Roche
OVERVIEW: Roche is a multinational healthcare company that makes grants to support humanitarian and disaster relief, global health, science education, and contemporary music and visual art. Its grantmaking prioritizes nonprofit organizations whose projects focus on those working in least developed and developing countries.
IP TAKE: Roche, a Swiss multinational health care company, focuses its philanthropic giving “on a limited number of key projects that can deliver valuable benefits from our contributions.” It prioritizes areas where it maintains operations, as well as developing nations around the world. Many of its grantee partners are large, well-known nonprofits and NGOs, but support for smaller organizations isn’t out of the question. Reach out to management at local operations for specific information about funding opportunities.
PROFILE: Roche is among the world’s leading healthcare companies. Founded in Switzerland in 1896 by Fritz Hoffmann-La Roche, Roche began as a pharmaceutical company. In the early 2000s, the company restructured to focus on biotechnology. Roche dedicates its philanthropy to “building stronger and healthier communities where we live, work, and beyond.” Roche’s grantmaking programs include Humanitarian and Social Development, Science Education, Strengthening Communities and Innovation in Arts.
Roche prioritizes projects that promote sustainable development, provide opportunities for Roche to use its logistics capabilities, engage its employees in contemporary arts, educational and social activities, and those which involve Roche in early-stage development with local governing bodies.
Grants for Humanitarian Aid and Global Health
Roche dedicates its Humanitarian and Social Development philanthropy to “humanitarian and social projects” around the world and is committed to “building stronger and healthier communities by improving human services and support systems, especially for those who need them the most.” According to the company’s website, Roche directs the majority of its philanthropy to this funding area and partners with local authorities who share the company’s “commitment to long-term solutions and who are prepared to contribute, for example, by providing essential infrastructure or local resources.
Grantee partners of Roche’s humanitarian grantmaking include the International Committee of the Red Cross and the Transnet-Phelophepa Healthcare Trains, which operate in remote areas of South Africa.
Roche’s disaster relief grantmaking, conducted through its Strengthening Communities funding area, which addresses “sustainable community rebuilding and humanitarian projects in areas that experienced a major natural disaster, primarily in developing countries.”
Past grantees include Hermanos Ameijeiras Hospital in Havana Cuba, which received funding after suffering extensive hurricane damage; and the Citizens Foundation in Pakistan, which received a grant for a primary school in rural Jacobabad after the area suffered widespread flooding.
Grants for STEM Education
Roche’s Science Education grants support programs “that promote scientific interest and provide educational opportunities for young people around the world.” Giving in this area consists of signature programs and support for organizations that work to improve educational access in developing countries.
Among Roche’s signature education programs are Experio Roche, a learning laboratory in Kaiseraugst, Switzerland that hosts young pupils from the region and Science on the Move, “a nation-wide, bi-annual science competition for Swiss high school classes” sponsored by Roche and run by SimplyScience Foundation.
Grantees working to improve and increase educational access in developing countries include Universitas Indonesia, the Ghana College of Nurses and Midwives, Fundación Educación, which provides scholarships to engineering and economic students in Peru, Colombia, El Salvador and Guatemala.
Grants for Music and Visual Arts
Roche’s Innovation in Arts program supports “groundbreaking contemporary art, cultural projects and activities that explore the parallels between innovation in art and in science.” Grants from this program prioritize music, but also occasionally support the visual arts and architecture. Ultimately, Roche cultivates and fosters “intensive interactions with contemporary music and art as a means to express [its] commitment to innovation characterized by excellence, distinctiveness and passion.”
Past grantees include the Lucerne Festival Academy’s Innovative Composer Project, the Salzburg Festival and Basel’s Museum Tinguely.
Important Grant Details:
Grants range from a few thousand to tens of thousands.
Roche’s accepts unsolicited requests for funding at any time.
Grantseekers should direct local and domestic requests to the local Roche affiliate.
International requests may be made to the Corporate Donations Philanthropy group.
Look over the Grant Criteria and Requests page for more complete application instructions.
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