23.03.2023Submit a Funding Request to the UZH Foundation

The UZH Foundation works on behalf of the Executive Board of the University and helps raise funds for excellent research projects. The foundation works on a project-by-project basis and acquires new private funds for each assignment – from foundations, companies or donors. “Our focus is on larger projects of half a million francs and more, but that doesn’t mean we don’t also do smaller projects,” says Laura Furlanetto of the UZH Foundation.

If you would like to apply for fundraising support for a research project, it’s best to get in touch with the foundation directly. “We’ll evaluate the project together and see how suitable it is for fundraising support, especially in terms of opportunities on the fundraising market,” says Furlanetto.

Generally, the following criteria play a role when it comes to supporting fundraising:

• The research project should be aligned with the strategic priorities of the University of Zurich – such as precision medicine, sustainability or equal opportunities.
• The research project has long-term, wide-ranging benefits for society.
• The project can be clearly distinguished from other previous or similar research projects.
• The funding options via public funds and third-party funds (e.g. SNSF) have already been exhausted.
• It helps if the research is interdisciplinary.

Submitting a fundraising request

When it’s clear that a project is suitable for support, the project heads need to prepare a fundraising request and submit it to the UZH Foundation. The request should give an overview over the research project and its key data. “Together with the Vice President Research, we then review the project to ensure that it meets the relevant criteria,” says Furlanetto.

If the research project is deemed suitable for fundraising, the UZH Foundation will prepare a motion to the Executive Board of the University. The Executive Board then deals with the motion at its next meeting and decides whether or not to award a fundraising mandate to the UZH Foundation.

Next: fundraising concept

If the Executive Board does this, the UZH Foundation develops a fundraising concept together with the project managers. This concept covers the content of the project, its goals, timeline, budget and application dossier as well as suitable communication measures.

If the Executive Board decides not to issue a mandate to the UZH Foundation, the foundation will support the researchers in finding other potentially suitable foundations or review the project’s description to better catch the attention of other possible donors.