Our vision is to create the largest sustainable charity fund in Eastern Europe that supports youth development. We aim to grow the fund’s assets as efficiently and transparently as possible, providing regular updates on the fund’s growth, charitable work, and investments.
Supporting the Foundation
The Foundation’s primary supporters are students participating in the Southwestern Advantage summer program and its alumni.
To date, the Foundation has raised a total of €192,824 in donations, distributed by country as follows:
Charitable Giving
We are committed to supporting charitable projects and scholarship programs that align with the Foundation’s mission of helping young people develop the character, skills, and mindset needed to achieve their dreams.
As of the end of June, the Foundation has awarded a total of €34,369 in grants and scholarships since its establishment in 2017. During 2026, we have already awarded €1,800 in grants, with a further €6,000 in scholarships planned for the autumn. We will once again organize the Entrepreneurial Youth Scholarship competitions in Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania, while continuing to seek partners in Slovakia and Poland to launch similar scholarship programs.
Since the spring of 2024, the Foundation has awarded a total of €11,000 through the Entrepreneurial Youth Scholarship program across the Baltic States. The program aims to recognize and support entrepreneurial young people who demonstrate initiative, ambition, and a willingness to step outside their comfort zones. More information about this year’s scholarship competitions will be announced in early September.
Investments
The Foundation’s long-term investment objective is to achieve annual asset growth of at least 10%. This enables us to allocate approximately 5% of the Foundation’s assets each year to scholarships and charitable grants while continuing to grow the Foundation’s endowment. In this way, every donation continues to create opportunities for future generations of young people. We are also committed to keeping the Foundation’s operating expenses as low as possible, ensuring that, as the Foundation grows, these costs become an increasingly smaller proportion of its assets.
As of today, the Foundation’s assets have grown to €196,331, and the budget allocated for scholarships and charitable grants in 2026 amounts to €8,138. Compared to the same time last year, the Foundation’s assets have increased by 30%, and by 21% since the beginning of the year. This strong growth has been driven by the continued generosity of Southwestern Advantage program participants and alumni, while the Foundation’s investments have also made a meaningful contribution, generating an average annual return of 10%. The Foundation’s decision in 2025 to diversify a portion of its portfolio into U.S. equity index funds has also proven successful, with the value of these holdings increasing by approximately 14% since the beginning of the year.
The Foundation’s investments are allocated across the following asset classes:
The mission of the Southwestern Advantage Foundation is to become the largest investment-based charity fund in Eastern European countries, helping young people gain knowledge and develop character so they can fulfill their dreams in life. We help young people across Europe access better entrepreneurial education and share investment knowledge with those who otherwise wouldn’t have the opportunity. Our goal is to reduce and prevent poverty through education and empowerment.
We direct our contributions to charitable projects in line with this mission. We donate only from the fund’s passive income — allocating 50% of the returns to charity and 50% back to the fund. In this way, your good deed keeps doing good forever.
Help us make a difference: https://swacharity.eu/en/donate/
