AVINA STIFTUNG was established in 1994 by Stephan Schmidheiny as a private philanthropic foundation with an entrepreneurial spirit. The foundation strives for social and environmental sustainability in Switzerland and abroad. It wants to provide opportunities for as many people as possible to improve their living conditions through their own initiatives.

AVINA STIFTUNG promotes in Switzerland and in Europe innovative projects in the areas of Social Issues, Education, Arts & Culture and Environment. The foundation furthermore supports Swiss and European initiatives with focus on Latin America.

AVINA STIFTUNG is founder member of SwissFoundations, the association of grant-making foundations in Switzerland, AVINA STIFTUNG also engages in fostering the foundation sector in Switzerland.

AVINA STIFTUNG is located in Hurden, Switzerland. It is supervised by the Swiss Federal Authorities for Foundations (Eidgenössischen Stiftungsaufsicht).