SPAREBANKSTIFTELSEN RINGERIKE

What SPAREBANKSTIFTELSEN RINGERIKE does

SpareBank 1-stiftelsen Ringerike is a private Norwegian charitable foundation (stiftelse) established in 2010 following the merger of Ringerikes Sparebank, Sparebanken Jevnaker Lunner, and Gran Sparebank. Its mandate is to channel former savings bank capital back into the local community through grants to voluntary organizations in the Ringerike and Hole municipalities, while preserving a permanent endowment. The foundation holds a 29.61% ownership stake (4,634,470 equity certificates) in SpareBank 1 Ringerike Hadeland, making it the bank's largest shareholder; this stake, together with a diversified financial portfolio, was valued at 1,928 million NOK as of 31 December 2025 and is the foundation's primary income source.

The foundation's products are grant programs and the supporting digital infrastructure. The Søknadsportal is a self-serve online application portal where local organizations submit grant applications year-round for project grants and during a January–February window for operational grants. Iver is an AI chatbot assistant (built on OpenAI) embedded in the portal and the public website, handling applicant eligibility questions and assisting with application evaluation. Other branded offerings include the Talentstipend scholarship program for young regional talents, the Vaffelindeks ('Waffle Index') metric that translates grant amounts into intuitive equivalents such as waffles and volunteer hours, and an annual Digital Årsrapport. Giving is organized into six areas: climate/environment, culture/heritage, sports/outdoor recreation, competence development, social/charitable activities, and urban/place development.

The business model is endowment-based: the foundation does not sell products or services, but instead allocates 2.0-3.5% of its book capital annually to grants, targeting 35-55 million NOK per year (62.5 million NOK was distributed in the 2024 record year). Income derives from dividends on the SpareBank 1 Ringerike Hadeland stake and from returns on the investment portfolio, which targets 5% annually on the financial portfolio and 11% on the ownership portfolio. Cumulative gifts since inception surpassed 500 million NOK in March 2026 across 993 projects, 421 recipients, and 4,149 individual gifts. Operations are intentionally lean: the foundation runs with a Managing Director (Kjell Baug, since January 2021) and an Advisor (Linda Nordgård), supplemented by elected board, general assembly, and election committee representatives.

Name

SPAREBANKSTIFTELSEN RINGERIKE

Legal name

SpareBank 1-stiftelsen Ringerike

Website

https://sparebankstiftelsenringerike.no

Company type

Private

Founded year

2010

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

SpareBank 1-stiftelsen Ringerike is a Norwegian charitable foundation established in 2010 that distributes grants to local voluntary organizations in the Ringerike and Hole municipalities. It funds community projects from the returns on a 1,928 million NOK endowment anchored by a 29.61% stake in SpareBank 1 Ringerike Hadeland.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Charitable Foundation / Community Grant Programs

NAICS

Grantmaking Foundations (813211)

SIC

Finance Services (6199)

akta.pro primary industry

International Grantmaking & Development Foundations (BPAGAKAH)

akta.pro secondary industry

Grantmaking & Philanthropic Funds (Institutional Donors) (BPADAOAB)

Keywords

• Charitable foundation grants
• Community philanthropy
• Local grant programs
• Talent scholarships
• Voluntary organization funding

Headquarters

HQ city

Hønefoss

HQ country

Norway

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Investment Returns on Capital Portfolio: The foundation generates income from its financial investments. As the largest shareholder (29.61%) in SpareBank 1 Ringerike Hadeland, dividends from this equity stake are a key income source. Returns on a diversified financial portfolio (targeting 5% annual return on the financial portfolio and 11% on the ownership portfolio) fund both ongoing grant-making and long-term capital preservation.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

SpareBank 1-stiftelsen Ringerike is a Norwegian charitable foundation that distributes grants (gaver) to voluntary organizations, clubs, and associations in the Ringerike and Hole municipalities across six giving areas: climate/environment, culture/heritage, sports/outdoor activities, competence development, social/charitable activities, and urban/place development. It sustains this grant-making from investment returns generated by its 29.61% equity stake in SpareBank 1 Ringerike Hadeland and a separate diversified financial portfolio. Applications are submitted via an online portal, with an AI assistant named Iver available to guide applicants.

Product overview

SpareBank 1-stiftelsen Ringerike is a foundation that operates as a charitable giving organization, not a traditional technology product company. Their core offering consists of a digital application portal for grant submissions, an AI-powered chatbot assistant (Iver) for guiding applicants, talent scholarship programs, and annual reporting services. The foundation manages gift distribution across six giving areas: climate/environment, culture/heritage, sports/outdoor activities, competence development, social/charitable activities, and urban/place development. The foundation's main activities focus on distributing grants to local organizations rather than selling software products.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Talentstipend: Scholarship program for young talents in the Ringerike region
• Vaffelindeksen
• Iver

Products and services

• Søknadsportal (Grant Application Portal) Digital self-service application portal that allows qualifying voluntary organizations, clubs, and associations in Ringerike and Hole to submit and manage grant applications for community projects and operational support.
• Talentstipend (Talent Scholarship) Annual scholarship program that supports young talents in the Ringerike and Hole region in developing their skills and pursuing their goals.
• KI-assistent Iver (AI Assistant Iver) AI chatbot assistant available on the foundation website and within the application portal that answers user questions about who can apply and how the application process works, and supports internal processing/evaluation of grant applications.
• Vaffelindeksen (Waffle Index) Proprietary metric/communication tool that converts foundation grant amounts into tangible equivalents (number of waffles, volunteer hours, and person-years of work) to communicate the real-world value of gifts to the public.

Quantifiable outcome

• Over 500 million NOK in gifts distributed to the community since 2010, supporting 993 projects and 421 recipients.
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers5 records

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

AI capability3 records

Feature2 records

Partnerships

Two partnerships are on record, tiered flagship.

• Handelens Miljøfond (jointly with 17 other SpareBank 1-stiftelser)flagshipStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2025SpareBank 1-stiftelsen Ringerike participated in a joint initiative with Handelens Miljøfond and 17 other SpareBank 1-stiftelser to fund a collective environmental cleanup effort ('Plastdugnaden'). The combined grant pool was 33 million NOK, with contributions from all participating foundations and Handelens Miljøfond.
• DNT RingerikeflagshipStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe foundation has made annual summer gifts of DNT mountain cabins to DNT Ringerike, including the cabin at Ringkolltoppen (2024) and Tvehjulingen island cabin (2025). The key for Tvehjulingen was handed over on 20 June 2025 by Hole municipality mayor Syver Leivestad to DNT Ringerike. These gifts integrate the cabins into DNT's national hut network for public outdoor recreation year-round, supporting friluftsliv in the region.

Scale indicators10 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Regional players

• Stiftelsen Norsk Folkemuseum: A Norwegian cultural-heritage foundation operating in a related space of grant-funded community initiatives. While focused on cultural institutions rather than broad community grants, it represents comparable Norwegian foundation operating models in the cultural/community funding space.

Broad incumbents

• Sparebankstiftelsen DNB: One of the largest savings bank foundations in Norway, distributing several hundred million NOK annually. While much larger and operating nationally, it follows a similar foundation-bank-linkage model and is part of the broader SpareBank 1 foundation ecosystem that includes SpareBank 1-stiftelsen Ringerike.
• GjensidigeStiftelsen: The charitable foundation of Gjensidige Forsikring, one of Norway's largest philanthropic foundations. Like SpareBank 1-stiftelsen Ringerike, it derives capital from its insurance/banking parent and distributes grants, but at a much larger national scale.
• Kavli Foundation (Kavlifondet): A large Norwegian charitable foundation distributing significant annual grants across research, culture, and humanitarian causes. While national in scope and much larger than SpareBank 1-stiftelsen Ringerike, it represents the broader category of established Norwegian grantmaking foundations.
• Anders Jahres Humanitære Stiftelse: A substantial Norwegian foundation supporting humanitarian and cultural causes nationwide. While focused on broader humanitarian work rather than community-level grants, it provides a useful benchmark for foundation scale and grant-making discipline in Norway.

Direct peers

• SpareBank 1-stiftelsen Nord-Norge: The savings bank foundation linked to SpareBank 1 Nord-Norge in northern Norway. Operates with the same ownership-stake-and-grantmaking model as SpareBank 1-stiftelsen Ringerike, serving its own regional community through bank-derived dividends.
• Sparebankstiftelsen SR-Bank: The foundation associated with SpareBank 1 SR-Bank, one of the largest savings bank foundations in Norway. It operates the same model of owning equity in a regional savings bank and distributing grants to local community organizations, making it the closest structural peer to SpareBank 1-stiftelsen Ringerike.
• Sparebanken Sogn og Fjordane - stiftelsen: Another savings bank foundation in the SpareBank 1 alliance, holding equity in a regional member bank and distributing grants to local community organizations in its geography, paralleling the structure of SpareBank 1-stiftelsen Ringerike.
• SpareBank 1 SMN-stiftelsen: The savings bank foundation tied to SpareBank 1 SMN in Trøndelag, Norway. Shares the structural model of equity ownership in a regional SpareBank 1 alliance bank combined with local community grant-making activities.
• SpareBank 1-stiftelsen BV: A savings bank foundation within the SpareBank 1 alliance, holding an equity stake in its regional member bank and conducting community grant-making in its geography. Shares the same structural and operational DNA as SpareBank 1-stiftelsen Ringerike.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Instagraminstagram.com/sparebank1stiftelsenringerike
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/sparebankstiftelsen-ringerike

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about SPAREBANKSTIFTELSEN RINGERIKE