“Despite the unfavourable conditions of the financial market, which seriously impacted our investment portfolio, in 2022, we increased our fundraising efforts, which proved successful thanks to our Baden-Powell Fellows and new donors. You contributed to our first-ever digital Annual Appeal, inspiring others to join a culture of annual giving and allowing us to recruit new donors giving lower amounts than the entry level to the BP Fellowship, particularly through our call for emergency funds to support the Scout response to the war in Ukraine. We raised over USD 5.2 million in 2022. Not only did we raise more money than last year, we were also able to disburse a higher sum of grants to Scouting, totalling USD 6.9 million.”
Mark Knippenberg, Chief Executive OfficerFunds Raised: Increasing our fundraising capacity
We are extremely grateful to all our donors who either started, continued or increased their contributions to the Foundation in 2022. Thanks to the hard work of our newly activated Fundraising Committees and staff team, we had a successful year raising a total of USD 5.2 million, a 38% increase on the USD 3.69 million raised in 2021.
Of the total funds raised, USD 3.4 million has been allocated to the Designated Purpose Funds, and USD 1.7 million, raised via Baden-Powell Fellowship, Honours Programme and other general contributions, has been classified as unrestricted funds and accordingly allocated to the General Endowment Fund.
The Foundation can assure its donors that every new gift to the Foundation goes entirely to Scouting. No fees or expenses are paid to Officers or Members of the Board or its Sub-Committees.
The Foundation’s administration and staff costs remain covered by one of our Designated Purpose Funds, the Operational Support Fund, which was established by a small group of existing donors. In addition to significant contributions made historically by many Members of the Board to this fund, part of the net financial income is allocated to the Operational Support Fund within the Designated Purpose Funds.
Grants to World Scouting
Our extensive fundraising activities allow us to provide two main funding streams for WOSM:
- Since 1977, the Annual Operational Grant to the World Organization of the Scout Movement (WOSM) to cover the running costs of the World Scout Bureau and its global and regional support centres, calculated on the value of the Foundation’s endowment.
- Since 2011, project funding for National Scout Organisations and the World Scout Bureau, from our Designated Purpose Funds in the form of grants to Scout projects, which are agreed following a robust system of approvals, jointly handled by the Foundation and WOSM.
In 2022, a total of USD 6.9 million was disbursed to Scouting: The Annual Operational Grant of USD 2.8 million and USD 4.1 million for Scout projects. The total represents an increase on the USD 5.8 million disbursed in 2021, reaching a similar value to the year 2019, right before the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Foundation continues to make concerted efforts, with the support of WOSM, to secure the second phase of the Messengers of Peace Initiative, the incredible flagship programme of World Scouting, which inspires Scouts around the world to lead community action for peace and sustainable development.
Our Assets
The Foundation holds most of its financial assets in two types of funds:
- The Endowment Fund, which is distributed across an investment portfolio. This fund is where we allocate unrestricted donations from individuals, foundations, corporations, governments, and members of the Scout movement, all of whom wish to encourage young people to acquire positive values and leadership skills for life. It is important to continue to grow this Fund to ensure sustainable long-term support for World Scouting. The Annual Operational Grant to the World Organization of the Scout Movement is drawn from the return on investments on the Endowment Fund.
- Designated Purpose Funds where the use is subject to the requirements set by the donor (earmarked). The value of the Designated Purpose Funds at the end of 2022 came to a total of USD 4 million (USD 3.7 million in 2021). Here we allocate donations received to support specific global projects such as Ticket To Life, Food For Life and capacity-building projects for National Scout Organisations based on World Scouting’s quality standard, the global assessment tool.
In addition to these funds, the Foundation’s assets also include funds held abroad in trust for the Foundation at Scouts Canada, Scouts Australia and WSF Deutschland. It is also important to note that the World Scout Foundation has agreed to accept loans from related parties — the Asia-Pacific Foundation, World Scout Bureau, Africa Scout Foundation and Interamerican Scout Foundation — to invest on their behalf. These loans are treated as financial assets and are distributed into our investment portfolio. Its gains or losses are reinvested on behalf of our related parties. These assets are not part of the Endowment Fund, nor the Designated Purpose Funds.
The Foundation’s total assets, including funds held in trust and funds received as loans, reached just over USD 62 million on 31 December 2022, a 17.4% decrease from USD 75.1 million in the previous year.
An unfavourable market: Our Investment Portfolio
“Most global markets have experienced the worst performance since the global crisis of 2008, making 2022 an extremely challenging year for investors worldwide. Sadly, this was also the case for our investment portfolio, showing negative results, which is part of the inherent risk of investing in financial assets. Although most of the loss comes from an unrealised devaluation of our financial assets, we still show a positive return over a cumulative period of five years.”
Jens Erhardt, Board Member and Investment Committee ChairIn 2022, the Foundation’s Investment Committee closely monitored the portfolio, which is managed primarily by JP Morgan Private Bank Switzerland and the Fiduciary Trust Company International (FTCI). The markets led to a decrease in value of 14.78% (8.9% increase in 2021). This represents a negative result for our investments in 2022. Nevertheless, the portfolio is still showing positive results in the long term. The investments managed by JP Morgan have shown a cumulative growth of 14.6% over a 5-year period, whilst the FTCI has shown 10.65% since its inception in 2004.
The unrealised loss on fluctuation in financial assets value and other financial costs brought the net financial income to a loss of USD 8.5 million. This loss was released from the capital of the Foundation. The Investment Committee continues to monitor the performance of the investment managers and is carefully optimistic that the losses generated in 2022 will be recouped in the years to come.
From grants to action: The projects we funded in 2022
Thanks to the generous support of our donors, in 2022, we funded 74 projects in all 6 Scout Regions, in the following categories:
- Strengthening capacity, for example, projects to revitalise a National Scout Organisation’s youth programme, provide Scout leader training or strengthen governance. Grants allocated: USD 1.65 million
- Inspiring action in the community, including via the Messengers of Peace Initiative, which encourages Scouts to undertake community service and tell the story of their experience to inspire others to action. Grants allocated: USD 579,522
- Special projects: Special projects include, for example, support to youth in (post-)conflict zones and disaster preparedness and emergency response, however, this does not include the funds raised through the Scout Donation Platform (i.e. emergency funding for Scouts in Ukraine and surrounding countries). Grants allocated: USD 30,770
Integrity, Inclusivity, Accountability and Transparency
The World Scout Foundation is an independent, not for profit, charitable organisation based in Switzerland, established under Swiss law and subject to supervision by the Swiss Federal Supervisory Authority of Foundations. The Foundation has entities or funds established in Australia, Canada, France and Germany, which will accept tax-deductible contributions from donors residing in these countries.
Contributions to the Foundation can also be made through the National Scout Organisations of Japan, the Netherlands, Mexico, Republic of Korea, the United Kingdom and the United States of America. This might also be possible in other countries and the Foundation is available to assist.
PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) audits the accounts and Financial Statements, annually.
Download a copy of the audited Financial Statements here.
Balance Sheet as of 31 December 2022
| Assets (USD) | 31.12.2022 | 31.12.2021 |
|---|---|---|
| Current Assets | ||
| Cash | 2’235’101 | 1’579’151 |
| Donations receivable | – | – |
| Donations gross | 2’250’000 | 2’250’000 |
| Provision | -2’250’000 | -2’250’000 |
| Prepayments and accrued income | 203’560 | 280’403 |
| 2’438’661 | 1’859’554 | |
| Non-current assets | ||
| Financial assets | 54’218’043 | 66’921’114 |
| Fixed assets | 15’609 | 10’851 |
| 54’233’652 | 66’931’965 | |
| Total Assets | 56’672’313 | 68’791’519 |
| Funds held abroad in trust for the Foundation | 5’376’899 | 6’384’284 |
| Total assets of the Foundation incl. Funds held in trust abroad | 62’049’212 | 75’175’803 |
| Liabilities & Funds (USD) | 31.12.2022 | 31.12.2021 |
| Current Liabilities | ||
| Undisbursed grants payable | 3’876’599 | 3’622’057 |
| Loan from related party | 7’083’746 | 8’488’060 |
| Accrued and other liabilities | 1’750’385 | 632’943 |
| 12’710’730 | 12’743’060 | |
| Non-current liabilities | ||
| Undisbursed grants payable | – | – |
| Restricted Funds | ||
| Designated Purpose Funds | 3’278’441 | 3’717’063 |
| The Messengers of Peace Fund | 97’440 | 306’172 |
| 3’375’881 | 4’023’235 | |
| Unrestricted Funds | ||
| Capital of the Foundation | 1’557’347 | 1’557’357 |
| Endowment Fund | 39’028’355 | 50’467’876 |
| 40’585’702 | 52’025’223 | |
| Total Funds | 43’961’583 | 56’048’458 |
| Total Liabilities and Funds | 56’672’313 | 68’791’519 |
Statement of Operations for the Year Ended 31 December 2022
| (USD) | 31.12.2022 | 31.12.2021 |
|---|---|---|
| Income | ||
| Individual donations | 4’919’324 | 3’175’177 |
| Other income | 100’653 | 280’816 |
| Income from related party funds | 150’542 | 241’805 |
| 5’170’519 | 3’697’798 | |
| Expenditures | ||
| Project and grant expenditure | (4’107’256) | (3’070’999) |
| Grant to the World Organization of the Scout Movement | (2’800’000) | (2’800’000) |
| Administrative expenditures | (1’791’948) | (1’825’228) |
| Provision on donations | – | (2’250’000) |
| (8’588’160) | (9’946’429) | |
| Operating result | (3’528’685) | (6’248’429) |
| Net financial income | ||
| Financial income | 2’926’091 | 8’965’878 |
| Financial costs | (11’514’251) | (1’465’649) |
| (8’588’160) | 7’500’229 | |
| Profit / (Deficit) for the year | (12’116’846) | 1’251’800 |
| Changes in restricted funds | ||
| – allocation of income | (3’411’871) | (2’547’088) |
| – operational expenditure | 5’612’055 | 4’834’696 |
| – net financial (income) / loss | 2’147’040 | (1’953’465) |
| 4’347’223 | 334’143 | |
| Net surplus / (deficit) for the year prior to allocations | (7’769’623) | 1’585’943 |
| Release / (Allocation to) General Endowment Fund | ||
| – allocation of income | (1’748’877) | (1’150’710) |
| – operational expenditure | 3’077’380 | 5’111’530 |
| – net financial (income) / loss | 6’441’120 | (5’546’763) |
| 7’769’623 | (1’585’943) | |
| Net surplus / (deficit) for the year after allocations | 0 | 0 |
