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UBS Optimus Foundation

Website:

www.ubs.com/optimus
Type:

Private Grantmaking Foundation
Founded:

1999
CEO:

Maya Ziswiler
Location:

Zurich, Switzerland

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The UBS Optimus Foundation is the private grantmaking foundation of UBS Wealth Management, also known as UBS Group AG, an investment banking company based in Switzerland. The foundation’s grantmaking focuses on children’s health, education, and protection as well as environmental issues. It also operates emergency funds for issues such as the earthquakes in Syria and Turkey, flooding in Pakistan, and the war in Ukraine. 1 2

Background

The UBS Optimus Foundation is the private grantmaking foundation of UBS Wealth Management, also known as UBS Group AG, an investment banking company based in Switzerland. The UBS Optimus Foundation provides grants to organizations and programs that focus on children’s health, education, and protection as well as environmental issues. According to its website, the UBS Optimus Foundation Switzerland is focused exclusively on children’s education, protection, and health but other national foundations also focus on environmentalism. 3

The UBS Optimus Foundation, as of April 2023, also operates emergency funds including funding for the earthquakes in Syria and Turkey, flooding in Pakistan, and the war in Ukraine. According to its website, the foundation had raised $56 million as of April 2023 for organizations in Ukraine in collaboration with the trading company XTX Markets. 4

The foundation, as of 2018, oversaw approximately 175 projects across 20 countries. All administrative costs of the UBS Optimus Foundation are covered by UBS Group AG. 5 6

Financials

Due to being in Europe, financial information on the UBS Optimus Foundation is limited; however, the organization is noted to have granted a total of $94 million in 2019, which increased to $104 million in 2020. Of the amount granted in 2020, the UBS Optimus Foundation allocated $20.9 million to its COVID-19 response fund. Most of the organization’s 2020 grants were allocated to nongovernmental organizations, but some grants were also made to universities, research institutes, and think tanks. 7

The foundation’s grantmaking in 2020 was mostly focused on Asia with $45.3 million being allocated to organizations there and another $36.1 million allocated to African organizations. The UBS Optimus Foundation’s top grant recipients by country included China, which received $22 million in 2020; India, which received $9.9 million; and Uganda, which received $4 million. 8

The foundation prioritized grantmaking related to issues such as health, education, and economic growth. A portion of the organization’s grantmaking, $7.8 million, was allocated to programs supporting women’s empowerment, and another $5.9 million was allocated to programs involved in climate action. 9

The UBS Optimus Foundation raised a total of $274 million in donations in 2022 and committed $150 million in grants. 10

Grantmaking

The UBS Optimus Foundation partnered with Convergence, a left-of-center nonprofit that connects other nonprofits to form networks and alliances, in March 2023. The partnership launched the Tertiary Education Financing Prize, which also provided $1 million to four of its winners. 11

The foundation pledged at least $2.2 million to the COVAX AMC in June 2021. The pledge was to assist lower-income communities in being able to access a COVID-19 vaccine. It also provided more than $1 million in support of efforts to decrease the risk of natural threats along the Gulf Coast via the National Coastal Resilience Fund. 12 13

The Audacious Project is a project of the TED Foundation which funds organizations intended to catalyze positive large-scale social impacts. Many of the groups it funds have left-of-center policy goals, particularly related to environmentalism and social justice. From its founding in 2018 to 2020, the Audacious Project spent almost $2 billion. The UBS Optimus Foundation is listed as a partner of the Audacious Project. 14 15

References

  1. “UBS Optimus Foundation.” UBS Global. January 17, 2023. Accessed April 30, 2023. https://www.ubs.com/global/en/ubs-society/philanthropy/optimus-foundation.html.
  2. “Emergency Philanthropy.” UBS Global. February 17, 2023. Accessed April 30, 2023. https://www.ubs.com/global/en/ubs-society/philanthropy/optimus-foundation/emergency-philanthropy.html.
  3. “UBS Optimus Foundation.” UBS Global. January 17, 2023. Accessed April 30, 2023. https://www.ubs.com/global/en/ubs-society/philanthropy/optimus-foundation.html.
  4. “Emergency Philanthropy.” UBS Global. February 17, 2023. Accessed April 30, 2023. https://www.ubs.com/global/en/ubs-society/philanthropy/optimus-foundation/emergency-philanthropy.html.
  5. “Phyllis Costanza, CEO, UBS Optimus | The Do One Better Podcast.” Do One Better. Accessed April 30, 2023. https://www.lidji.org/phyllis-costanza-ubs-optimus.
  6. “UBS Launches a New Philanthropy Offering for U.S. Clients.” Business Wire. March 4, 2015. Accessed April 30, 2023. https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20150304005815/en/UBS-Launches-a-New-Philanthropy-Offering-for-U.S.-Clients.
  7. “Development Co-operation Profiles – UBS Optimus Foundation.” OECD. Accessed April 30, 2023. https://www.oecd-ilibrary.org/sites/832f569b-en/index.html?itemId=/content/component/5e331623-en&_csp_=b14d4f60505d057b456dd1730d8fcea3&itemIGO=oecd&itemContentType=chapter.
  8. “Development Co-operation Profiles – UBS Optimus Foundation.” OECD. Accessed April 30, 2023. https://www.oecd-ilibrary.org/sites/832f569b-en/index.html?itemId=/content/component/5e331623-en&_csp_=b14d4f60505d057b456dd1730d8fcea3&itemIGO=oecd&itemContentType=chapter.
  9. “Development Co-operation Profiles – UBS Optimus Foundation.” OECD. Accessed April 30, 2023. https://www.oecd-ilibrary.org/sites/832f569b-en/index.html?itemId=/content/component/5e331623-en&_csp_=b14d4f60505d057b456dd1730d8fcea3&itemIGO=oecd&itemContentType=chapter.
  10. “UBS Expands Philanthropy Offering in Hong Kong.” Finews.Asia. March 29, 2023. Accessed April 30, 2023. https://www.finews.asia/finance/38949-ubs-expands-philanthropy-offering-in-hong-kong.
  11. “UBS Optimus Foundation awards $1M to 4 winners.” Convergence News. Accessed April 30, 2023. https://www.convergence.finance/news-and-events/news/20E9cZyZ2FaBuCKrdvEgN4/view.
  12. [1] “UBS Optimus Foundation.” Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance. Accessed April 30, 2023. https://www.gavi.org/investing-gavi/funding/donor-profiles/ubs-optimus-foundation.
  13. “UBS Optimus Foundation.” NFWF. Accessed April 30, 2023. https://www.nfwf.org/partnerships/corporate-partners/ubs-optimus-foundation.
  14. “Impact Report 2020.” The Audacious Project. Accessed April 30, 2023. https://impact.audaciousproject.org/year-in-numbers.
  15. “About.” The Audacious Project. Accessed April 30, 2023. https://www.audaciousproject.org/about.
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