ZEWO
The Snowland Children Foundation would like to become ZEWO certified.
WHAT actually is a ZEWO certification?
Zewo has been an independent foundation since 2001. To this day, its seal of approval is a unique mark of quality for charitable NPOs that collect donations in Switzerland. The signet serves as an orientation aid for donors. It was first officially registered in 1940. Zewo is the certification body for non-profit NPOs that collect donations in Switzerland. It ensures clarity and trust around donations.
When donating, look for the Zewo seal of approval. It recognizes non-profit NPOs that meet Zewo’s 21 standards. Zewo audits and monitors these NPOs on a regular basis. This way, donors know that their donation is in good hands with a certified NPO. Only NPOs that allow themselves to be put through their paces by Zewo and meet the 21 Zewo standards receive the coveted quality mark. The effort is worthwhile. Because NPOs that allow themselves to be audited for compliance with the Zewo standards are credible.
At the 4th Foundation Board meeting in spring 2020, we already decided to do a preliminary audit at ZEWO to find out whether our foundation would qualify for the very strict ZEWO certification. No sooner said than done! In August 2020 we received a very positive feedback: Our foundation would definitely be suitable for a ZEWO certification!
We then decided at the following 6th Foundation Board meeting in June 2021 to actually have the main certification done. Subsequently, quite a lot of work came our way, as this certification is very precise and one has to fulfill all 21 standards of the certification. It was not only a matter of filling out a very long questionnaire and then (October 19, 2021) a long personal meeting with a ZEWO specialist, but this in turn led to extensive work with the answers to the first assessment. After voting on these answers in the Foundation Board and submitting them to ZEWO, we received the official audit report on December 15, 2021.
Now, as a next step, we still have to adopt some new regulations in our 7th Foundation Board meeting on March 11, 2022 and inform ZEWO about it until – hopefully – we will receive the longed-for ZEWO certification in April/May 2022.
This certification will hopefully help us to better obtain the donations that are so vital for us, without which we cannot continue our large projects in India and Nepal for the Tibetans in the diaspora there!
