Where anyone can be a promo­ter of culture

Anyone can bequeath one percent of their estate to a foun­da­tion that supports both current and future cultu­ral endea­vours in Switz­er­land. With this remar­kably simple idea, the Erbpro­zent Kultur foun­da­tion was laun­ched in eastern Switz­er­land in 2015. How it works: anyone who wants to leave one percent of their wealth to culture can make a writ­ten bequest, which is stored with their will or other important docu­ments. Like all testa­men­tary decis­i­ons, it can be revo­ked at any time. 

Erbpro­zent Kultur was estab­lished in 2015 as part of the ‘Kultur­lands­ge­meinde’ cultu­ral festi­val in the Swiss canton of Appen­zell Ausser­rho­den, where various aspects of inhe­ri­tance were discus­sed under the heading of ‘Wir erben – wir Erben’ (We inhe­rit – we bequeath). ‘Swiss inhe­ri­tance law is desi­gned to pass on wealth within the family,’ says Theres Inauen, who repres­ents those making bequests on the foundation’s board of trus­tees. This means that more and more assets are accu­mu­la­ted priva­tely. ‘Erbpro­zent Kultur ther­e­fore wants to encou­rage people to think about how they might want their estate to be divi­ded beyond just their family.’ 

An open-ended foun­da­tion purpose

Erbpro­zent Kultur wants to plug gaps in the culture promo­tion land­scape, explains co-foun­der and presi­dent Margrit Bürer. ‘Although there are many private and public promo­ters of culture in Switz­er­land, support is usually tied to clear crite­ria.’ This often forces artists and insti­tu­ti­ons to adapt their projects to the prio­ri­ties of the orga­ni­sa­ti­ons offe­ring this support, while foun­da­ti­ons have to align their acti­vi­ties with their stated purpose. With Erbpro­zent Kultur, it’s no diffe­rent, but: ‘We have deli­bera­tely formu­la­ted our foundation’s purpose as openly and flexi­bly as possi­ble, so that we can respond to new needs and deve­lo­p­ments quickly,’ explains Bürer. Because today’s issues and urgen­cies may no longer inte­rest the next generation.

Tradi­tio­nal culture promo­tion inher­ently crea­tes an imba­lance, adds Inauen. ‘There’s a side that gives money and a side that recei­ves it.’ This clear divi­sion of roles is some­thing that Erbpro­zent Kultur wants to break up: here, abso­lut­ely anyone can become a promo­ter of culture, regard­less of age, wealth, profes­sion or poli­ti­cal network – inclu­ding those who work in the cultu­ral sector. ‘There are so many people who are active in the sector or who know someone who is. They serve as our seis­mo­graphs, drawing our atten­tion to various projects, ideas and initia­ti­ves throug­hout Switzerland.’ 

A bigger hurdle than assumed

The feed­back on the idea has been largely posi­tive, reports Margrit Bürer; about 50 people made a bequest at the begin­ning. ‘Back then, we thought the idea would take off on its own,’ admits the foundation’s presi­dent. But it has since become clear that the hurdle of actually making a bequest is bigger than initi­ally assu­med. Since the foundation’s incep­tion, only 140 people have made such a promise. ‘It’s not down to the one percent, but ever­y­thing that comes with it,’ says Bürer: the need to sort out your will and thus think about your own death, or family concerns, or the shame of not having much to leave behind. As a result, Erbpro­zent Kultur offers the option of making a one-off or a regu­lar dona­tion so that people who would rather support the foun­da­tion while still alive can do so. 

Valued support

To date, Erbpro­zent Kultur has supported artists and insti­tu­ti­ons to the tune of almost half a million Swiss francs. The foun­da­tion doesn’t accept requests. Instead, five funding pots have been crea­ted, each with a diffe­rent selec­tion process – some­ti­mes a jury deci­des who will be supported, some­ti­mes it’s deter­mi­ned randomly. Unlike other foun­da­ti­ons, Erbpro­zent Kultur doesn’t support a speci­fic produc­tion or project but, rather, the artists and initia­ti­ves directly. Bürer: ‘The money is a token of our appre­cia­tion. We trust that it will be used where it is most urgen­tly needed.’ 

Twice a year, those who have made bequests and other guests are invi­ted to forums where current issues and chal­lenges are discus­sed. Accor­ding to Theres Inauen, these discus­sions can be quite contro­ver­sial. But this is inten­tio­nal: ‘As an orga­ni­sa­tion, we’re always lear­ning. We are constantly revie­w­ing our foundation’s purpose, as well as the funding pots and selec­tion processes.’