Glossary

General note: The data published on Foundation statistics contain only aggregated data sets. For individual surveys of the Foundations, please refer to the pages fundraiso.ch and stiftungsschweiz.ch.

Explanation of variables

Foundation purpose
The CEPS uses the data from the commercial register and categorizes the foundation's purpose according to the ICNPO standard, which was developed in 1992 and divides non-profit organizations into 12 main groups. A foundation can be divided into a maximum of three different categories, so that the number of classifications generally exceeds the number of foundations. The categories are defined as follows:

ICNPO 1: Culture and leisure
ICNPO 2: Education and research
ICNPO 3: Health
ICNPO 4: Social services
ICNPO 5: Environment and nature conservation
ICNPO 6: Housing and development
ICNPO 7: Citizen and consumer interests, policy
ICNPO 8: Foundations and donations, voluntary work
ICNPO 9: International activities
ICNPO 10: Religion
ICNPO 11: Economic and professional associations, trade unions
ICNPO 12: Other
Founding period
The founding year (in the frequency table) shows how many foundations from which years still exist today. Foundations which no longer exist are missing in the table. If a foundation was founded in 1980 and has already been liquidated over the years, this is not apparent from the data. So it is not historical data, but rather the distribution of the founding years of all foundations still active today.
Frequency of action
The scope of action indicates the geographical area in which the foundation operates. The purpose of the foundation was used for classification from the commercial register, whereby multiple nominations are possible again. The following differentiations are possible:

Local: if the activity relates to a single building or a building complex (e.g. promotion of the Faculty of Law of the University of Basel)
Municipal: activity at municipal level.
Cantonal: Activity at cantonal level.
Regional: Activity in multicantonal area (e.g. large regions of Switzerland).
National: Activity throughout Switzerland.
International: Activity in at least one country outside Switzerland.
None: The purpose of the foundation listed in the commercial register does not allow any conclusion to be drawn on the geographical area of activity.
NA: A few foundations have not yet been classified. CEPS strives to keep the database up-to-date and reduce it to a minimum. Please also note the update periods listed in the footer of the website.
Supervision
Most foundations are subordinated to a supervisory authority. Multiple nominations are excluded, so the allocation is clear. The following characteristics are distinguished:

National supervision: The Federal Department of the Interior (EDI) or another national authority takes over the supervision.
Cantonal supervision: The supervision is taken over by a cantonal authority.
Local supervision: Supervision is taken over by a municipal authority (mostly a municipal or local council).
Other: Some foundations are exempt from supervision, or have ecclesiastical supervisory authorities. These are grouped under "Others".