Key Takeaways
- • The IFRC has officially launched the IFRC Endowment Platform, a shared legal, governance and investment structure that lets National Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies establish endowment funds for long-term, recurring funding.
- • The Platform brings together the IFRC (strategic coordination), Fondation Philanthropia (Swiss charitable foundation that hosts funds and holds assets) and Lombard Odier (Swiss private bank providing investment management and banking services).
- • The Ukrainian Red Cross Endowment Fund is the first fund under the Platform; it became operational in September 2026, with disbursements beginning in 2028.
- • The fund was catalysed by a significant commitment from the British Red Cross, alongside contributions from other Partner National Societies.
- • The Platform is designed for replication across the IFRC's 191 member societies, positioned as a diversification away from emergency appeals and grant cycles.
Summary
The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) has officially launched the IFRC Endowment Platform, a mechanism intended to help National Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies secure long-term, sustainable and recurring funding for their work. The launch event took place on 16 October 2026 in Geneva, where IFRC Secretary General Jagan Chapagain described the Platform as offering "financial resilience and stability" for National Societies, particularly those operating in the most challenging humanitarian crises.
The Platform provides a shared legal, governance and investment structure that reduces the cost and complexity of establishing endowment funds, while ensuring professional oversight. Unlike traditional grants, which are typically tied to specific projects and timeframes, endowment funding is designed to generate a sustainable income stream that can strengthen core capacities such as governance, systems, infrastructure and organisational development. Contributions are invested on financial markets, and the income generated provides recurring support over time.
Three partners anchor the structure. The IFRC provides strategic coordination. Fondation Philanthropia, an independent Swiss charitable foundation, hosts the endowment funds, legally holds and safeguards the assets, and retains final fiduciary responsibility. Lombard Odier, a Swiss private bank, supplies professional investment management and banking services. Denis Pittet, Managing Partner at Lombard Odier and President of Fondation Philanthropia, said the Platform "transform[s] generosity expressed today into sustainable support for the years and decades ahead." The IFRC states the Platform is designed for its 191 members and is scalable and adaptable to different National Society priorities, donor interests and financing needs.
The first fund under the Platform is the Ukrainian Red Cross Endowment Fund, created with the Ukrainian Red Cross Society and catalysed by a significant commitment from the British Red Cross, with contributions from other Partner National Societies. The fund became operational in September 2026, and disbursements to the Ukrainian Red Cross will begin in 2028. Ukrainian Red Cross President Maksym Dotsenko said the fund would offer "more predictable funding to strengthen our institutional capacity, people and systems." British Red Cross CEO Béatrice Butsana-Sita said the partnership shows how philanthropic contributions can become "lasting financing for National Societies."
The IFRC presents the Platform as a significant step in diversifying humanitarian funding, with the aim of keeping National Societies financially resilient after media attention and emergency funding have moved on.
The Platform provides a shared legal, governance and investment structure that reduces the cost and complexity of establishing endowment funds, while ensuring professional oversight. Unlike traditional grants, which are typically tied to specific projects and timeframes, endowment funding is designed to generate a sustainable income stream that can strengthen core capacities such as governance, systems, infrastructure and organisational development. Contributions are invested on financial markets, and the income generated provides recurring support over time.
Three partners anchor the structure. The IFRC provides strategic coordination. Fondation Philanthropia, an independent Swiss charitable foundation, hosts the endowment funds, legally holds and safeguards the assets, and retains final fiduciary responsibility. Lombard Odier, a Swiss private bank, supplies professional investment management and banking services. Denis Pittet, Managing Partner at Lombard Odier and President of Fondation Philanthropia, said the Platform "transform[s] generosity expressed today into sustainable support for the years and decades ahead." The IFRC states the Platform is designed for its 191 members and is scalable and adaptable to different National Society priorities, donor interests and financing needs.
The first fund under the Platform is the Ukrainian Red Cross Endowment Fund, created with the Ukrainian Red Cross Society and catalysed by a significant commitment from the British Red Cross, with contributions from other Partner National Societies. The fund became operational in September 2026, and disbursements to the Ukrainian Red Cross will begin in 2028. Ukrainian Red Cross President Maksym Dotsenko said the fund would offer "more predictable funding to strengthen our institutional capacity, people and systems." British Red Cross CEO Béatrice Butsana-Sita said the partnership shows how philanthropic contributions can become "lasting financing for National Societies."
The IFRC presents the Platform as a significant step in diversifying humanitarian funding, with the aim of keeping National Societies financially resilient after media attention and emergency funding have moved on.
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