A  Dutch family, which was in the midst of moving some of its philanthropic activities family to Switzerland, wanted to replicate a successful project that they had been supporting in The Netherlands. The innovative “Care Farming” project supported farmers willing to integrate vulnerable people into their workforce. The family had been somewhat stuck on how to move forward, and they wanted practical advice as soon as possible regarding potential ways to engage.

We started off by researching the existing actors in the Care Farming field in Switzerland. In the process, we discovered that direct project support by the family was not needed, as the field was already adequately supported by Swiss government agencies at the federal and cantonal levels. We thus brought together various actors, including successful organizations from The Netherlands, to try and build consensus for what would actually be most needed. This helped lay the groundwork for the family to get engaged at a meaningful level, creating more impact through targeted support for the Care Farming sector rather than supporting individual actors.