine Jubiläumsspende der Limmat Stiftung Unternehmen widmet seine Jubiläumsspende der Limmat Stiftung • 01.07.2024 Jahresbericht 2023 Jahresbericht 2023 • 13.06.2024 Gewinner des Benefiz-Golfturniers reisen nach Kolumbien Gewinner des Benefiz-Golfturniers reisen nach Kolumbien • 02.05.2024
Company dedicates its anniversary donation to the Limmat Foundation
The Limmat Foundation is thrilled to announce that the organisation has been selected by the BBR Network for a charity donation in context of their 80th anniversary. BBR VT International is a renowned Swiss specialized engineering company with a strong presence in more than 50 countries. Their jubilee was recently celebrated in Zurich. As a token of their appreciation, BBR has invited Isabel Probst and Ana von Bock of the Limmat Foundation to their gala dinner to receive the donation. On this occasion, they gave a presentation showcasing its impactful project “SESAME” in Madagascar. The Limmat Foundation would like to express its gratitude to the BBR Network for their trust and generosity. It’s a true honor to be chosen as the recipient of their 80th anniversary charity donation. This opportunity will not only allow the Limmat Foundation to further its mission but also raise awareness about the important initiatives the organisation is supporting worldwide since more than 50 years. MEHR NACHRICHTEN Jahresbericht 2023 Jahresbericht 2023 • 13.06.2024 Gewinner des Benefiz-Golfturniers reisen nach Kolumbien Gewinner des Benefiz-Golfturniers reisen nach Kolumbien • 02.05.2024 50 Jahre seit dem ersten Projekt in Lateinamerika 50 Jahre seit dem ersten Projekt in Lateinamerika • 02.04.2024