The Endowment for the World Public Forum “Dialogue of Civilizations” (DofC) Foundation was registered in July 2013 in Geneva by the co-founder of the Dialogue of Civilizations Research Institute (till July 2016 The World Public Forum “Dialogue of Civilizations” – WPF DoC) Vladimir Yakunin.
The activity of the foundation is aimed at supporting research in the sphere of political and social sciences, religion and culture, developing communication between countries on political and economic matters, and seeking compromise in cases of social unrest and international disputes. Return on investment of attracted donations is allocated to the development of the Dialogue of Civilizations Research Institute programmes.
The Dialogue of Civilizations Research Institute (DOC Research Institute) is an international independent nongovernmental organization (headquartered in Berlin, Germany) which supports and develops dialogue among civilizations (since 2003 as the WPF DoC) and is supported by a wide network of NGOs, as well as the world’s leading universities and research centers.
Goals of the DOC Endowment:
- granting scholarships;
- providing financial support for media, educational institutions or projects, or research centres;
- financing research and cultural projects;
- providing financial support for conferences, seminars, symposia and the like; and
- encouraging by all adequate means, notably with financial support, research and action groups or thinks-tanks.
Advantages an Endowment Fund Structure
Stable long-term financing of the programmes
Donation to an endowment fund provides stable long-term financing of charity programmes and long-term partnership not depending on the financial conditions of the donors in future.
Intended use of capital
Return earned on invested donations is transferred to the Fund’s programmes strictly in accordance with the donor agreement and/or a decision of the Fund’s Board.
Financial transparence
The Fund is controlled by the Board. The fund will regularly prepare and publish on its web site financial report covering its activity and the use of capital.
Different forms of donations
Donations to the endowment fund can be made in the form of cash contributions, securities or real estate.
Tax advantages
The Foundation intends to carry out its activities in Switzerland such that it obtains full exemption from profit tax at federal, cantonal and municipal levels as well as from capital duty for cantonal and municipal tax purposes.
It may be possible to structure donations made by Swiss residents to the Foundation, such the donation is tax deductible up to 20% of their taxable income. Generally, donations to the Foundation will be treated as tax exempt for gift tax purposes. For specific question which you may have in relation to tax deductibility of donations, we can provide additional information on request.
Individual approach
The Fund’s management takes into account preferences of each donor with respect to the donation form and structure.