Die Stiftung verfolgt ausschliesslich die Unterstützung und Förderung von Personen, Institutionen und Projekten im In- und Ausland, welche in gemeinnütziger Weise karitativ, humanitär, gesundheitsfördernd, erzieherisch, wissenschaftlich oder kulturell tätig sind und sich zugunsten einer nachhaltigen Entwicklung engagieren; sie verfolgt diesen Zweck mit dem Ziel der Schaffung von Chancen für möglichst viele Menschen, ihre Lebensbedingungen durch eigene Anstrengungen zu verbessern. Die Stiftung hat keinen Erwerbszweck und erstrebt keinen Gewinn.
The ES VICIS Foundation is a non-profit organization based in Baselland, Switzerland, and has been operational since 2016. Our mission is to foster economically thriving and vibrant rural settlements by revitalizing small villages in structurally disadvantaged regions, with a focus on sustainable repopulation. Through the empowerment of communities, we aim to address urbanization challenges and promote decentralization, benefiting both people and the environment. We are committed to inspiring a shift in mindset, highlighting the transformative opportunities presented by the digital age. As digitalization reshapes every sector of the economy, we foster business innovation in rural areas that extends beyond traditional agribusiness, unlocking new paths for growth. Through our advocacy efforts, we seek to collaborate on practical solutions to the rural-urban divide, encouraging a paradigm shift towards decentralized, sustainable growth.
We aspire to create vibrant rural regions with thriving villages where people live with dignity. These areas should offer job opportunities, accessible healthcare, education, transportation, and a safe, sustainable environment. Our goal is to revitalize and repopulate these regions, ensuring their long-term prosperity while addressing the challenges of rural-urban migration.
Our Vision We envision a world with vibrant rural regions and flourishing villages where people live with dignity and equity. These communities should offer ample employment, accessible healthcare, educational opportunities, connectivity, transportation, and a safe, sustainable, and family-friendly environment. By uniting cross-sector efforts, we aim to identify and bring latent opportunities to light, support change agents and entrepreneurs, and apply innovative solutions and technologies in communities, particularly those experiencing population decline near urban areas facing rapid growth challenges. Our Purpose – To collaborate with both private and public sector stakeholders in creating sustainable models for community revitalization and growth in depopulating areas, integrating local resources and programs to foster long-term prosperity and social cohesion in regions near urban centers, which also face challenges from rapid growth. – To foster the use of digital and innovative solutions for the socio-economic development and inclusion of communities in the globalized world. – To create digital tools that help communities and stakeholders manage projects by identifying and visualizing latent opportunities, highlighting business prospects, and tracking developments such as new entrepreneurship, the integration of urban newcomers, and the infrastructure needed to drive regional growth. – To support rural communities in building capacity for sustainable self-management, implementing practices that ensure the continuous identification of opportunities for residents, while attracting and managing the relocation of newcomers. Our Philosophy ES VICIS works with all communities. We want to be part of the change, and we are convinced that this mindset will transform the destiny of many people.
Project Financing In the pilot project carried out in Argentina (2016-2019), all teams were directly financed through the founders’ own resources and donations managed from Switzerland. This support enabled the execution of key activities within the revitalization and repopulation model, as well as the coordination and supervision of various “plug-in” solutions implemented by local actors from the public and private sectors. As a result, 80% of the project costs were covered by local and regional governments, which invested in infrastructure such as paving, public lighting, transformers, and housing. In the scalability phase, initiated in 2022, we have maintained this diversified financing strategy, based on an intersectoral collaboration model, to expand the reach of the Welcome to My Village model. At this stage, investments from local partners cover between 70% and 80% of the costs of each project. The funding required by our foundation accounts for 20% to 30% of the total costs and serves as seed capital to ensure the implementation of the project across its six phases, as well as the coordination of the “plug-in” solutions required by our comprehensive model. The main difference in this expansion stage is that financing for each project is sought jointly with the operational partners in each country, with whom the initiative is co-created. Contributions for this seed capital include donations, grants, and self-sourced funding from nonprofit foundations. Foundation Financing The overhead expenses of the foundation are fully covered by philanthropic contributions. Contact information for potential partners can be provided upon request.