Foundation

About us

Annual reports

Code of con­duct

About us

Somaha Foun­da­tion sup­ports peo­ple in need, is com­mit­ted to an open and diverse society, and is enga­ged in pro­tec­ting nature from explo­ita­tion and des­truc­tion. It stri­ves to deploy its resour­ces to maxi­mize its con­tri­bu­tion toward sup­port­ing initia­ti­ves in the public inte­rest. To this end, it sup­ports indi­vi­dual pro­jects and col­la­bo­ra­tes with Swiss fun­ding part­ners in multi-year part­ner­ships.

Somaha Foun­da­tion was estab­lished in 2021 on the initia­tive of a Swiss donor and is fun­ded by pri­vate donors. Somaha is an acro­nym for­med by “some­thing mar­ve­lous hap­pened”. Inspi­red by the children’s musi­cal Seal Mai­den by Irish sin­ger Karan Casey, this posi­tive mes­sage is the basis and drive for Somaha Foun­da­tion.

Our values

The foun­der under­stands his wealth as a pri­vi­lege and as a duty to pru­dently use and share the resour­ces pla­ced in his hands. He intends to put this phi­lo­so­phy into prac­tice by acting accor­ding to the fol­lo­wing values:

  • Soli­da­rity through hel­ping and advo­ca­ting for peo­ple in need.
  • Tole­rance as respect for social diver­sity and reco­gni­tion of other beliefs and lines of action.
  • Sus­taina­bi­lity to pro­tect nature and its capa­city for rege­ne­ra­tion.

Somaha Foun­da­tion has an unli­mi­ted dura­tion. It thus pro­vi­des future gene­ra­ti­ons the oppor­tu­nity to rea­lize these values in their own way.

Our objectives

Somaha Foun­da­tion aims to alle­viate the hard­ship of peo­ple in need, to con­tri­bute to an open and diverse society, and to pro­tect nature from explo­ita­tion and des­truc­tion.

The fun­ding gui­de­lines con­cre­tize these goals and define the con­di­ti­ons and cri­te­ria for the foundation’s fun­ding. They are reviewed regu­larly and adapted if neces­sary.

Our organization

The Somaha office is respon­si­ble for the ope­ra­tio­nal work of the Somaha Foun­da­tion — from revie­w­ing appli­ca­ti­ons to moni­to­ring, eva­lua­ting, and com­mu­ni­ca­ting pro­jects. The foundation’s acti­vi­ties stra­tegy is deter­mi­ned by the Board of Trus­tees, which makes all fun­da­men­tal decis­i­ons. An invest­ment com­mit­tee moni­tors the invest­ment stra­tegy and the per­for­mance of the assets as deter­mi­ned by the Board of Trus­tees. The inde­pen­dent audi­ting firm Beret AG con­trols the book­kee­ping and the annual finan­cial reports. Somaha Foun­da­tion is under the super­vi­sion of the Fede­ral Depart­ment of Home Affairs. Somaha Foun­da­tion has been a mem­ber of Swiss­Foun­da­ti­ons since 2021.

Our team

Roger Baumann
Board Member

Deborah Buschor
Project Manager

Sabine Fellmann
Lead Partnerships / Deputy MD

Jörg Gasser
Board Member

Eva Maria Jaag
Managing Director / Board Member

Christian Jaag
Board Chair

Marisa Saladin
Project Manager

Ana Sanchez
Working Student

Vanessa Vogt
Assistent

Annual reports

Annual report 2023 (PDF)

Annual report 2022 (PDF)

Annual report 2021 (PDF)

Code of conduct

The fol­lo­wing prin­ci­ples apply to the con­duct of us and our part­ners:

We com­ply with the law: Somaha Foun­da­tion com­plies with appli­ca­ble law in all its acti­vi­ties. Swiss law forms the frame­work for our founda-tion’s phil­an­thro­pic work. Acting under the law includes the ful­fill­ment of and com­pli­ance with con­tracts.

We act cha­ri­ta­bly: Somaha Foun­da­tion is a cha­ri­ta­ble foun­da­tion. It pur­sues exclu­si­vely and directly phil­an­thro­pic pur­po­ses. It ope­ra­tes inde­pendently of party poli­tics.

We are obli­ga­ted to our deed of foun­da­tion: Accor­ding to the foundation’s deed, the foundation’s objec­ti­ves are to sup­port peo­ple in need and an open and diverse society and to pro­tect nature from explo­ita­tion and des­truc­tion. The foun­da­tion uses its resour­ces only for its objec-tives. It sup­ports no pro­jects which are not rela­ted to the pur­pose of the foun­da­tion.

We use our resour­ces meaningfully and appro­pria­tely: All employees and pro­ject part­ners ensure that the foundation’s resour­ces are used fol­lo­wing the foundation’s pur­pose.

We set high stan­dards for our work: Somaha Foun­da­tion sets the hig­hest stan­dards for its acti­vi­ties and those of its pro­ject part­ners. Pro-jects have clear objec­ti­ves and are ori­en­ted toward eco­lo­gi­cal, social, and eco­no­mic sus­taina­bi­lity. Rese­arch stu­dies are always con­duc­ted in an open-ended, metho­di­cal, and sys­te­ma­tic man­ner to address cle­arly defi­ned ques­ti­ons. The foun­da­tion sys­te­ma­ti­cally eva­lua­tes its acti­vi­ties and stri­ves for con­ti­nuous impro­ve­ment.

We care for peo­ple and nature: Somaha Foun­da­tion is com­mit­ted to a healthy work­place. All employees must com­ply with any safety regula-tions and sen­si­tize others. Somaha Foun­da­tion under­stands that acting in an envi­ron­men­tally con­scious man­ner with the aim of pro­tec­ting nature is an expres­sion of its respon­si­bi­lity. The­r­e­fore, all employees are cal­led upon to act in an envi­ron­men­tally con­scious man­ner in their pro­fes­sio­nal acti­vi­ties. This includes the eco­no­mical use of working mate­ri­als and energy.

We treat each other with open­ness and tole­rance: At Somaha Foun­da­tion, all employees are entit­led to respectful inter­ac­tion, a trus­ting work­place, and equal oppor­tu­ni­ties. Respect and tole­rance are essen­tial com­pon­ents of our cul­ture. Dis­cri­mi­na­tion has no place at Somaha Foun­da­tion. The dignity of ever­yone is respec­ted, and all encoun­ters occur in an envi­ron­ment of cour­tesy and mutual respect.

We ensure trans­pa­rency in our work: Somaha Foun­da­tion belie­ves in trans­pa­rent com­mu­ni­ca­tion to ack­now­ledge its respon­si­bi­lity to society. We pro­vide the public with essen­tial fac­tual and eco­no­mic infor­ma­tion about our acti­vi­ties.

We work in part­ner­ship and with clear rules: Somaha Foun­da­tion stri­ves to build a strong foun­da­tion of trust with exter­nal part­ners. Somaha Foundation’s per­for­mance rela­ti­onships and obli­ga­ti­ons must always be laid down in con­tracts.

We avoid con­flicts of inte­rest: If employees are offe­red gifts or other bene­fits in the course of their work, they are obli­ged to inform their super­vi­sor imme­dia­tely in order to have the lega­lity of the offer che­cked. This does not apply if the gifts are appro­priate for a par­ti­cu­lar occa­sion. If per­so­nal inte­rests con­flict with the inte­rests of the Founda-tion, this con­flict must be dis­c­lo­sed as soon as pos­si­ble.

Somaha code of con­duct (PDF)