Social Commitment

Migros Culture Percentage: globally unique

With annual investments of around CHF 115 million, Migros Culture Percentage makes a globally unique commitment to culture and society. In 2012 alone it committed CHF 125 million. Migros Culture Percentage, which was started by Migros founder Gottlieb Duttweiler, was specified in the charter as an independent business unit in 1957, on an equal footing as the selling of cost-effective goods and services. The Federation of Migros Cooperatives (FMC) and the ten regional Migros cooperatives commit themselves to making an annual contribution, which is calculated on the basis of their sales. Since the inception of Migros Culture Percentage, Migros has invested more than CHF 4 billion in this unique institution.

Migros Culture Percentage is involved in five areas of activity: culture, society, education, leisure and business. The permanent institutions include the Migros Club School, the Eurocentres, the GDI Gottlieb Duttweiler Institute, the L'arc in Romainmôtier, the four «Green Parks», the Monte Generoso railway and the Migros Museum of Contemporary Art. In addition, Migros Culture Percentage conceives and implements numerous cultural and social projects of its own, which reach out to broad groups of the population. It also supports projects and promotes young talent in the form of competitions. This takes place at national level through the FMC, and at regional level though the cooperatives. The central aim is to grant people access to the current artistic forms of expression and to enable them to participate in the social, economic and cultural change in society.

Migros Culture Percentage invests nearly half of its budget in education. With the Migros Club School and the international Eurocentres language schools, it is a leading provider of adult education. Furthermore, with the Gottlieb Duttweiler Chair at the University of St. Gallen (HSG) and its GDI Gottlieb Duttweiler Institute, it also boosts academic and independent research in the areas of retail, business and society.

Engagement Migros: a Migros Group support fund

In the form of «Engagement Migros», which was launched in 2012, Migros is making even more funds available for charitable projects, alongside those provided by Migros Culture Percentage. The company is expanding its cultural, social, ecological and political commitment across the entire group of companies and increasing its social responsibility.

While Migros Culture Percentage generates its funds from the retail revenues of Migros, the companies from the strategic business units of Retail, Financial Services and Travel are now also supporting cultural and social projects by committing ten percent of their dividends to the Federation of Migros Cooperatives. This includes the companies Denner, Ex Libris, Magazine zum Globus, Interio, Office World & iba, Migrol, Migros Bank and the Hotelplan Group. «Engagement Migros» is committed to the vision of Gottlieb Duttweiler and continues to implement this vision in the areas of business, culture, sustainability and sport.

The new funds are a valuable addition to those provided by Migros Culture Percentage, which has been incorporated in the Migros by-laws since 1957. The amount depends on the performance of the individual companies.

Migros Aid Fund: helping people to help themselves

Around 20 projects by recognised development organisations and private initiatives received financial support in 2012. These include the Equal Education Fund (EFF) with «Running Streetkids Chipata», which gives street kids in Zambia the chance to play football and attend school, as well as the storm-plagued Furka Steam Railway in the canton of Uri, the track of which has been rebuilt. The young and innovative organisation B360 Education Partnerships, which is dedicated to capacity building at university level in Namibia, also received support.

Since it was founded in 1979, the Migros Aid Fund has been supporting social and ecological aid projects in Switzerland and abroad. Around CHF 1 million a year is put aside for such projects and more than CHF 33 million has been invested to date. The aid fund is aimed at projects that support minorities and involve the regional population. They are professionally organised, have a sustainable approach and follow the principle of helping people to help themselves. The projects usually receive funding in the region of 40'000 to 100'000 Swiss francs. In line with Gottlieb Duttweiler's vision, Migros actively helps disadvantaged people and groups of society – especially children, young people and women.