About us

Focus on high-impact, sustainable projects

The foundation engages in initiatives in developing countries that help people to get out of poverty and lead a productive life. Our focus is on high-impact projects that profoundly improve the lives of the people supported and thus have a high social return on investment. Our engagements are limited in time and should always lead to sustainable solutions.

Each project of the foundation is well defined with clear objectives, a time frame and regular reporting. The foundation does not participate in projects that simply distribute funds or goods.

Guiding Principles

Fontana Foundation operates on the basis of the following 7 guiding principles:

  • We engage in projects that are efficient and have a high social impact
  • We fund only well-defined projects with locally established partners
  • We understand each project in detail and review all of them regularly
  • We expect a substantial contribution of the beneficiaries
  • We remain focused on our defined fields of activity
  • We want to contribute to sustainable developments only
  • We treat all people with respect and dignity and adhere to high ethical standards

The Board of Trustees of the Foundation

  • Lena Steiner, Chairman
  • Mario Fontana, Member and Founder
  • Elsa Fontana, Member
  • Walter Zahnd, Member
  • Thomas Meier, Member
  • Nadja Keller, Secretary