Fondazione Balzan, Balzan, Balzan Foundation, Premi Balzan, Balzan Prizes, Prix Balzan, Fondation Internationale Balzan, Balzan Stiftung, Balzan Preise

The International Balzan Prize Foundation "Fund" was established in 1961 as a Swiss legal entity with its own legal identity. Its headquarters is in Zurich. It is managed by a Foundation Board consisting of seven members, two of whom are representatives of the Italian and Swiss governments respectively. The Balzan Foundation "Fund" is a charitable foundation under Swiss law and is overseen by the Swiss Federal Department of Home Affairs.

The mission of the Balzan Foundation "Fund" is „to collect, protect and administer the property so as to place at the disposal of the International Balzan Foundation "Prize" the necessary financial means to realize its objective.“

The Foundation Board of the Balzan Foundation "Fund" wishes to inform that it has commissioned four renowned Swiss banks with the management of its assets. The asset management is based on clearly defined and conservative investment guidelines similar to those that apply to institutional investors such as public pension funds. In particular, the Foundation Board has prohibited investments in speculative instruments and in structured products.

Based on the continuously increasing income from its managed assets in the nineteen-nineties, the Balzan Foundation "Fund" could successively increase the total value of the Balzan prizes. This policy corresponds with the statutory stipulations of the Balzan Foundation "Fund", according to which the income from the assets is not to be reinvested in the Balzan Foundation "Fund" but to be used primarily for accomplishing the goals of the Foundation "Prize".

However, in view of the continuing great uncertainty regarding the development of the financial markets, and the currently very low return from the investment markets, the Board of the Balzan Foundation "Fund" has precautionarily reduced the total prize money for 2011 to three million Swiss francs. This decision also takes into account the strong increase in value of the Swiss franc, not only relative to the euro but also to the US dollar. The Balzan Foundation "Prize" has therefore decided for 2011 to award four Balzan Prizes of 750,000 Swiss francs each, with half of the prize money in each case being designated for research projects, as formerly.

2001 – 2010: CHF 4,000,000 = 4 prizes of CHF 1,000,000*

2011             CHF 3,000,000 =  4 prizes of CHF   750,000*  

The amounts of the six prizes awarded since 1979 for Humanity, Peace and Brotherhood Among Peoples were each double the amounts of the other prizes