Swiss Society of New York

The purpose of the Annual Swiss Society Prize (“Prize Program”), a grant sponsored by The Swiss Society of New York (“SSNY”), is to promote Swiss culture and heritage by fostering the professional development of (i) Swiss expatriates, and (ii) American Citizens with proven Swiss roots, who demonstrate exceptional talent and quality in their field.  Through the Prize Program, SSNY is dedicated to supporting deserving candidates in their pursuit of educational excellence, social awareness, and humanity’s general body of knowledge.

The Prize Program will offer financial support to one selected winner each year towards education or special projects to advance the professional development of established or emerging professionals, representing a broad spectrum of backgrounds and vocations, in one of the following chosen fields:

• Higher education
• Arts
• Humanities
• Science and engineering
• Medicine
• Entrepreneurial pursuits of social and ecological concern

Eligibility for Applicants

Applicants to the Swiss Society Grants Program must either be a Swiss citizen, a Swiss citizen having legal immigration status in the United States, or an American born and naturalized citizen with documented Swiss roots (e.g. immigration records through Ellis Island).

Each applicant must have a minimum of three years of experience in his or her professional field. 

Every year prior to the application deadline, the SSNY will publish on its Website (www.swisssociety.com) the one professional field of interest that will be considered in that year.  Only candidates whose profession is the same as the field posted on the Website will be accepted for the prize that year.  In most years, the chosen field will be that of the Guest of Honor of the Swiss Ball.  In the event that no Guest of Honor is selected in a particular year, SSNY will post on the Website the category of which applications will be accepted for that year’s contest. 

Unsuccessful applicants may reapply the next time their field is chosen. Prior winners who have received a grant from this Prize Program are ineligible to reapply.

Members of the Grant Committee, the SSNY Board of Directors, employees of SSNY, as well as their families, are ineligible and may not apply for, or receive, a grant under this Prize Program.

Application Review Process/Grant Committee

Applications will be reviewed, and grants will be awarded, by a Grant Committee consisting of no less than three directors of SSNY. In addition, the Grant Committee will consist of no less than two specialists in the chosen field and may include, but shall not be limited to, members of the Swiss Ball Committee, the New York Consular Office, and the Guest of Honor of the Swiss Ball for that year.

The Grant Committee will determine the deadline by which all materials must be received and will publish the deadline on the Website.  No application received after the deadline will be considered.

After the deadline has passed, the Grant Committee will review each timely-submitted grant application and will select the winning recipient based on the Evaluative Funding Criteria outlined below.

In its initial review (“Initial Review”), the Grant Committee will grade each application on a 100 point scale.  After that grading is complete, the top 20% scored in the Initial Review will be the semi-finalists.  The Grant Committee will then re-grade the applications of the semi-finalists on a scale of 1-10, with 10 being the highest score (the “Secondary Review”).  Note, if there are less than 25 total applications in a given year, then the top 5 applications determined after the Initial Review will be the semi-finalists, and will be reviewed in the Secondary Review.  The top three semi-finalists will be the finalists.  The finalists will then get re-ranked on a scale of 1 to 10 and the highest score after the Third Review will be the winner.

The decision of the Grant Committee in all cases is final and cannot be appealed.

The application for the grant is available on SSNY’s Website, or by writing SSNY at: 500 Fifth Avenue, Suite 1800, New York, NY 10110.

Evaluative Funding Criteria

Applicants should address the following evaluative criteria as they develop their application narratives and budgets, where relevant and appropriate:

• Professional and programmatic quality of your program or activity
• Relationship of proposed activities to your chosen profession
• Professional competence, including your track record to carry out the proposed activities
• Scarcity or availability of comparable services in your professional area.
• The application will contain information regarding a points-system, stated above, which will be used by the Grant Committee to determine the winner.
• At least one reference is needed by a renowned person in the field of specialty.
• Supporting information will be requested in the application and the submission of additional professional references may be required.
• All information is kept strictly confidential.

Restrictions on the Use of Grant Funds

Successful applicants may not use Swiss Society of New York grant funds to pay for the following:

• Debt reductions
• Regularly scheduled programs of public universities or of agencies or departments
• Regularly scheduled programs of public school districts or their components or affiliates
• Programs that are essentially recreational, rehabilitational, or therapeutic
• Programs supporting political parties, religious activities, radical and immoral activities, money laundering and other unlawful activities
• Operating expenses of privately owned facilities, such as homes or studios
• Hospitality or entertainment costs for receptions, performance or museum openings, or fundraising benefits

Deadlines

The Grant Committee will determine the submission deadline annually and will notify applicants of the deadline by posting it on the Website.

The grant will be announced in writing to the winning candidate eight to ten weeks after the submission deadline.

Reporting Requirements

Six months after the grant has been awarded, the recipient will be required to submit to the Grant Committee a written report demonstrating that the grant is being utilized to advance the tax exempt purposes of the Swiss Society of New York and this Prize Program.