Zürich, Switzerland// – In its 35th year, the Jacobs Foundation has reached a major milestone: more than CHF 1 billion of giving since its founding to improve healthy development and learning outcomes for children globally.
This funding has supported the generation and application of rigorous evidence, fostered cross-sector collaboration, and strengthened education systems to better meet the needs of children and young people.
The milestone reflects the Foundation’s long-term commitment to advancing children’s lives through strategic, evidence-informed philanthropy. Over the past three decades, the Foundation has partnered with researchers, governments, private sector actors, and practitioners to pilot, scale, and sustain the most promising approaches to children’s learning and development in Switzerland and around the world.
The CHF 1 billion deployed to date has enabled sustained work in early learning, learning variability, and systems-level reform through flagship programs such as the Jacobs Research Fellowship, the Learning Variability Network Exchange (LEVANTE), the Jacobs Centre for Productive Youth Development at the University of Zurich, and the System Change Architecture for Learning Excellence (SCALE) national program in Ghana.
This milestone comes at a time of growing pressure on international education financing. With official development assistance (ODA) in decline globally, the role of strategic, flexible philanthropy is more critical than ever.
The Foundation’s work remains rooted in a core belief: that every child should have the opportunity to fulfil their full potential. Its efforts are guided by evidence, learning, and a commitment to entrepreneurial excellence and social responsibility.
In 2025, the Foundation introduced a new structure for its investment portfolio, strengthening its long-term capacity to pursue its mission. This will enable it to increase its philanthropic funding to further expand its impact on children’s learning worldwide in the post-2030 decade.
Lavinia Jacobs, Chair of the Jacobs Foundation’s Board of Trustees, said: “We are proud of what this milestone represents: decades of purposeful philanthropic commitment to improving education systems and outcomes for children.
Surpassing CHF 1 billion in philanthropic giving reflects not only the scale of our commitment, but also the strength of the partnerships we’ve built over time. We remain focused on translating evidence into action and on helping education systems respond to the needs of children around the world.”
Simon Sommer, Co-CEOs of the Jacobs Foundation, said: “This milestone is a moment of reflection and renewal. It affirms what can be achieved through long-term commitment, strong partnerships, and a shared belief in the power of education to transform lives. Our founder’s vision—that every child should have the opportunity to fulfil their potential—remains at the heart of our work as we continue to learn, adapt, and drive change across education systems.”
Fabio Segura, Co-CEOs of the Jacobs Foundation, said: “With our mission-driven investment strategy, we are in a strong position to align resources with purpose, enabling us to invest strategically and respond with agility. We remain focused on what drives impact: rigorous research, co-financing partnerships at the country level, and flagship initiatives like the Jacobs Research Fellowship and LEVANTE.”
