Gland VD – The MAVA Foundation for Nature and Culture ends its activity this year. Since 1994, it has supported over 1400 sustainability projects worldwide with more than 1 billion Swiss francs. Among other things, there is a book at the end.
The MAVA Foundation, based in Gland, has been a major funder of sustainability projects for nearly three decades. In Switzerland alone, it spent a total of 98 million Swiss francs on such projects between 1994 and 2021, according to the 2021 Annual Report. In total, it spent 1.095 billion francs on 1444 projects during this period. The largest share, amounting to 420 million Swiss francs, went to the Mediterranean region during this period. West Africa was the second largest regional focus with 150 million Swiss francs.
The MAVA Foundation was founded in 1994 by Luc Hoffmann, co-founder of WWF. In the meantime, the foundation is presided over by his son André Hoffmann, Vice Chairman of the Roche Board of Directors. As envisaged from the outset, the next generation of Roche heirs can now use the assets for other purposes.
In its last years, the foundation has helped to ensure that projects it supports can continue without MAVA. For example, projects in the Mediterranean and West Africa have already received 50.1 million francs from other partners, as well as another 99.5 million francs pledged for future continuation, MAVA Director General Lynda Mansson writes in a blog post.
The foundation also wants to share its experience in supporting sustainable projects. To this end, 24 workshops were held and a series of final reports were published. The history of the foundation is presented in a book. The foundation itself will celebrate its graduation on March 9, 2023, with a ceremony that will also be broadcast on the Internet. stk
