Measures bear fruit
HEKS/EPER introduced a comprehensive package of measures in response to a difficult year 2018, when receipts from donations contracted significantly and consequently necessitated a drawdown on the capital fund. And, in combination with measures to cut staff and administrative costs, targeted focusing in the national and international project portfolio has borne fruit. Overall revenue amounted to CHF 68.4 million (2018: CHF 66.2 million), which was in fact below the envisaged target. At the same time, however, spending could be reduced to about CHF 73.8 million, representing a CHF 1.2 million cut-back on the prior year. Another drawdown on the fund capital was therefore unavoidable, but the amount could be substantially reduced from CHF 7.7 million in 2018 to just under CHF 3.3 million.
Higher revenue from services in Switzerland
One welcome development was the appreciably higher income from services provided in Switzerland, thanks mostly to the new mandate to provide legal representation in the two federal asylum centres in North-western and Eastern Switzerland. Income from work in Switzerland totalled CHF 31.1 million or 45% of overall revenue. Of that amount, CHF 1.1 million came from donations and bequests by private persons, CHF 2.1 million were donations and contributions from church sources. International work accounted for CHF 25.7 million of overall income, with the share of private donations and bequests being CHF 3.2 million and that of donations and contributions from church circles CHF 5.5 billion.
Lower administrative costs
The share of administrative costs in overall expenditure was CHF 10.6 million or 14.4% (2018: CHF 10.8 million). This places HEKS/EPER below the average for Zewo-certified non-profit organizations (21%). The staff complement at the end of December 2019 was just under 246 full-time equivalents (2018 figure: 227). Remuneration to the management amounted to CHF 158,000. (2018: CHF 176,000).
