From donations to Scout action

“As we reflect on another year of impactful initiatives and meaningful progress, I am humbled by our BP Fellows’ and donors’ unwavering support and dedication. Your generosity fuels our mission to empower young people worldwide through Scouting, fostering leadership, resilience and community spirit. Year after year, we are making strides to build on the transparency and clarity of our reporting, and in this section of the annual report, we invite you to explore and understand how your donations are being taken care of to increase the impact of Scouting worldwide. Thank you for your trust, partnership, and belief in the transformative power of Scouting.”

Mark Knippenberg, Chief Executive Officer

Each dollar donated to Scouting via the Foundation follows a specific pathway before it is granted to World Scouting. Discover this journey and learn how we manage and invest your contributions to support the growth and development of Scouting:

Funds Raised

Our donors at a glance

We are incredibly grateful to all our BP Fellows and donors who either started, continued or increased their contributions to the Foundation in 2023. Thanks to the hard work of our Board, Fundraising Committees and staff team, we had a successful year, raising a total of USD 4.72 million in monetary donations and other income. This is a slight decrease from USD 5.2 million in 2022, which aligns with the global trends many charities experienced after the economic downturn in 2022.

Since we started to implement our new Strategy, we have been segmenting our income per donor segment. Our Institutional Donors have contributed 34% of our total donation income, and the remaining 66% came from individual giving.

We would also like to take the opportunity to thank our BP Fellows who made USD 800,000 in-kind donations to Scouting and/or contributions directly to local Scout initiatives in 2023.

The Endowment Fund

Investing in Scouting’s future

As part of our endowment funding model, the majority of the Foundation’s assets are distributed across an investment portfolio managed primarily by JP Morgan Private Bank Switzerland and the Fiduciary Trust Company International (USA). The Foundation’s Investment Committee closely monitors the portfolio.

“Throughout 2023, the Investment Committee remained steadfast in its commitment to safeguarding and nurturing our financial assets. Working closely with our partners, we diligently monitored market trends and investment performance. I am pleased to report that our efforts bore fruit, with the portfolio experiencing a noteworthy increase in value by +9.4%, marking a significant turnaround from the challenges faced in 2022. With biannual in-person meetings supplemented by virtual ones, our committee remains agile and proactive in navigating market dynamics. We are confidently on a robust path towards securing the stability and growth of our investments, further fortifying our ability to support Scouting’s global impact.”

Jens Erhardt, Board Member and Investment Committee Chair

Interest and dividend income, together with sales gains and fluctuation in financial assets, brought the net financial income to USD 4.7 million. Below, you can see how this money has been allocated.

Restricted & Unrestricted Funding

Our Assets

The Foundation holds most of its financial assets in two types of funds:

The General Endowment Fund is retained across an investment portfolio. This fund is where we allocate unrestricted donations from individuals, foundations, corporations, governments, all of whom wish to encourage young people to acquire positive values and leadership skills for life. It is important to continue growing 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 in the Endowment Fund.

A total of USD 5 million was allocated to the General Endowment Fund (USD 1.5 million from the donation income and USD 3.5 million from the net financial income), and a sum of money will be granted to WOSM.

Designated Purpose Funds where the use of the donations is subject to the requirements set by the donor (earmarking). Here we allocate donations received to support specific global projects such as Ticket To Life, Food For Life, capacity-building projects for National Scout Organisations based on World Scouting’s quality standard, the global assessment tool, etc.

Out of the Donation income, USD 3.2 million was allocated to the Designated Purpose Funds which will be granted to Scouting projects. In addition, USD 1.7 million out of the net financial income was allocated to the Operational Support Fund within the Designated Purpose Funds.

“A dollar for Scouting is a dollar for Scouting”

By covering our operational expenditure out of the net financial income, 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.

Additional Assets

In addition to the funds outlined above, 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 (including one of its regional offices), Africa Scout Foundation, Interamerican Scout Foundation and the Hong Kong 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 63 million on 31 December 2023, an increase from USD 62 million in the previous year.

Grants to World Scouting

Our extensive fundraising and investment activities allow us to provide two main funding streams for WOSM:

1. Since 1977, we provide 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. This grant is calculated on a formula based on the value of the Foundation’s General Endowment Fund and paid out of its financial gains.

2023: USD 2.8 million

2. 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.

2023: USD 3.4 million

Total funds disbursed to World Scouting in 2023: USD 6.2 million

The Foundation continues to make concerted efforts, with the support of WOSM, to secure the second phase of Messengers of Peace funding to inspire, enable and deliver even more Scout community service actions and projects for peace and sustainable development.

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 2023

Assets (USD) 31.12.2023 31.12.2022
Current Assets
Cash 1’120’703 2’235’101
Donations receivable 0 –
Donations gross 2’250’000 2’250’000
Provision -2’250’000 -2’250’000
Prepayments and accrued income 843’6619 203’560
1’964’321 2’438’661
Non-current assets
Financial assets 61’150’067 54’218’043
Fixed assets 14’858 15’609
61’164’926 54’233’652
Total Assets 63’129’247 56’672’313
Funds held abroad in trust for the Foundation 6’369’981 5’376’899
Total assets of the Foundation incl. Funds held in trust abroad 69’499’228 62’049’212
Liabilities & Funds (USD) 31.12.2023 31.12.2022
Current Liabilities
Undisbursed grants payable 3’645’903 3’876’599
Loan from related party 12’715’410 7’083’746
Accrued and other liabilities 1’180’174 1’750’385
17’541’488 12’710’730
Non-current liabilities
Undisbursed grants payable 0 –
Restricted Funds
Designated Purpose Funds 3’478’077 3’278’441
The Messengers of Peace Fund 0 97’440
The Messengers of Peace Fund 2 -244’052
3’234’025 3’375’881
Unrestricted Funds
Capital of the Foundation 1’557’347 1’557’347
Endowment Fund 40’796’387 39’028’355
42’353’734 40’585’702
Total Funds 45’587’759 43’961’583
Total Liabilities and Funds 63’129’247 56’672’313

Statement of Operations for the Year Ended 31 December 2023

(USD) 31.12.2023 31.12.2022
General Income
Individual donations 4’157’697 4’919’324
Other income 408’471 100’653
Income from related party funds 162’827 150’542
4’728’994 5’170’519
General Expenditures
Project and grant expenditure (3’409’139) (4’107’256)
Grant to the World Organization of the Scout Movement (2’800’000) (2’800’000)
Administrative expenditures (1′ 728′ 787) (1’791’948)
(7’937’926) (8’588’160)
Operating result (3’208’931) (3’528’685)
Net financial income
Financial income 7’601’069 2’926’091
Financial costs (2’898’562) (11’514’251)
4’702’507 (8’588’160)
Profit / (Deficit) for the year 1’493’576 (12’116’846)
Changes in restricted funds
– allocation of income (3’212’842) (3’411’871)
– operational expenditure 5’087’926 5’612’055
– net financial (income) / loss (1’175’627) 2’147’040
699’457 4’347’223
Net surplus / (deficit) for the year prior to allocations 2’193’033 (7’769’623)
Release / (Allocation to) General Endowment Fund
– allocation of income (1’516’152) (1’748’877)
– operational expenditure 2’850’000 3’077’380
– net financial (income) / loss (3’526’880) 6’441’120
(2’193’033) 7’769’623
Net surplus / (deficit) for the year after allocations 0 0