Fondation Botnar

📢 We're hiring! Join our team as a Portfolio Manager in Basel. In this role, you will play a key part in developing, managing, and providing strategic oversight of our portfolios in Sub-Saharan Africa and Latin America, as well as in partnership management. Supporting programmes and partner organisations throughout the entire grant lifecycle, you will work closely with local, national, and international partners. We're looking for a professional with 5–10 years of experience in international programme management and solid hands-on field experience. You have worked with young people, have a genuine interest in addressing complex social challenges, and thrive in intercultural, collaborative environments. If you're motivated to contribute to our purpose-driven organisation working to improve young people's wellbeing and uphold their rights, we'd love to hear from you. 🗓️ Deadline: 15 August 2026 📍 Basel | 80–100% 🇨🇭 Swiss/EU/EFTA citizenship or a valid Swiss work permit required 👉 Learn more and apply: https://lnkd.in/ebHUeb9t #Hiring #Philanthropy #YouthWellbeing #InternationalDevelopment

2025 was a year of reflection, strategic alignment, and building momentum at Fondation Botnar. As we look ahead, we are turning these learnings into action: strengthening local ecosystems, deepening collaboration, and advancing more connected approaches to young people’s wellbeing. 👉 Explore our Annual Report to learn more. https://lnkd.in/eQpAiUSf

As Sushant Sharma prepares to leave Fondation Botnar, we want to take a moment to celebrate his remarkable nine-year journey with us. As our inaugural Chief Investment Officer, Sushant played an instrumental role in shaping and stewarding our investment strategy, embedding sustainable and impact-oriented investing and contributing to our broader strategic work during a pivotal period in the foundation’s development. He also helped develop our venture philanthropy approach and portfolio, enabling Fondation Botnar to become one of the few Swiss foundations to invest in early-stage start-ups with the potential to positively transform health, education, and technology systems for young people in low- and middle- income countries. His deep expertise, thoughtful leadership, and a fresh perspective on philanthropy strengthened both our asset management and impact ambitions. But beyond his professional contributions, we will especially miss the energy, curiosity, and commitment he brought to the team every day. We are grateful that he will continue to support the foundation in an advisory role until the end of the year. Thank you, Sushant, for everything you have contributed to Fondation Botnar. We look forward to seeing where your passion and purpose will take you next.

🌍 Our thematic work translates our strategy into practice — bringing together partners, evidence, and young people’s perspectives to strengthen the systems that support wellbeing. In 2025, we deepened our understanding of what drives lasting change, from youth participation in city systems and rights-based digital governance to collective leadership in education and cross-sector collaboration for mental health — all toward advancing young people’s wellbeing. Swipe through to explore the key thematic developments from the year. 👉 Read more in our Annual Report 2025.

Today, together with a group of Swiss foundations, we have endorsed a joint statement on the future of Switzerland’s international cooperation.   We are concerned about the decisions of the Federal Council regarding the future direction of Switzerland’s international cooperation. Of particular concern to us is the significant shift towards short-term crisis response and humanitarian aid at the expense of long-term development cooperation.   Humanitarian aid is indispensable. It protects people in acute emergencies and saves lives. Yet expanding at the expense of long-term development cooperation is short-sighted. Especially at a time of growing global uncertainty, investments in education, health, climate action, economic opportunities, and effective institutions are among the most powerful tools for reducing poverty, fragility and instability and for addressing their root causes. As philanthropic organisations, we know that philanthropy can catalyse innovation and partnership. But it cannot replace public international cooperation. Strong public investment provides the foundation on which many philanthropic initiatives can achieve lasting impact.   We therefore join the call for the Federal Council and Parliament to preserve Switzerland’s strengths in international cooperation and continue investing in approaches that promote peace, resilience, and sustainable development. Read our statement below ⬇️ Fondation Arcanum • Fondation Audemars-Watkins (FAW) • Arthur Waser Foundation • BeThatGirl • Jacobs Foundation • Federer Foundation • LGT Venture Philanthropy • PeaceNexus Foundation • regenerative Foundation • Fondation Pro Victimis • Somaha Foundation • Stanley Thomas Johnson Stiftung • The Dariu Foundation • Ursimone Wietlisbach Foundation • Wyss Academy for Nature • Z Zurich Foundation

Learning plays a central role in advancing our mission, supporting young people’s wellbeing and rights. Throughout 2025, we reflected on lessons from partners, programmes, and evaluations to better understand what strengthens the ecosystems surrounding young people — and where more effort is still needed. From youth participation and strategic collaboration to local anchoring, these insights are shaping how we move forward. Swipe through to explore three key insights from the year. 👉 Read more in our Annual Report. https://lnkd.in/eQpAiUSf

🌍 Today, we publish our Annual Report 2025. In a rapidly changing world, 2025 was a year of reflection, strategic alignment, and building momentum in support of young people’s wellbeing and rights. Working alongside partners and young people, we reflected on what improves their wellbeing and deepened our understanding of how change happens. Our Annual Report reflects on these learnings — and the insights shaping how we put our strategy into practice. Explore the key milestones, insights, and learnings from the year 👇 https://lnkd.in/eQpAiUSf

We warmly congratulate our CEO, Andrea Martina Studer, on her appointment to the Board of SwissFoundations. At Fondation Botnar, we believe that strong, collaborative, and forward-looking philanthropy is essential to addressing today’s complex challenges — especially when it comes to advancing the wellbeing and rights of young people. We look forward to continuing to contribute to a philanthropic sector rooted in solidarity, partnership, and long-term change.

Congratulations to the Foundation for Global Partnership for Education on its launch.   We believe that quality public education is essential to young people's wellbeing and future opportunities. We're pleased to support an initiative that brings partners together to strengthen education systems and expand access to quality education worldwide. Global Partnership for Education // Foundation for Global Partnership for Education

This week at the 79th World Health Assembly #WHA79, our team joined partners in Geneva to advance dialogue and collective action on adolescent health and wellbeing. This year’s Assembly takes place amidst shrinking global health budgets, geopolitical crises, and the risk of widening health inequities. A recurring message throughout the week was clear: addressing today’s interconnected health challenges requires rules-based multilateral cooperation, underpinned by a common commitment to human rights, equity and inclusion to achieve health for all. Across a dynamic week of events and exchanges, discussions focused on responsible AI and digital health governance, online safety, suicide prevention, mental health, and youth-responsive health systems — including how trusted data governance, equitable digital transformation, and holistic and person-centred approaches to care can improve outcomes for young people globally. Thank you to our engaged partners for their continued and sustained efforts: Transform Health, Being Initiative, United for Global Mental Health, Orygen, World Health Organization, United Nations Human Rights, Digital Health and Rights Project, and others. We also welcomed the growing role of philanthropic and multi-sectoral partnerships, including important leadership by PMNCH, in catalysing collective action in countries and helping keep adolescent wellbeing high on the global agenda. Special thanks to the Permanent Mission of Switzerland to the United Nations Office in Geneva for bringing together new actors for renewed energy toward a global agenda for adolescent wellbeing, alongside Children's Investment Fund Foundation (CIFF), The Rockefeller Foundation, The Hong Kong Jockey Club, Temasek Foundation, Governments of Norway, Spain, Botswana, Sweden, Federal Office of Public Health FOPH and Federal Department of Foreign Affairs FDFA. Key takeaways: 🏛️ Prioritise adolescent wellbeing through stronger political commitment, sustained investment, and accountability. 🤝 Strengthen collaboration across health, education, urban systems, and digital governance to better support young people. 💻 Ensure digital health and AI are inclusive, safe, rights-based, and equitable for adolescents. 🧠 Sustain political commitment and progress on mental health, and ensure it remains central to deliberations on the Global Health Architecture. 📊 Turn evidence into measurable action through stronger national leadership, capacity, and practical policy tools. 🧑🤝🧑 Invest in meaningful youth engagement and prevention-focused approaches that improve health and wellbeing across the life course. 🌍 Build stronger philanthropic and multi-sector partnerships that accelerate action while reinforcing public systems, data sovereignty, and local leadership. Flavia Bustreo, Katharina Pompilio-Herold, Ursula (Ulla) Jasper, Aline Cossy-Gantner, Fiona Smith, Yvonne Arivalagan Switzerland at the United Nations & other International Organisations