Make an online donation to the Swiss Red Cross

Fundraising is vital as it enables us to provide aid quickly. Making a donation to the Swiss Red Cross means providing people in difficulty with practical assistance in Switzerland and abroad. Whether for the victims of a natural disaster or a conflict, or to help the most vulnerable people in Switzerland, you can make a lifesaving gesture.  

Everyone can help in their own way. There are many different ways to donate: monthly, in an emergency, online or even a lifetime or legacy donation. Together, we can change lives. Every contribution makes a difference. 

With your contribution, you support our ongoing aid for vulnerable people in Switzerland and around the world. 

Making an online donation to the SRC is easy, quick and safe. You can choose from various payment methods, such as by credit card or bank transfer. All transactions are encrypted to ensure your personal information is kept confidential. To make an online donation, you just need to follow these simple steps: 

• Choose the project Opens a new windowyou want to support.

• Choose the amount you want to donate. 

• Choose the frequency of your donation: one-off, monthly, annually. 

• Choose your payment method. 

• Enter your personal information with your postal address if you would like to receive a donation confirmation (useful for your tax return). 

• Confirm your donation. 

• You will then receive a confirmation email from the SRC. 

• Within a few minutes, you will have made a gesture that will change the lives of people in difficulty. 

• Credit card 

• Bank transfer 

• Postfinance 

• Twint 

• Direct debit, standing order 

• PayPal 

• Google Pay  

• Apple Pay 

• Crypto-currencies

Health promotion, disaster prevention and social support: we carry out our projects and missions in Switzerland and around the world. If we are to stand by the most disadvantaged people and provide them with reliable, professional help, we need regular financial support. Day after day, we help people in distress. 

Regular donations (monthly or yearly) are a handy, effective way to support the Swiss Red Cross in the longer term. You choose the amount you would like to donate every month or every year and you can change the amount at any time. This is an easy way to regularly help people in difficulty. 

Automatic Donations, greater Impact

When you opt for an automatic regular donation, you have a greater impact by reducing overheads. This means that the Swiss Red Cross will always be ready to respond quickly, whether in Switzerland or abroad.
Opting for an automatic regular donation is a convenient, simple and effective strategy for supporting the SRC’s humanitarian operations.

Natural disasters, crises, war... each year, hundreds of thousands of people around the world lose their livelihoods and struggle to survive. The Swiss Red Cross (SRC) is ready to respond at any moment, and every year provides essential assistance in over 20 countries hit by natural disasters. Its rapid response teams distribute food and drinking waterand support medical care, and set up emergency shelters. Your donation enables us to save lives every day.
A one-off donation is a fast and effective way to support the SRC’s emergency operations. It also enables you to give to a specific cause close to your heart.

Regularly donate for humanity

If you would like to give the SRC your regular support, you can also choose a monthly donation. Making a regular donation is an easy and efficient way to support a cause in the longer term. No matter what donation option you choose, your generosity will help us support extremely vulnerable people. We need your support, so that we can help them. 

Every donation counts. Please support our work all around the world, now and for as long as necessary, to fight poverty and promote greater humanity. 
With your help, we can provide emergency relief kits, for example. By making a donation, you will be providing concrete aid. 

By making an online donation to the Swiss Red Cross, you support vulnerable people in Switzerland and elsewhere in the world. Unspecified donations are pooled to meet the most urgent needs at that time. They are not earmarked for a particular project or country. This approach allows us to adapt our funding in the event of a crisis, while guaranteeing the continuity of our activities in the longer term. 

However, in the case of emergency donations or donations for specific causes, such as families in Switzerland or eye medicine, the funds are earmarked for these purposes, unless it is explicitly stated that the donations may if necessary be allocated to other programmes. 

All over the world, the Red Cross symbolizes aid, health, security and Switzerland’s humanitarian tradition. The Swiss Red Cross is a non-profit organization that has been helping people in distress since 1866.  
For almost 160 years, we have been providing aid for people in distress. On your behalf as well. Besides online donations, there are various ways you can support our work. We explain how you can help us.

With a testamentary donation, you can leave a portion of your estate or assets to a non-profit organization, such as the Swiss Red Cross. That way, you will support the work of the SRC in accordance with your values. 

By providing for the SRC in your will, you will be taking care of future generations. Regardless of the amount, your testamentary donation is precious support for our work. Feel free to contact us if you have any questions about estate planning.

Here's how to establish a legacy

To ensure your will is valid, write it out in your own hand from beginning to end. Use a ballpoint pen. At the top, write ‘My will’, ‘Last will and testament’, or ‘Last will’. Make sure your will is clear and unambiguous. Most importantly, at the bottom, sign the will with the date and place.
You can find more templates and examples with important information on our advice page.

Free advice pack from the SRC

The free SRC advice pack shows you step by step how to write a valid last will and testament. Our advice pack contains the following:

• How to write a legally valid will

• Information about the contract of succession

• Various templates

• Handy checklists for your estate planning

• Instructions on how to include the SRC in your will

With one or more living endowments, you can leave some of your assets to the Swiss Red Cross. Then, part of the anticipated inheritance is already transferred during your lifetime. You will then be able to see some of the actual impact of your donation. If you so wish, the agreed details can be set out in a donation contract. You can, for example, bequeath your house or apartment to the SRC during your lifetime and yet continue to live there.  

 Here is how you can make a living endowment:  

• Contact the Swiss Red Cross to find out more about the procedure for a lifetime donation, by telephone or email. (lien formulaire de contact Marianne)  

• Specify what property or objects you would like to donate to the Swiss Red Cross. 

• Sign a deed of covenant that sets out your wishes or specific requirements. 

• You will receive an endowment confirmation so that you can claim it as a deductible on your tax declaration. 

Your patronage generates effective, long-term help for the most vulnerable people. Provide long-term support for our emergency assistance programmes, children in distress or the victims of torture and war.

Become a patron!
With just one franc a day (30 francs a month), you can help directly wherever people need it most.

Here’s how you can become a patron of SRC projects:

• Choose an SRC patronage on our pageOpens a new window. 

• Decide how much you would like to donate each month or year. 

• Fill in the online patronage form. 

• Choose your payment method and confirm your donation. 

• You will receive regular updates on the progress of your chosen project. 

Organize your own fundraising campaign and help people in distress. With ActNowOpens a new window, you can create and personalize your crowdfunding campaigns in support of the Swiss Red Cross. It might be for your birthday, a jubilee, a sports event or some other occasion of your choice. You just collect donations and make an active contribution to the help we provide for people in need. You can choose from a range of causes that are close to your heart.

Since 1 October 2022, it has no longer been possible to make donations with red or orange payment slips. They have now been replaced by invoices with a QR code (= QR invoice). You can now easily make a donation using a QR invoice. It is a way to make an occasional or regular donation securely.  

• How can I get a QR invoice to make a donation to the Swiss Red Cross.  

Download a QR invoice from our website (LIEN) or ask our Donor Service for one by email or telephone.  

• Here’s how to make a donation with a QR code. 

• By online banking on your computer 

Connect to your online bank as usual. Follow the instructions to enter a new payment. Hold the QR code up to your computer webcam. The data contained in the QR code will then appear on your banking screen. You can change the amount of your donation and the payment date before confirming the payment. 

• Using an app on your phone 

Connect to your mobile banking or PostFinance app and follow the instructions for making a payment or paying a bill. The data contained in the QR code are captured automatically when you scan it with your phone. You can still change the amount and the payment date. If the TWINT logo appears on the payment slip, you can also use TWINT to make your donation. You just need to open the TWINT app on your phone and follow the instructions. 

• By payment order to your bank 

QR invoices work almost the same as a traditional payment slip. Simply attach it to the payment order that you send to your bank as usual. If you use a QR invoice without any amount printed on it, do not forget to enter the amount of your donation. Please note that it is no longer possible to add a comment to the new QR invoices. 

• At the post office or bank 

Go to a branch of your bank. The bank clerk will help you make the payment. You can pay as usual by bank card or in cash. In this instance, the bank is obliged to check your identity. Good to know: if you make a donation at the post office, the charges are covered by the charity you are donating to. 

You can rely on the Swiss Red Cross, which was founded almost 160 years ago: We provide emergency aid and development cooperation wherever people urgently need us. With your donation you provide, for example:

• Shelter and essential goods as well as psychosocial support for families who have fled within Ukraine better health care for people in need in Syria and Lebanon

• Cholera containment when a country requests international assistance during an epidemic

• Access to drinking water in disadvantaged regions of the global South.

The Red Cross is also committed to helping people in difficult living situations in Switzerland. Without donations from people like you, our work at home and abroad would not be possible. Will you become a part of our commitment? Thank you very much for your support! With your online donation, you make our work possible. Good to know: Each January, the Swiss Red Cross will send you a donation confirmation with all your donation amounts from the previous year for your tax return.

Here are the answers to the most frequent questions. We provide answers to your questions about the security of online payments, how personal details are handled, or the donation confirmations for your tax return. If you have any other questions, just contact our donor service. We are there to help you make a donation with complete peace of mind.