Loyal supporters of blood stem cell donation
Financial donations from private donors and foundations help pay for the growth of the registry of blood stem cell donors. Donations in 2020 totalled CHF 1’387’584.
Even during the Covid-19 pandemic, both private and institutional donors demonstrated their solidarity with patients by supporting new registrations. Swiss Transfusion SRC has to come up with the funds to pay for registering new blood stem cell donors itself; no money is provided for this purpose in connection with our mandate from the Swiss government.
In 2020, private and institutional donors contributed a combined total of CHF 1’387’584, which is about 6 per cent above the 2019 total (CHF 1’305’671). A good two-thirds of this came from private individuals, associations and companies, the other third from institutional donors.
Programme for private donors expanded
Swiss Transfusion SRC has the good fortune of being able to rely on a large circle of loyal benefactors who actively support blood stem cell donation in a variety of ways. In 2020, they donated a total of CHF 934’931. Thus, public fundraising revenue increased by around 20 per cent over 2020 (CHF 780’671).
The supporter programme launched by Swiss Transfusion SRC in early 2020 played a role in this increase. Designed to encourage longer-term, regular support for blood stem cell donation, this programme created another way for people to promote the growth of the blood stem cell registry. In 2020, over 2000 supporter agreements were signed, resulting in upwards of CHF 185’000 in donations.
Appeals for financial donations addressed to various groups (direct marketing) resulted in contributions amounting to CHF 371’874 (2020: CHF 353’746). Another CHF 107,022 came from individual or event-related donations (2019: CHF 108’817). This might be in connection with the death or birthday of an individual or from companies, for instance. Benefit and charity events on behalf of blood stem cell donation could not be held in 2020 due to the Covid-19 pandemic; accordingly, the sponsored races planned by the student association Marrow did not take place. The total income in this category was correspondingly small, at CHF 9933 (2019: CHF 96’733).
The amounts contributed by newly registering donors came to CHF 264’176, a total considerably greater than that in 2019 (CHF 221’375), although the percentage of those contributing to the costs of their registration actually fell (15% compared to 17% in 2019). The increase in the total reflects the large number of new registrations.
Foundations and lottery funds
Income from institutional fundraising, which is to say, contributions from foundations, funds and lottery funds, amounted to CHF 452’653 in 2020 and was thus below the 2019 total (CHF 525’000). This is a function of the substantial decrease in the amounts received from lottery funds. Having made a great many payments in 2019 based on applications submitted in late 2018, these funds issued only a few individual final payments in 2020.
Public health was much in the focus of public attention in 2020 in light of the Covid-19 pandemic. The foundations remained loyal to the cause of blood stem cell donation. Foundations from the Principality of Liechtenstein provided increased support for the growth of the registry.