We are all affected by the growing COVID-19 outbreak. It’s an unprecedented health challenge and we know people and organizations everywhere want to help. The World Health Organization is leading and coordinating the global response, ensuring all countries can prevent, detect, and respond to the pandemic, especially where needs are greatest. WHO now estimates the total financial needs at $1.7 billion to combat COVID19. By the end of 2020, $718 million is still to be collected.
In the context of the current health crisis,WHO launched the first and only pooled fund for individuals, businesses, and organizations to directly contribute to the global COVID-19 response : The COVID-19 Solidarity Response Fund.
To expand the global network of donors WHO partnered with two charitable foundations: The United Nations Foundation and Swiss Philanthropy Foundation. These two foundations will receive donated funds, which will then be used by the World Health Organization and partners to support countries according to the COVID-19 Strategic Preparedness and Response Plan (2019-2020) and its updated version for 2021-2022.
How to donate from or through Switzerland ?
Should you wish to give from or through Switzerland, we recommend you to donate to Swiss Philanthropy Foundation by one of the following two means:
Make a donation by wire transfer, using the following bank details:
For donations in Swiss Francs (CHF):
Account holder: Swiss Philanthropy Foundation, Rue De-Grenus 3, CH-1201 Geneva
Account heading: Covid-19 Fund
IBAN: CH56 0024 0240 9261 81ES B
Bank: UBS Switzerland AG, rue des Noirettes 35, CH-1227 Carouge
Swift/BIC: UBSWCHZH80A
For donations in Euros (EUR):
Account holder: Swiss Philanthropy Foundation, Rue De-Grenus 3, CH-1201 Geneva
Account heading: Covid-19 Fund
IBAN: CH44 0024 0240 9261 81EW L
Bank: UBS Switzerland AG, rue des Noirettes 35, CH-1227 Carouge
Swift/BIC: UBSWCHZH80A
Swiss Philanthropy Foundation is a tax-exempt entity and donations may be deductible to the extent allowable by the Swiss jurisdiction.
To cover its administrative costs, Swiss Philanthropy Foundation deducts a declining contribution on the accumulated donations received: 4% up to CHF 5 million, then 2% up to CHF 10 million, then 1% beyond.
How to donate from Europe, with the Transnational Giving Europe network?
Swiss Philanthropy Foundation is member of the Transnational Giving Europe network. Should you wish to donate from or through Europe, we recommend donors based in selected countries of Europe to contact the corresponding Transnational Giving Europe Partner.
In order to cover the administrative costs of the network, the Transnational Giving Europe partner deducts a contribution of 5% on each donation up to EUR 100,000, then 1% on the residual amount, but at most EUR 15,000.
In addition, in order to cover its administrative costs, Swiss Philanthropy Foundation deducts a declining contribution on the accumulated donations received: 4% up to CHF 5 million, then 2% up to CHF 10 million, then 1% beyond.
Please find below the gift procedures for the participating European countries (donations can be made by wire transfer and for certain countries, online through the TGE online giving platform):
• Austria
Donors living in Austria and wanting to make a donation should first contact the Stiftung Philanthropie Österreich.
Thanks to Luxembourg’s legal framework, donors living in Luxembourg can make their donations directly to a foreign beneficiary (as far as those beneficiaries comply with certain requirements) without passing through TGE and will, under certain conditions, benefit from income tax deductibility in Luxembourg. For more information, please contact Fondation de Luxembourg.
Donors living in the UK and wanting to benefit from Gift Aid should first contact the Charities Aid Foundation before making their donations. After a short KYC (Know Your Customer) procedure, CAF will provide the donor with all the instructions to make his/her donation.
Transnational Giving Europe partners are tax-exempt entities and donations in their favor may be deductible to the extent allowable by their respective jurisdictions.European donors having a residence in a country not listed above can donate directly to Swiss Philanthropy Foundation, according to the above procedure. Such donations will probably not be tax-deductible.
How to donate from Canada and the United States?
Should you wish to give from or through Canada, collaboration has been extended to KBF Canada through the Transnational Giving Europe network. KBF Canada is a tax-exempt entity and donations may be deductible to the extent allowable by the Canadian jurisdiction.
Should you wish to give from or through the United States, online donations made via the COVID19ResponseFund.org website received by the United Nations Foundation are tax deductible in the U.S. to the extent allowable by law.
Donations from governments and their bodies, as well as donations from entities having an affiliation with the alcohol, firearms, and tobacco industries cannot be accepted and will be refunded if received.
Individual donors confirm that they are not employed by or have a significant financial interest (in excess of CHF 5,000) in the alcohol, firearms, or tobacco industries.
Impact : How funds are used ?
Donations to the Covid-19 Solidarity Response Fund are supporting WHO’s unique and critical role in coordinating, supplying, supporting and providing global public goods that no-one else can. They are used by the World Health Organization (WHO) and partners to support countries according to the revised COVID-19 Strategic Preparedness and Response Plan, focused in three areas :
o Supporting vulnerable countries and communities that need it most,
o Ensuring global and regional coordination of response efforts, including coordinating and getting essential supplies of PPE and equipment to health workers
o Speeding up work on treatments, tests and a vaccine available to everyone who needs them.
WHO asked UNICEF, CEPI, World Food Programme (WFP), UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) and UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) to be partners in the Fund, recognizing their essential role in delivering on the Plan’s objectives of accelerating vaccine research and development, and reaching and supporting most vulnerable communities in low-resource countries. As outlined in the plan, the financial resources raised will go to the areas with the greatest need. At the direction of WHO leadership, the Fund expects that resources will go directly towards:
WHO for its work to directly lead efforts to track the spread of the virus, equip frontline health workers with personal protective equipment, ensure lab and testing tools are available in countries around the world, and keep communities and frontline responders informed with the latest technical guidance.
UNICEF, to ensure children and families around the world are equipped with all the evidence-based information and latest WHO guidance as well as locally relevant information to protect themselves from the spread of COVID-19; to support vulnerable countries by providing access to water, sanitation and hygiene, and basic infection prevention and control measures; and to provide access to care for vulnerable families and children.
CEPI, the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations, a key partner leading the financing for research and development for novel vaccines to combat COVID-19, working closely with WHO.
WFP, the World Food Programme (WFP) to airlift vital commodities to countries in most need.
UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, to support internally displaced people and refugees around the world who are particularly vulnerable to COVID-19.
UNRWA, the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East, to prevent, detect, and respond to COVID-19 for refugee populations in Gaza, Jordan, Lebanon, Syria and the West Bank.
Impact report
The World Health Organization regularly publishes impact reports to publicly inform about the use of the fund’s resources and the efforts made by WHO and its partners to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic, in accordance with theCOVID-19 Strategic Preparedness and Response Plan.Below are the latest reports:
Impact report 1 [March 13 to May 1, 2020]: Download here
Impact Report 2 [May 2 to May 31, 2020]: Download here
Impact Report 3 [June 1 – June 30, 2020]: Download here
Impact Report 4 [July 1 – September 30, 2020]: Download here
Impact Report 5 [October 1 – December 31, 2020]: Download here
Previously published on a monthly basis, impact reports are now published quarterly.
In addition, a Progress report on WHO’s COVID-19 response [February 1 to June 30 2020] under the Strategic Preparedness & Response Plan (SPRP) is available : Download it here.
For more information on the Covid-19 Solidarity Response Fund, we invite you to consult following Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
For communication purposes, you may use key messages and assets available in the Partner Toolkit to help you share information about the COVID-19 Solidarity Response Fund with your networks.
Warning | E-mail scams / Phishing : SPF being aware of suspicious E-mail messages trying to take advantage of the COVID-19 situation, please report them to the following address : covid19fund@swissphilanthropy.ch
