12 June 2025

The 11th Swiss Philanthropy Studies Workshop of the CEPS Research Fellow Network took place on 12 June 2025 at the Faculty of Law, University of Basel. The event was held in English and featured a diverse set of presentations on current topics in philanthropic research. The following contributions were presented:

• Motivation and religion in philanthropy: A comparison of an atheist and religious nations in Central Europe (Oto Potluka, Jakub Dostal, Vladimir Hyanek, Lenka Svecova)
• How do philanthropic foundations serve as leaders for international development? An Empirical Analysis of the Grant Allocation of U.S.-based Global Foundations (Kinga Zsófia Horváth, Omar Hussein)
• Addressing mental health needs after a public health crisis: stakeholders' recommendations and implementation scenarios (Camilla Sculco, Manuela Barreca, Marco Meneguzzo, Emiliano Albanese)
• The science based targets initiative at a governance crossroads: Between corporate interests and governing the commons (Marybel Perez, Alejandro Agafonow)
• AI-supported accounting for NGOs / Experiences of a start-up entrepreneur in the development of an InnoSuisse project (Matthias Meyer)
• Civil society engagement in crises (Sigrid Haunberger)
• Strategic philanthropy in post-crisis recovery: Building public-private partnerships for sustainable impact(Mariana Melnykovych)
• United Nations system in the time of global turbulence: Reinventing the role of philanthropy – the UNICEF case (Anita Budziszewska)
• Research meets practice: Our project works at the interface between research and practice (Daniela Mühlenberg-Schmitz)

19. September 2024

On 19 September 2024, the tenth Swiss Philanthropy Studies Workshop of the CEPS Research Fellow Network took place. The following topics were discussed:

• Does philanthropy have an image crisis? Evidence from U.S. newspaper articles from 1840-2023 (Dominik Meier)
• Civil society engagement in crises (Sigrid Haunberger)
• Private Sector Engagement: The Nascent Stage of the PSE Approach at Caritas Switzerland  (Sibylle Studer, Maciej Chmielewski)
• Philanthropy, international relations, and culture: Identity based philanthropy (Anita Budziszewska)
• Collaboration of foundations with public administration in cross-border territories (Marcel Oster, Oto Potluka)
• Outsourcing of services in retirement and nursing homes to nonprofits + additional data from central Europe (Matthias Meyer, Oto Potluka)
• Compensations for board members of foundations (Daniel Zöbeli)

26. September 2023

The ninth Swiss Philanthropy Studies Workshop of the CEPS Research Fellow Network took place on 26 September 2023. The following topics were discussed: 

• Project proposal: Aging as a challenge for volunteering and eHealth (Oto Potluka)
• Project proposal: Civil Society Engagement in Polcycrises ( Sigrid Haunberger)
• Influences of norm transgressions and person-organization fit on volunteer loyalty. (Maria Jedicke / Jörg Lindenmeier)
• Care Resco – A care community project (Florian Liberatore)
• Is investing still worth for NPOs? (Luzius Neubert)
• Compassion for all: Real-world online donations contradict compassion fade theory (Dominik Meier)
• The expansion of non-value-adding processes analysed under the aspect of digital transformation - a potential for NPO research? (Oto Potluka)
• UPRUN: Urban Planning for Social Resilience in Urban Neighbourhoods. Transformative Change through Civic Engagement (ERASMUS+ project) (Oto Potluka)

27 September 2022

On 27 September 2022, the eighth Swiss Philanthropy Studies Workshop of the CEPS Research Fellow Network took place. The following topics were discussed:

• Middle-class formal volunteering over time: Case of Switzerland 2006–20 (Oto Potluka)
• Volunteer management in civil society organizations: Recruiting, accompanying and honoring voluntary engagement of elderly (Sigrid Haunberger)
• How should tax incentives for individual donors promote philanthropy in Switzerland? (Giedre Lideikyte Huber)
• Conscious abstinence: Shifting boundaries in philanthropy (Georg von Schnurbein)
• Role of civil society in time of global crisis: Example of war in Ukraine (Mariana Melnykovych)
• Corporate philanthropy and business performance: Case of Czechia (Marie Hladka)
• Temporary work in mass vaccination centers during pandemic: Findings from a survey among temporary staff of COVID-19 vaccination centers in Switzerland (Florian Liberatore)
• All good things come to an end: Managing transitioning phases and creating an impact in sunset foundations (Alice Hengevoss)

September 23, 2021 

The seventh Swiss Philanthropy Studies Workshop of the CEPS Research Fellow Network took place on September 23, 2021. Due to the pandemic situation, the workshop was organized in a hybrid way. This allowed 10 participants to participate on-site and another 10 participants to participate online. The following current topics were discussed: 

- Digitalization of civil society in Switzerland (Oto Potluka, Dominik Meier, Matthias Meyer).

- Development of civil society in Poland (Aleksandra Belina).

- The role of social innovation in society (Mariana Melnykovych)

- Impactful family philanthropy (Malgorzata Kurak)

- Financial options of NPOs (Luzius Neubert)

25 November 2020

The sixth Swiss Philanthropy Studies Workshop of the CEPS Research Fellow Network took place on November 25, 2020. Due to the Corona pandemic, participants met online in an abbreviated workshop that included three presentations on the topics of volunteers and sustainable investing.

• Gelingender Einsatz von Freiwilligen in der Interprofessionellen Versorgung (Georg von Schnurbein, Florian Liberatore)
• Why people volunteer again, and why they stop: What survey data from Switzerland and Germany tell us (Sigrid Haunberger, Oto Potluka)
• Sustainable investing: What are regulatory initiatives in Switzerland, and what can nonprofits do? (Luzius Neubert)

26 September 2019

On 26 September 2019, the CEPS Research Fellows met for the fifth Swiss Philanthropy Studies Workshop. Among the topics discussed at this year's workshop were:

•     Volunteer work (Georg von Schnurbein, Florian Liberatore, Sigrid Haunberger, Oto Potluka)
•     Legal issues of taxation and philanthropy (Giedre Lideikyte Huber, Philip Balsiger, Alexandre Lambelet, Caroline Honegger, Romain Carnac)
•     Compensation of members of the foundation boards (Daniel Zöbeli)
•     Transdisciplinary philanthropy research (Sybille Studer), e.g. cooperation of NPOs and corporations (Rebecca Reichenbach, Jörg Lindenmeier) or the public sector (Manuela Barreca)
•     New research topics in philanthropy (Marcella Müller, Jörg Lindenmeier)

11 September 2018

The CEPS Research Fellows met again this year – for the fourth time – at the Swiss Philanthropy Studies Workshop. The following exciting topics were discussed:

•     Empirical Study on Participation in the Online Hospitality Network (Jana Juric and Jörg Lindenmeier)
•     The Role of Nonprofits in Knowledge and Technology Transfer (Titian Fritz)
•     Patient Co-Creation: Perspectives and Challenges for Research and Practice (Florian Liberatore)
•     Bitcoins, Robo-advice and Crowdfunding: Suitable for grant-making foundations? (Luzius Neubert)
•     Transformative Leadership (Karin Jors / Jörg Lindenmeier) and Formal and Informal Leadership in Local Development (Oto Potluka)
•     Consumer resistance behavior among clients (Stefan Trautwein / Jörg Lindenmeier)
•     Future expectations of NPOs and evolving research topics (Georg von Schnurbein)

20 September 2017

On September 20, the CEPS Research Fellows met for the third Swiss Philanthropy Studies Workshop. The following research topics were discussed:

• Purpose-based Organisations in the German speaking World (Matthias Meyer)
• Using egocentric social network analysis for assessing the effect of word-of-mouth on campaign effectiveness (Florian Liberatore)
• Cultural differences in charitable giving: A case of Röstigraben (Oto Potluka and Sophie Hersberger)
• Tax Authorities, Philanthropic Foundations, and the Recognition of Public Utility: the Moving Boundaries of the Welfare State in Switzerland (Alexandre Lambelet)
• A Logic Framework Approach to Nonprofit Investment Management (Tizian M. Fritz)
• Reserve and Investment Policy of Swiss Nonprofits (Luzius Neubert)
• Parental Satisfaction – der Einfluss von Ko-Produktion auf die Zufriedenheit mit Kindertageseinrichtungen (Ann-Kathrin Seemann and Jörg Lindemeier)

27 September 2016

The following research topics were discussed:

• Effects of Mission-based Portfolio Selection (Tizian M. Fritz)
• Investment returns and management fees of grant-making foundations in Switzerland (Luzius Neubert)
• Volunteering and social integration (Sybille Studer)
• Local politicians as civil society representatives (Oto Potluka)
• “Zweckbasierung” of Nonprofit and Public Organisations (Matthias Meyer)
• Networked Governance in Global Health Partnerships (Marybel Perez and Georg von Schnurbein)

Der Schwankungsfonds: Finanzierung sozialer Einrichtungen im Umbruch (Daniel Zöbeli)

6 October 2015

The following research topics were discussed:

• Mission Investing and financial management of foundations (Luzius Neubert and Silvia Rudigier)
• Comparative research of the third sector (Theresa Gehringer, Marybel Perez and Georg von Schnurbein)
• role of non-profit organizations in the formation of public policy (Oto Potluka)
• provision of public services on a local level (Matthias Meyer)

In addition, the participants discussed the further development of the network and the preparation of mutual research projects.