Stiftung Mercator Schweiz backs projects at the intersection of democracy, media, arts, and climate, with a clear emphasis on using culture and journalism as levers for social change. Its programs tend to support pilot ideas, organizational development, and innovative formats rather than traditional operating grants, often in partnership with other foundations or consortia. For nonprofits, this funder is especially interested in cross-sector work in Switzerland and broader Europe that tests new models, strengthens public-interest infrastructure, or mobilizes creative practitioners around climate and civic issues.
Primarily programmatic, invite-or-application-based funding with a strong pilot-and-innovation orientation. Grants range from small seed grants around CHF 10,000 to larger multi-organization awards in the hundreds of thousands, often tied to specific calls, cohorts, or fellowship programs with fixed deadlines.
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Watch for program-specific calls and deadlines rather than a general open application process; several opportunities are limited to Switzerland or French-speaking Switzerland. Strong applications will show a novel testable idea, collaboration across sectors, and a clear path to organizational learning or scaling, especially in journalism, democracy tech, or arts-based climate work.
Current and upcoming funding from Stiftung Mercator GmbH / Schweiz that your nonprofit may be able to apply for.
Who can apply: Open to local journalists, and potentially also profit-oriented media companies; no formal public grant criteria are provided in the content.
Who can apply: Media organisations working for the common good, headquartered in Switzerland, with a journalistic-publicistic orientation focused on French-speaking Switzerland and reporting in French.
Deadline: Planned calls in September 2026 and February 2027
Who can apply: Open to non-profit media and projects after the idea phase with proof of concept and initial product/market fit; media filling gaps in local or national reporting are especially eligible. For French-speaking Switzerland launch grants, eligible applicants are common-good media organisations headquartered in Switzerland with a journalistic-publicistic orientation focused on French-speaking Switzerland and reporting in French.
Deadline: Next applications for the general fund were announced for March 2025. French-speaking Switzerland launch grants: September 2026 and February 2027. Strategy Grants: first call February 2028.
Who can apply: Existing media programmes with a journalistic-publicistic orientation focused on French-speaking Switzerland and reporting in French; details adapted to the region-specific selection criteria.
Deadline: First call planned for February 2028
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Create a free accountDeadlines and eligibility are summarized from public sources and may change — always confirm the details on the funder's official application page before applying.