The Volkart Foundation was founded in Winterthur on 1 February 1951 to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the Gebr\u00fcder Volkart trading company. The company\u2019s partners at the time \u2013 Georg, Peter and Balthasar Reinhart \u2013 wanted to express their gratitude for a century of successful trading in the Indian subcontinent and Europe. The foundation\u2019s founders felt it was only right for part of the company\u2019s profits to be returned to society through the sponsorship of cultural and community projects. The promotion of culture thereby became a formal part of Volkart\u2019s activities and today the Reinhart family continues to be dedicated to this cause.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
During its first 50 years, the Volkart Foundation concentrated primarily on cultural, social and environmental projects, engaging in selected projects at both the national and international level. Since 2000, the foundation has expanded its scope to include development cooperation and approaches for tackling socially relevant issues. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
In 2014, the Volkart Foundation merged with Volkart Vision and also took over the activities of the George Foundation, which was dissolved. At the end of 2018, the Volkart Foundation ended its longstanding commitment in the field of development cooperation and shifted its focus to the fields of society and culture.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
From 2022, the Volkart Foundation set new priorities and created the funding areas \u00abEcology\u00bb, \u00abSocial sector\u00bb, \u00abMedia\u00bb and \u00abDocumentary film\u00bb, which are supported by expert commissions. The funding areas \u00abSociety” and \u00abCulture\u00bb were replaced at the end of 2021.<\/p>\n\n\n\n