More than a hundred thousand people in Switzerland are involved in charitable foundations. With a new digital feature from Spheriq, foundation board members can now make their commitment visible to everyone – simply, efficiently and in compliance with the law.
In Switzerland, over one hundred thousand people are registered in the Swiss Official Gazette of Commerce (SOGC) with a function in a foundation. The valuable work that many foundation board members do often goes unnoticed – at least in the digital world – despite the commercial register.
This is exactly where the new feature of the Spheriq platform comes in: With a simple link to the SOGC profile, foundation board members can now make their commitment accessible to a wider public online.
Using personal data on the web for charitable purposes
The digital use of personal data is now ringing alarm bells for many – and rightly so. At the beginning of 2008, the Swiss Federal Administrative Court dealt with the question of the extent to which such data may be used publicly. According to the court ruling, the use of SOGC data for charitable purposes has been permitted since then. This legal basis makes it possible to integrate SOGC data of individuals into the Spheriq platform. With its ruling a few years ago, the Federal Administration underlined the need in the foundation sector to support transparency and the exchange of information between organizations and members.
Unique link for maximum exchange
The SOGC profile of a member of the Board of Trustees contains all key information about the person and their organization(s). This information is all publicly accessible on the Spheriq platform. With the search function, users of the platform can easily search for a specific person and view the respective SOGC profile on Spheriq.
Spheriq now also enables foundation board members to add SOGC data to their user profile on the Spheriq platform. Instead of transferring this data manually, members can now link their SOGC personal profile directly to their user profile.
For new users without login
Platform users can link their user profile to the SOGC profile in just a few steps, starting with free access at the Free level:
- Create a personal Spheriq login
- Verify personal identity via digital identity verification
- Search name in the central search field
- Call up SOGC profile
- Click on the “This is me” button in the SOGC profile to create the link to the personal user profile
For users with existing login
Linking is even easier:
- Log in to the Spheriq platform
- If not already done: Verify personal identity via digital identity check
- Search name in the central search field
- Call up SOGC profile
- Click on the “This is me” button in the SOGC profile to create the link to the personal user profile
In both cases, the SOGC profile can be claimed if it matches the Spheriq user profile and the account has been verified via digital verification. Users with a verified identity will now also receive a badge on their user profile that indicates their confirmed identity.
If the “This is me” button does not appear, the name of the personal profile differs from that of the user profile. If you would still like to claim the personal profile because the name discrepancy is due to different spellings or missing name additions, Spheriq Support will be happy to help via chat or e-mail.
If a Foundation Board member is active in several associations or organizations, these are automatically listed in the profile. This not only creates transparency, but also enables better networking and makes the commitment visible in a clear and well-structured way.
Manual personalization of the user profile: More than just name and function
With the link to the SOGC personal profile, the user profile on Spheriq thus offers a new level of visibility across all of a member’s areas of activity. To complete a profile, users can continue to add to their profile manually in order to make targeted network contacts.
It is also possible to clearly indicate whether you are available for direct inquiries or would like to be contacted exclusively via the office or the website. In this way, the exchange remains targeted and effective, and thanks to the networking of the SOGC person profile on Spheriq, complete transparency and visibility in the Swiss foundation landscape is ensured.
