More than 1,300 charitable foundations are domiciled in Liechtenstein. The Liechtenstein public benefit foundations and trusts make their distributions not only to domestic institutions, but also to a large extent to foreign institutions, organizations and individuals.
Location factors

An individual contribution for the benefit of the community
"Helping, strengthening, promoting these are the main objectives of charitable foundations. They also describe the individual efforts that every one of us can make for the benefit of our communities. Foun dations pursue their goals over the long term and in a systematic and cooperative manner. They not only alleviate need, but also strengthen the structures that prevent it. And they improve the quality of life of every individual by supporting education and culture. In this way, they motivate us to get involved, make improvements and try new things."
HRH Hereditary Princess Sophie von und zu Liechtenstein
President of the Sophie
von Liechtenstein Foundation and President of the Liechtenstein Red Cross
Making a positive difference with private efforts
As different as the philanthropists themselves are, so too is their work, which, according to our current understanding, encompasses every private voluntary act for a charitable purpose. A great variety of social initiatives and projects are initiated and made possible through the work of charitable foundations and trusts in Liechten stein. In addition to the classic forms of endowments and donations, many donors are rethinking what foundation work means. They use new possibilities such as sustainable investment to achieve an impact not only through the distribution of funds to charitable projects, but also through their investment of assets. Charitable funding foundations contribute to the implementation of the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) set out in Agenda 2030 through solidaritybased and sustainable work in a wide range of areas in order to meet the ecological, social and economic challenges of our time. In doing so, they make a substantial contribution to achieving the goal of steering the world’s development at all levels in a better, more sustainable direction.
A solid basis for charitable initiatives
What makes Liechtenstein unique as a philanthropy location are not only the favourable framework conditions, but also innovations in asset structuring and unique selling points for charitable activities. These include, in particular, the protected cell company (PCC) and the charitable trust. The differentiated models for various forms of charitable organisations represent a trademark of Liechtenstein as a foundation and trust location
Innovators for change in society
When discussing charitable foundations and trusts, one usually refers to grantmaking foundations and trusts that have been endowed with assets by the founder or settlor and promote projects through funding or other forms of support. Collective foundations or trusts that are looking for financial support to implement their own projects are to be considered separately. Charitable grantmaking foundations and trusts have the advantage that they have funds that can be used more flexibly and can also contribute additional knowhow due to their funding activities. They therefore provide impetus and innovation to initiate and enable new approaches to solving social problems.
Further reading about the Liechtenstein foundation sector
«Philanthropy in Liechtenstein - Sustainably committed to the common good» , VLGST broschure, 2021:
Philantropie Liechtenstein, nachhaltig engagiert für das Gemeinwohl
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