What Velux Foundation does

VELUX FONDEN is a Danish charitable foundation (almennyttig fond) established in 1981 by Villum Kann Rasmussen, founder of VELUX and the VKR Group, operating from its headquarters in Søborg, Denmark. The foundation is a grant-making rather than commercial organization, distributing approximately DKK 300 million annually across roughly 600 projects from a sizable endowment, and receiving more than 1,000 applications each year. It serves Danish, Greenlandic, and Faroese applicants across four core funding areas: Social Initiatives; An Ocean in Balance; Human and Social Science Research and Culture; and Transitions and Changes During Adult Life, with a 2026-launched Democratic Sustainability vision initiative extending the thematic perimeter under its Strategy 2030.

Grant applications are submitted through a digital application portal and processed over 4-9 months via fund advisers, external experts, and board approval. The foundation operates within the VKR Fund Universe alongside sister foundations Villum Fonden and VELUX STIFTUNG, jointly running The Daylight Award (biennial, even years, EUR 100,000 per recipient) and the Bygningskomponentprisen (odd years). It co-founded Tænketanken Hav in 2021 and established the National Center for Marine Nature Restoration with the Danish Ministry of the Environment, signaling a role that extends from grant-maker to ecosystem-builder.

Operationally, the foundation runs a lean team of 11-50 staff organized into grant-area departments, shared administration, legal and compliance, communications, and a dedicated Digitalisation and IT function. AI tooling is deployed to structure, summarize, and perform quality assurance on incoming applications, but all funding decisions remain with the Board and relevant committees. Key disclosed customers/grantees include Aarhus University, University of Copenhagen, CBS, Aalborg University, the National Museum of Denmark, CONCITO, and IOC-UNESCO, illustrating the foundation's reach across academia, culture, social policy, and ocean conservation.

Name

Velux Foundation

Legal name

VELUX FOUNDATION

Website

https://veluxfonden.dk

Company type

Private

Founded year

1981

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

VELUX FONDEN is a Danish charitable foundation established in 1981 that distributes approximately DKK 300 million annually across roughly 600 grant projects in Denmark, Greenland, and the Faroe Islands, serving universities, museums, NGOs, and public institutions across social initiatives, ocean conservation, humanities research, and adult-life transitions.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Charitable Grant-Making Foundation

NAICS

Grantmaking Foundations (813211), Grantmaking and Giving Services (8132)

SIC

Services-Social Services (8300)

akta.pro primary industry

Grantmaking & Philanthropic Funds (Institutional Donors) (BPADAOAB)

akta.pro secondary industries

Research & Science Grantmaking Foundations (BPAGAKAI), Education Grantmaking Foundations (BPAGAKAK), SDG / Thematic Sustainable Investment Funds (FSANAJAN)

Keywords

• Philanthropic foundation
• Grant-making organization
• Humanities research funding
• Ocean conservation grants
• Social initiative funding

Headquarters

HQ city

Søborg

HQ country

Denmark

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure, Others

Revenue model

1. Foundation endowment and philanthropy: VELUX FONDEN operates as a charitable foundation that distributes grants from its endowment to support projects in humanities, social sciences, ocean conservation, social initiatives, and adult life transitions. The foundation does not generate commercial revenue but receives income from its investment portfolio and distributes approximately DKK 300 million annually in grants.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

VELUX FONDEN is a Danish charitable foundation that distributes approximately DKK 300 million in grants each year across four main funding areas: Social Initiatives, An Ocean in Balance, Human and Social Science Research and Culture, and Transitions and Changes During Adult Life. Applicants from universities, NGOs, public institutions, and associations submit project proposals via a digital portal for review by fund advisors, external experts, and board approval, with typical processing times of 4-9 months.

Product overview

VELUX FONDEN is a Danish charitable foundation that operates as a grant-making organization rather than a product company. The foundation provides funding through its four main grant areas: Social Initiatives, An Ocean in Balance, Human and Social Science Research and Culture, and Transitions and Changes During Adult Life. Additionally, the foundation operates a Democratic Sustainability vision initiative and awards two prestigious prizes - The Daylight Award (architecture and research) and the Bygningskomponentprisen (Building Component Prize) - both shared with sister foundations Villum Fonden and Velux Stiftung. Applications are processed through a digital grant portal.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• The Daylight Award: An international award focused on daylight in architecture and research, awarded jointly by VILLUM FONDEN, VELUX FONDEN and VELUX STIFTUNG every two years. Prize amount is EUR 100,000 per recipient.
• Demokratisk bæredygtighed
• National Center for Marine Restoration

Products and services

• Grant Programs (Uddelingsområder) Four main funding areas open to Danish universities, NGOs, public institutions, and associations for project-based grant applications: (1) Social Initiatives for inclusion, (2) An Ocean in Balance for marine environment and climate resilience, (3) Human and Social Science Research and Culture for free basic research and cross-sectoral collaboration, and (4) Transitions and Changes During Adult Life for senior agency and quality of life.
• Digital Grant Application Portal

Quantifiable outcome

• Over 1000 applications received annually with approximately 600 projects supported
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers11 records

Segments6 records

Ideal customer profiles5 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

AI capability3 records

Partnerships

Ten partnerships are on record, tiered minor and core.

• Bose Institute, KolkataminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 4 January 2026Scientists from Bose Institute, Kolkata collaborated on research supported by Switzerland-based Velux Stiftung to identify a novel antimicrobial peptide (SA-XV) for treating drug-resistant fungal infections of the cornea.
• LV Prasad Eye Institute, HyderabadminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 4 January 2026Scientists from LV Prasad Eye Institute, Hyderabad collaborated on research supported by Velux Stiftung to identify a novel antimicrobial peptide (SA-XV) for treating drug-resistant fungal infections of the cornea, a leading cause of blindness in South Asia.
• Impact Lab 2.0 partnerscoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 20 January 2025Impact Lab 2.0 is a partnership for democratic sustainability involving multiple civil society organizations. VELUX FONDEN supports this interdisciplinary initiative which focuses on strengthening democratic processes in sustainability transitions. New participants were selected in February 2026 with civil society focus.
• Villum FondencoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2024Villum Fonden is part of the VKR foundation family established by Villum Kann Rasmussen, along with VELUX FONDEN and VELUX STIFTUNG. Both foundations co-sponsor The Daylight Award and have created a joint action plan for CoARA (Coalition for Advancing Research Assessment). Villum Fonden focuses on technical and natural sciences while VELUX FONDEN focuses on humanities and social sciences.
• Coalition for Advancing Research Assessment (CoARA)minorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2024VELUX FONDEN and Villum Fonden have created a joint action plan to implement the CoARA agreement, committed to increasing use of qualitative assessments including peer review in research evaluation.
• IOC-UNESCOcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2021VELUX FOUNDATION has entered into a partnership with IOC-UNESCO to promote the UN's Ocean Decade (2021-2030). The decade aligns with the foundation's priorities for ocean conservation. VELUX FOUNDATION actively participates in the Foundations Dialogue for the Ocean Decade and hosted the first Partnership Dialogue in Copenhagen in 2020.
• National Center for Marine Nature Restoration (Marin Natur)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2021VELUX FOUNDATION, together with the Ministry of the Environment, established the National Center for Marine Nature Restoration. The aim is to promote knowledge-based implementation of marine nature restoration to strengthen ecological balance and ecosystem services in Danish waters.
• Tænketanken Hav (Ocean Institute)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2021The Ocean Institute (Tænketanken Hav) is a non-profit member-based organisation working to gather knowledge about the ocean and translate it into concrete actions. It was founded on the initiative of VELUX FOUNDATION in 2021.
• EU Mission Ocean and WatersminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2020VELUX FOUNDATION collaborates with Danish research authorities to promote the EU Mission 'Restore our Ocean and Waters by 2030.' The EU mission is part of Horizon Europe's research program and seeks to protect marine ecosystems, prevent pollution, and make the blue economy sustainable.
• VELUX STIFTUNGcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 1980VELUX STIFTUNG (Velux Stiftung) co-sponsors The Daylight Award with VELUX FONDEN and Villum Fonden. This Swiss-based foundation was also founded by Villum Kann Rasmussen and supports scientific research, particularly in ophthalmology as evidenced by funding for peptide research at Bose Institute and LV Prasad Eye Institute.

Scale indicators7 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Villum Fonden: Sister foundation within the VKR fund universe established by Villum Kann Rasmussen. Co-sponsors The Daylight Award and shares brand, governance, and applicant ecosystem with VELUX FONDEN, though it focuses on technical and natural sciences versus humanities and social sciences.
• Realdania: Danish philanthropic association funding built environment, sustainability, and quality of life projects. Closely comparable through overlap on The Power of Modelling museum grant, marine restoration, and architecture/building awards (co-sponsor of Bygningskomponentprisen-related initiatives).
• Velux Stiftung: Swiss-based sister foundation also founded by Villum Kann Rasmussen and co-sponsor of The Daylight Award. Operates as a comparable institutional grantmaker within the same family, with overlap in scientific research funding.

Regional players

• Nordea Foundation: Nordic corporate foundation funding social and environmental projects across the Nordics. Comparable in structure and grantmaking scope but operates across the wider Nordic region rather than Denmark-only.

Broad incumbents

• Lundbeck Foundation: Danish commercial foundation funding biomedical sciences research, science education, and communication projects. Comparable in structure and grantmaking focus but concentrated on health/biomedical research rather than humanities and ocean conservation.
• Carlsberg Foundation: Major Danish grantmaking foundation supporting basic research in natural sciences, humanities, and social sciences. Directly comparable as a research-focused Danish foundation but with a much larger endowment and broader geographic scope.
• Novo Nordisk Fonden: Denmark's largest foundation and a major grantmaking institution focused on scientific, humanitarian, and social causes. Compares as a domestic peer but operates at materially larger scale and a broader portfolio, including significant medical research funding.
• Augustinus Foundation: Danish foundation funding health, social, cultural, and scientific initiatives. Comparable as a domestic multi-vertical grantmaker of similar scale profile with overlapping social and humanities focus areas.
• A.P. Møller Foundation: One of Denmark's largest foundations supporting scientific, cultural, and humanitarian purposes. Comparable as a large-scale Danish institutional grantmaker with similar multi-vertical programs and significant endowment-backed giving.
• LEO Foundation: Danish commercial foundation funding dermatology research and related scientific initiatives. Comparable as a Danish grantmaking foundation but specialized in a single vertical versus VELUX FONDEN's broad mandate.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/VELUXFonden
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/velux-fonden
• Xx.com/veluxfonden

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles10 records

Subsidiaries1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments3 records

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Frequently asked questions about Velux Foundation