Overview: our partners

23-04-2010 Overview

Over the years the ICRC has been able to develop several ad hoc but long-term fundraising partnerships. Its partners come from a range of backgrounds and include public bodies, sports associations, businesses, private initiatives and individuals.

Our long-term partnerships

Associations

The Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) and the ICRC have been partners for over ten years. For the two last European Championships (UEFA EURO 2004 TM and UEFA EURO 2008TM) ICRC was UEFA's official charity partner.

The Rotary Club Switzerland and Liechtenstein has been engaged with the ICRC into a partnership since 1996. The objective of the Rotary's Mine-Ex foundation was to raise funds first for the ICRC orthopaedic centre in Cambodia and then they did the same in Myanmar, Ethipia and in South Western Algeria, which are providing landmine victims with the adequate fittings and rehabilitation. Since 2009, the Mine-Ex foundation also supports ICRC's activities for land mine victims in Afghanistan.

From the beginning of "Mine-Ex" Switzerland and Liechtenstein, the German Rotary Association supported this endeavour and in 2004 created to a smaller extent its own charity, Mine-Ex Germany, which has been supporting ICRC orthopaedic projects in Afghanistan, Georgia und Azerbaijan.

Public Sources

For several decades, the Republic and Canton of Geneva has been contributing significantly to ICRC's budget. In 2004, the two partners signed an agreement formalizing the Canton's contribution to the forgotten conflicts, those conflicts not making the headlines anymore but still making so many victims.

The Canton of Valais has committed to supporting ICRC assistance activities in the Pakistan-administered Kashmir since 2006. The choice to support a reconstruction programme in that mountainous region was also motivated by the fact that it was very similar to the Canton of Valais of the old days.

The Canton of Basel-Country has funded ICRC assistance activities since 2002. In 2008, the funds were earmarked towards Sri Lanka.

Starting in 2000, the Canton of Zurich has financed ICRC assistance programmes, mainly in the Horn of Africa.

Since the opening of the ICRC's training centre, Ecogia on its territory, the Community of Versoix has granted the organisation the free use of the centre's land. Therefore, each year Versoix offers this lease as a gift to the ICRC.

For several decades now, the City of Geneva has conferred the free use of its land on which the ICRC headquarters are built to the organisation. Every year, this free lease is recorded as a gift in the ICRC accounts.

Other partnerships

The International Olympic Committee accepted in 2008 to co-fund ICRC's programme in Afghanistan "Rehabilitation through sport". The idea was to include sport in patients' physical rehabilitation programme to improve their physical condition, functionality and alertness. The patients who participated developed a much more positive attitude to life and looked to training sessions and matches. In Afghanistan, the ICRC runs six centres offering assistance to persons living with disability.

Hotel with heart is an online hotel reservation site owned by Spero Pte Ltd, which pays a part of its commission for each booking to a charity. The precise amount of the donation, which will be attributed or given to the selected charity is indicated on the website under each hotel and is 1.6% of the hotel rate.

The Mövenpick Hotel & Casino Geneva launched its eco-friendly package incorporating considerations in order to minimise negative impacts on the environment. They want to improve and to preserve the planet by reducing their energy consumption and lowering their total greenhouse emissions. They support the ICRC "Water and Habitat" program by giving 1 Swiss Franc per participant of their eco-friendly package.