What Schweizer Berghilfe does

Schweizer Berghilfe is a Swiss charitable foundation (Stiftung Schweizer Berghilfe), founded in 1943 and headquartered in Adliswil, canton of Zürich, that finances itself exclusively through donations and has held ZEWO certification continuously since 1953. The foundation's mission is to counteract depopulation from Swiss mountain regions by funding projects that create jobs and economic value in alpine areas. It supports small family-run businesses, alpine farms, hospitality operators, wood-processing enterprises, and nonprofit associations across all Swiss mountain cantons, with project categories spanning agriculture, tourism, trade/craft, forestry/wood, energy, education, and emergency aid. Grants are awarded through a dedicated online application portal at gesuch.berghilfe.ch and assessed by a panel of internal experts.

The foundation operates a diversified donation platform rather than commercial products. Donation instruments include Projektspende (project-tied giving), Allgemeine Spende (general fund), Monatsprojekte (monthly recurring giving), Ereignisspende (event-based giving via Sammelkässeli collection boxes), Trauerspende (memorial giving), and Erbschaft/Legat und Fonds (legacy and estate giving). Additional non-financial engagement products include Freiwillige Arbeitseinsätze (volunteer work assignments), Bergwärts Tours (organized mountain excursions), and a free print Berghilfe Magazin available by subscription. Donor outreach runs through the trilingual berghilfe.ch / aidemontagne.ch / aiutomontagna.ch websites, an email newsletter, a Facebook / Instagram / YouTube / LinkedIn social presence, and the annual Prix Montagne award program that recognizes outstanding mountain-region projects. The organization has 43 employees and no subsidiaries, parent entity, or external investors.

The business model is donation-funded and nonprofit. The foundation has no commercial revenue streams, no public listing, no parent company, and no disclosed financial figures; revenue flows entirely from individual donors, event-based collections, legacy giving, and corporate or institutional donations filtered through the ZEWO-certified framework. Strategic programmatic emphasis for 2026 has been placed on wood-processing businesses, and a multi-year partnership with Stiftung Ferien im Baudenkmal (since 2019) channels joint funding toward heritage building preservation in mountain villages. The foundation's competitive position rests on its 80+ year operating history, continuous ZEWO certification, national trilingual reach, and broad-based donor and beneficiary diversification rather than on technology differentiation.

Name

Schweizer Berghilfe

Legal name

Stiftung Schweizer Berghilfe

Website

https://berghilfe.ch

Company type

Private

Founded year

1943

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Schweizer Berghilfe is a Swiss ZEWO-certified charitable foundation, founded in 1943 and headquartered in Adliswil, that funds projects creating jobs and economic value in Swiss mountain regions exclusively through donations, supporting small farms, family hotels, alpine huts, and craft businesses.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Charitable Foundation / Mountain Region Grant Funding

NAICS

Grantmaking Foundations (813211), Grantmaking and Giving Services (8132)

SIC

Services-Social Services (8300)

akta.pro primary industry

Community Foundations (BPAGAKAB)

Keywords

• Charitable foundation
• Mountain region support
• Project grant funding
• Donation programs
• Rural community development

Headquarters

HQ city

Adliswil

HQ country

Switzerland

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Donations and charitable contributions: The Schweizer Berghilfe is a charitable foundation that finances itself exclusively through donations. It has been ZEWO-certified since 1953, indicating trustworthy handling of charitable funds. No commercial revenue streams are generated.

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Schweizer Berghilfe is a Swiss charitable foundation (Stiftung) that provides financial grants to projects creating jobs and economic value in Swiss mountain regions. Its offerings include project funding grants distributed through an online application portal, multiple donation products (general, project-tied, monthly, event, memorial, and legacy), volunteer work assignments, organized Bergwärts tours, and a complimentary print magazine. The foundation is financed exclusively through donations and has been ZEWO-certified since 1953.

Product overview

Schweizer Berghilfe is a charitable foundation (Stiftung) established in 1943 that supports projects creating jobs and economic value in Swiss mountain regions. The organization operates primarily as a donation-based charitable platform, offering multiple donation products including general donations (Allgemeine Spende), project donations (Projektspende), monthly project donations (Monatsprojekte), event donations (Ereignisspende), memorial donations (Trauerspende), and legacy/inheritance options (Erbschaft, Legat und Fonds). The foundation also facilitates volunteer work assignments (Freiwillige Arbeitseinsätze) and organizes Bergwärts Tours. A complimentary magazine publication is available to supporters. Project funding applications are processed through the gesuch.berghilfe.ch portal, supporting sectors including agriculture, tourism, trade, forestry, energy, education, and emergency aid. The organization is funded entirely through donations and has been ZEWO-certified since 1953.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Projektförderung (Project Funding Grants) Financial grants for projects in Swiss mountain areas that create jobs and economic value, covering sectors such as agriculture, tourism, trade, forestry/wood, energy, education, and emergency aid. Target audience: small businesses, farms, hospitality operators, and associations in mountain regions that cannot secure conventional funding.
• Gesuchsportal (Project Application Portal) Online application portal (gesuch.berghilfe.ch) where applicants in Swiss mountain regions submit project funding requests across categories such as agriculture, tourism, trade, forestry/wood, energy, education, and emergency aid. Target audience: small businesses, farms, and associations seeking project funding.
• Projektspende (Project Donation) Donations directed to specific projects that supporters can choose, allowing donors to target their support to families or communities in specific Swiss mountain regions.
• Allgemeine Spende (General Donation) General donations to the Schweizer Berghilfe fund, supporting the foundation's overall mission of creating jobs and economic value in Swiss mountain regions.
• Monatsprojekte (Monthly Projects) Recurring monthly donations supporting selected mountain region projects on an ongoing basis.
• Ereignisspende (Event Donation) Donations made in connection with events such as birthdays, weddings, company parties, or retirements, typically combined with use of the Sammelkässeli collection box.
• Sammelkässeli (Collection Box) A free collection box that can be ordered for celebrations and events to collect donations in favor of the Swiss mountain population; collected proceeds are forwarded to Schweizer Berghilfe.
• Trauerspende (Memorial Donation) Donations made in memory of deceased loved ones, offered as an alternative to funeral flowers, supporting the Swiss mountain population.
• Erbschaft, Legat und Fonds (Inheritance, Legacy and Funds) Legacy and estate planning giving program allowing supporters to leave future gifts to benefit the Swiss mountain population, via inheritance, legacy, or dedicated funds.
• Freiwillige Arbeitseinsätze (Volunteer Work Assignments) Volunteer work program allowing supporters to contribute physical labor to supported projects in Swiss mountain regions.
• Bergwärts Touren (Bergwärts Tours) Organized tours and excursions in Swiss mountain regions, combining outdoor activity with engagement for the Swiss mountains.
• Berghilfe Magazin (Berghilfe Magazine) A free print magazine publication about Swiss mountain life, supported projects, and foundation activities, available in print subscription or single issue orders.

Quantifiable outcome

• Over 80 years of continuous operation supporting mountain communities (since 1943)
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers24 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• Stiftung Ferien im BaudenkmalcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2019Partnership since 2019 to renovate and preserve heritage buildings in Swiss mountain villages. Buildings are restored and rented as holiday apartments, promoting nature-based tourism and enabling encounters between locals and guests. The foundation provides financial support for acquisition and renovation of buildings at risk of collapse.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Broad incumbents

• Schweizer Tafel: A Swiss charitable foundation that redistributes surplus food to those in need. Comparable as a well-known ZEWO-certified Swiss donation-funded foundation, though operating in a different social welfare domain (food poverty vs. mountain regional development).
• Caritas Schweiz: Switzerland's largest humanitarian aid organization, operating nationally with donations and ZEWO certification. Comparable as a major Swiss donation-funded charitable organization with similar donor acquisition channels, though with a poverty-focused rather than regional-development mandate.
• SOS Kinderdorf Schweiz: A major Swiss donation-funded charitable foundation focused on children and families. Comparable as a peer-sized, ZEWO-certified Swiss foundation relying on diversified donation products (general, legacy, monthly), though operating in a different cause area.
• Pro Natura: Switzerland's oldest and largest nature conservation foundation. Comparable to Schweizer Berghilfe as a major Swiss ZEWO-certified donation-funded foundation, but with a broader (national, biodiversity-focused) rather than mountain-specific mandate.

Direct peers

• Bergwaldprojekt: A Swiss charitable foundation that organizes volunteer work in mountain forests and supports sustainable forest management in mountain regions. Directly comparable to Schweizer Berghilfe given its shared Swiss mountain-region mission, volunteer-based programming, and reliance on donations.
• CIPRA International: The International Commission for the Protection of the Alps, an umbrella organization working across Alpine countries. Comparable to Schweizer Berghilfe for its mountain-region focus, though operating internationally and on policy rather than direct project grants.
• Stiftung Ferien im Baudenkmal: A Swiss foundation that renovates heritage buildings for use as holiday accommodations. Directly comparable because it is an existing Schweizer Berghilfe partner (since 2019) operating in adjacent mountain-heritage and tourism space with similar grant/project funding dynamics.
• Stiftung Landschaftsschutz Schweiz (SL): A Swiss foundation dedicated to preserving and shaping Swiss landscapes, including mountain regions. Highly comparable to Schweizer Berghilfe in mission (Swiss landscape and rural vitality), funding model (donations plus ZEWO-certified), and national scope.
• Mountain Wilderness Schweiz: The Swiss chapter of an international mountain advocacy NGO. Comparable through its explicit Alpine-region mission and donation-funded nonprofit structure, though focused on advocacy and wilderness preservation rather than economic development grants.

Regional players

• Stiftung Natur & Wirtschaft: A Swiss foundation promoting biodiversity-friendly land management. Comparable as a domestic Swiss donation-funded foundation with similar scale and trust positioning, though with a landscape/biodiversity rather than socioeconomic regional-development focus.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/user/schweizerberghilfe
• Facebookfacebook.com/berghilfe
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/schweizer-berghilfe
• Instagraminstagram.com/berghilfe

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Schweizer Berghilfe