Migros Aid Fund

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The Migros Aid Fund supports projects that benefit humankind and nature. Every year, one million Swiss Francs are earmarked for projects in Switzerland and abroad.

Since it was established in 1979 the Migros Aid Fund has been fostering social and ecological development projects in Switzerland and abroad. Each year one million francs of grant funding is made available for these projects. So far we have invested over 43 million francs.

Help for self-help

The aim of the projects supported by the Migros Aid Fund is to support minorities and to promote inclusivity for rural populations. They are professionally structured, following the principle of help for self-help, and are distinctive for their social, economic and ecologically sustainable approach. As a rule, the projects receive grants of between 40,000 and 100,000 francs.

Following the principles of Gottlieb Duttweiler, Migros uses the fund to help disadvantaged people, including in particular children, young people, and women. A delegated working group from the Federation of Migros Cooperatives meets three or four times a year to decide on the applications to the fund.

Projects we have helped

Each year, around 20 projects run by recognised non-profit organisations based in Switzerland receive financial assistance. Since 2021, these included:

Association Nai Qala A school building project in Afghanistan
Swissaid Fish farming in Tanzania. Securing food and work for small farmers and their families with sustainable fish farming in Tanzania
Velafrica Setting up a vocational training programme for bicycle mechanics in Burkina Faso
Women’s Hope Improving healthcare for mothers and children in Egypt by supporting citizens’ initiatives
Nouvelle planète Promoting sustainable market gardening in Ndiognick, Senegal
Eirene Suisse Ecological agricultural production and food security for farming families in central Haiti
EcoSolidar Food security in Malawi
Horyzon Paza la Paz: a step towards peace in Colombia
WATER FOR WATER Zambia’s future water professionals

In Switzerland the fund has helped projects including the St. Gingolph civil community (restoring a chestnut wood in the Valais region) and sponsorship for mountain communities (renovating the drinking system at Glarus).

Submitting an application

Applications for the regular Migros Aid Fund support and the seed funding for small Swiss regional development projects can be submitted at any time.

Please note that we can only consider applications from the same organisation for Migros Aid Fund support every two years. This also applies to applications that unfortunately were not accepted for funding.

As we are currently receiving an exceptionally high number of applications, new applications cannot be processed until the beginning of 2025 at the earliest.