Social Commitment

The Migros Culture Percentage – facts and figures

The idea for the Migros Culture Percentage goes back to Migros’s founder Gottlieb Duttweiler. More than 50 years ago, this visionary man established the Culture Percentage in order to make culture and cultural assets available to the less fortunate members of society as well as to make education – for personal and professional development – available to everyone.
Besides the commercial objective of providing goods and services at the best possible value for money, the statutes of the Federation of Migros Cooperatives hold, on an equal footing, the corporate objective of bringing cultural and educational services closer to the broader spectrum of the population. The Migros Culture Percentage is a voluntary commitment of Migros, firmly anchored in the statutes, and active in the sectors of culture, society, education, leisure and the economy.

The Federation of Migros Cooperatives and the ten Migros Cooperatives are committed to making an annual contribution to the Migros Culture Percentage. The amount of this contribution is based on sales turnover, and it continues to be made even when there is a downturn in the performance of the retail sector. Since its inception, Migros has invested more than CHF 3.7 billion to build the value and the activities of the Migros Culture Percentage.

Institutions
The main pillars of the Migros Culture Percentage are institutions in the sectors of culture, society, education, leisure and the economy. They include the Migros Club School, the Eurocentres, the GDI Gottlieb Duttweiler Institute in Ruschlikon, the L’arc in Romainmôtier, the four Green Meadow Parks, the Ferrovia Monte Generoso, as well as the Migros Museum of Contemporary Art.

Diverse cultural access
The cultural projects of the Migros Culture Percentage emerge from the interplay between tradition and innovation. Their target audience is clearly defined and they reach out to a wide spectrum of the population. The key objective is to make it possible for people to access current artistic forms of expression – as artists and as audiences.

Promotion of Swiss culture
Another emphasis of the Migros Culture Percentage is the support of projects with financial contributions and young talent via talent competitions.

Lifelong learning
“Education for everyone” has always been one of the most important activities of the Migros Culture Percentage and has made an essential contribution to the broader population on a very individual level - personal and professional development. So it’s not surprising that more than half of the annual budget is invested in the 50 Migros Club Schools in Switzerland and the 30 Eurocentres language schools in 15 countries.

Migros Aid Fund: Reaching out across frontiers for 30 years

A workshop for carpentry apprentices in Brazil, a centre of competence for goat-breeding in Bergell, electricity for villagers in Madagascar, flood protection in the Grisons Oberland, medical care for mothers in Tanzania ... the Migros aid fund is helping people all over the world to help themselves – and in 2009 celebrated its 30th birthday.

Since it was founded in 1979, the Migros Aid Fund has been supporting social and ecological projects in Switzerland and abroad, in Europe and overseas. Each year, CHF 1 million is available for this purpose. This means that, since the fund was set up, more than CHF 30 million has been distributed. By taking this action to provide lasting help for people in need, Migros is remaining true to the vision of its founder Gottlieb Duttweiler.

When the aid fund was set up in 1979, a ballot was held in which 69% of the cooperative members voted in favour of the fund, on the express condition that it was not to be financed from Migros Culture Percentage. The organisation has since remained unchanged. Each year, seven delegates examine projects submitted by recognised aid organisations and select the ones that they wish to support. The inaugural meeting of the Aid Fund working group took place on 24 June 1981, and the first project to receive funding was in a country a long way from Switzerland. The initiative in question was aimed at supporting women in Cameroon, and the money was used to train local animators to give advice on hygiene (the correct way to breastfeed, for instance) and nutrition (growing and using vegetables) to other women living in rural areas.

The idea at the heart of all the projects selected is to help people to help themselves. The projects usually receive start-up financing of between CHF 40'000 and CHF 100'000 to this end.

Although it is never possible to meet all requests for funding, money from the Migros Aid Fund has, for 30 years now, been a great help for disadvantaged people whose plight is too often forgotten. Thanks, Dutti!