The National Scholarship Foundation 2014-Forever
Several reasons motivated the Swiss LSE Alumni Association to transform its internal Scholarship Endowment into an external Scholarship Foundation: To get external regulatory oversight by the Swiss Federal Foundation Supervisory Authority, to avoid paying capital taxes on the endowment, to create new volunteering opportunities for LSE alumnae and alumni and to mobilize additional capital to help fund the education of future LSE alumnae and alumni.
"Instead of letting capital remain idle, it is put to work for the benefit of future LSE students and researchers. The income generated will be available for scholarships and personal research grants. The capital itself will be maintained in perpetuity and increased through donations over time."
Marcel Bigger, Foundation Project Manager, Leadership Benefactor and Secretary General of the Swiss LSE Alumni Association
Timeline
| 29 June 2014 |
Members of the SLSEAA assembled in General Meeting in Zurich in Northeastern Switzerland co-established the "LSE Alumnae and Alumni Foundation of Switzerland", giving the permanent scholarship endowment a separate legal personality Review the full decision of the Members assembled in General Meeting |
| 6 July 2014 |
The SLSEAA requested tax-exempt status from the Canton of Zurich in respect of the two purposes of the Foundation: scholarships to Swiss citizens and permanent residents and pass-through donations to the School Review our application to the Canton of Zurich for tax exemption |
| 8 September 2014 |
The Canton of Zurich refused a tax-exempt status, determining that restricting support to LSE students and researchers results in a too narrow a circle of beneficiaries and that supporting higher education institutions in highly developed foreign countries is not charitable in principle Review the refusal of the Canton of Zurich to grant the Foundation tax exemption |
| 23 September 2014 |
The SLSEAA appealed the Canton's decision in respect to both purposes of the Foundation Review our appeal of the Canton's refusal to grant tax exemption |
| 12 December 2014 |
The Canton offered tax-exempt status for the first purpose (scholarships) but unfortunately not for the second (pass-through donations to the School) and invited the SLSEAA to submit a corrected Foundation Deed Review the offer of the Canton of Zurich to grant tax exemption on appeal |
| 17 December 2014 |
The SLSEAA requested tax-exempt status anew with a corrected Foundation Deed Review our re-application to the Canton of Zurich for tax exemption |
| 18 December 2014 |
The SLSEAA addressed the Swiss Federal Foundation Supervisory Authority requesting it to supervise the Foundation Annex 1: Deed and Standing Order Annex 4: Annual Accounts of the SLSEAA |
| 23 February 2017 |