Taxon Foundation

What Taxon Foundation does

Stichting Taxon Foundation is a Dutch non-profit foundation (stichting) established in 2020 and headquartered at Rembrandtstraat 20, Leiden, Netherlands. Operating as the non-profit sister organization of Taxon Expeditions, the foundation's core function is to involve the general public in ecological and taxonomic research by organizing community-based citizen-science biodiversity expeditions. It partners with neighborhood groups, schools, municipalities, conservation NGOs, and Indigenous communities to execute real research projects focused on cryptobiota — insects, spiders, mollusks, mosses, and other small organisms typically underrepresented in mainstream biodiversity documentation. Its principal constituents are local citizen scientists, schoolchildren, blind and visually impaired participants (via Expeditie Voelspriet), Dutch municipalities seeking evidence for conservation decisions, and international conservation organizations.

The foundation's core technology stack combines a citizen-science research methodology with in-house DNA barcoding laboratory capabilities. A portable mobile field laboratory (tubes, petri dishes, nets, microscopes) enables in-field specimen processing during expeditions, while the permanent lab offers €42.50-per-bidirectional-read-sequence DNA barcoding and environmental DNA (eDNA) and DNA metabarcoding services to amateur naturalists who lack access to molecular facilities. Outputs are digitized and published on open platforms including the Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF) and waarneming.nl, producing scientific publications, species lists, and conservation-grade reports usable by municipalities and academic researchers. Notable technical projects include the Komarnica River eDNA/metabarcoding research comparing a free-flowing river against the dammed Piva River in Montenegro, and the Amsterdam expedition collection digitization project making urban-ecology specimens openly available.

Taxon Foundation's revenue model is a hybrid of grants, donations, and a small fee-for-service component. The foundation holds ANBI (Algemeen Nut Beogende Instelling) status, making donations tax-deductible in the Netherlands, and depends on funding from cultural and conservation foundations (Prins Bernhard Cultuurfonds, Uyttenboogaart-Eliasen Stichting, Fonds 1818, BIOPAT, Mohamed bin Zayed Species Conservation Fund, Van der Hucht de Beukelaar Fonds, Ars Donandi), Dutch municipalities (Leiden, Amsterdam, Nijmegen, Nissewaard, Utrechtse Heuvelrug), the European Union (Horizon Europe via Impetus, grant agreement 101058677), and grant-making bodies such as the National Geographic Society and the Royal Geographical Society. The DNA barcoding service contributes modest fee revenue at cost-recovery pricing (€42.50 per sequence, capped at 10 sequences per project). Participation in citizen-science expeditions is free. Distribution is direct: projects are initiated via community contact forms, word-of-mouth through partner organizations, and social-media outreach, with a small team of approximately five employees supported by an unpaid internship pipeline in bioinformatics, collection curation, and taxonomy.

Name

Taxon Foundation

Legal name

Stichting Taxon Foundation

Website

https://taxonfoundation.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2020

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Stichting Taxon Foundation is a Dutch non-profit foundation that organizes community-based citizen-science biodiversity research expeditions, providing field expertise, mobile laboratories, and DNA barcoding services to local communities, schools, and conservation partners across the Netherlands, Montenegro, and Suriname.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Citizen Science Biodiversity Research

NAICS

Environment, Conservation and Wildlife Organizations (813312)

SIC

Services-Membership Organizations (8600)

akta.pro primary industry

Biodiversity & Habitat Conservation (BPAGAGAA)

akta.pro secondary industries

Wildlife Conservation & Species Protection (BPAGAGAB), Environmental DNA (eDNA) & Advanced Biodiversity Methods (Bioacoustics, Camera Traps) (EUAHAHAM), Biodiversity Baseline Studies & Long-Term Monitoring Programs (EUAHAHAE), Nature, Biodiversity & Ecosystem Conservation (BPADALAE)

Keywords

• Citizen science research
• Biodiversity monitoring
• DNA barcoding services
• Community conservation projects
• Ecological field expeditions

Headquarters

HQ city

Leiden

HQ country

Netherlands

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Donations and Grants: Taxon Foundation depends on grants and donations from sponsors, partners, and supporters. Donations can be made for specific projects or for the Foundation in general. The foundation has ANBI status in the Netherlands, making gifts and donations tax-deductible.
2. DNA Barcoding Service: The foundation charges €42.50 per DNA barcode sequence (for small-scale projects up to max 10 sequences per project). Samples that do not yield a readable DNA barcode do not need to be paid for.
3. Project-specific Funding: Various projects receive specific funding from organizations such as European Union, Impetus, BIOPAT, Mohamed bin Zayed Species Conservation Fund, National Geographic Society, Royal Geographical Society, and municipal governments.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

Taxon Foundation organizes citizen science biodiversity expeditions that engage neighborhoods, schools, and amateur naturalists in field inventories of invertebrates and plants. It also operates its own DNA barcoding laboratory, offering species identification sequences to amateur naturalists at €42.50 per bidirectional read. Projects produce published species lists on waarneming.nl, scientific reports, and digitized collections shared via GBIF.

Product overview

Taxon Foundation operates as a non-profit organization focused on citizen science biodiversity research and conservation, offering a portfolio of community-based expedition projects rather than a commercial product. Core offerings include Expeditie Achtertuin (backyard biodiversity inventories), Expeditie Singelpark (urban park surveys), Expeditie Voelspriet (accessible nature for visually impaired), and the DNA Barcoding Service (amateur species identification). Additional projects span food forests, river conservation (Komarnica), indigenous area surveys (Wayana Suriname), and beetle re-inventories. The organization also provides Biology on Tap science cafés and internship programs in taxonomy and collection management. Projects produce species lists published via waarneming.nl, scientific reports, and digitized collections shared through GBIF.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Expeditie Achtertuin (Backyard Expedition) Citizen science project enabling neighborhood residents to scientifically investigate biodiversity in their own gardens and balconies, supported by international experts and mobile laboratory equipment.
• Expeditie Singelpark Scientific biodiversity inventory project conducted with local residents and schoolchildren in Leiden's Singelpark, focusing on invertebrates, mosses, and lichens.
• Expeditie Voelspriet Nature expeditions designed to be accessible for people with visual impairments, using smell, hearing, and touch to explore urban nature in partnership with IVN and Naturalis Biodiversity Center.
• DNA Barcoding Service Laboratory service enabling amateur naturalists to obtain DNA barcodes for species identification, particularly useful for difficult-to-identify species, larvae, or nymphs. Priced at €42.50 per bidirectional sequence.
• Komarnica River Conservation Biodiversity survey and conservation project protecting the Komarnica River in Montenegro from hydropower dam development through citizen science expeditions, eDNA metabarcoding, and cave exploration.
• Wayana Area Biodiversity Survey (Suriname) Systematic rainforest biodiversity inventory in collaboration with the Wayana Indigenous community at Apetina village, with focus on climate change impact assessment.
• Beetles of Voorne Re-inventory Comparative biodiversity study re-inventorying beetle fauna in Voorne dunes after 40 years of environmental change since original 1980s survey.
• Food Forest Novio Biodiversity Inventory Biodiversity inventory of community food forest in Nijmegen neighborhood Hees, documenting nearly 1,000 species with local citizen scientists in collaboration with Gemeente Nijmegen.
• Zandweg Epse Conservation Biodiversity documentation project along preserved dirt road in Epse, discovering 360+ special invertebrate species that helped prevent road surfacing plans.
• Spoorweghaven Leiden Community-led biodiversity conservation project protecting abandoned railroad strip in Leiden from municipal development through citizen science inventory.
• Internship Programs Unpaid internship opportunities in bioinformatics/collection databases, collection management and curation, and taxonomic revisions for students.

Quantifiable outcome

• Nearly 1,000 species recorded in Novio food forest (2025)
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers9 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

19 partnerships are on record, tiered core, major and minor.

• Taxon ExpeditionscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerTaxon Expeditions is the parent organization of Taxon Foundation. Founded in 2020 as the nonprofit sister organization, Taxon Foundation extends Taxon Expeditions' mission of involving the public in scientific expeditions to local community-level citizen science projects in the Netherlands and internationally.
• Naturalis Biodiversity CentercoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerLeiden-based biodiversity research institution collaborating on multiple projects including Singelpark expeditions and Expeditie Voelspriet for blind and visually impaired participants.
• Universiteit LeidencoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerAcademic partner in biodiversity research projects, particularly Singelpark research collaboration.
• KNNV (Royal Netherlands Natural History Association)majorStrategic or Co-development PartnerRoyal Netherlands Natural History Association collaborating on Zwolle Nooterhof project and Voorne beetles research. Local KNNV branches serve as partners in various citizen science initiatives.
• IVNcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerNature education organization collaborating on Expeditie Voelspriet excursions for blind and visually impaired participants.
• NatuurmonumentenmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerDutch nature conservation organization listed as a partner and sponsor of Taxon Foundation activities.
• Zuidhollands LandschapmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerRegional landscape conservation organization partnering on Voorne beetles research project.
• Save KomarnicacoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerMontenegrin NGO leading efforts to protect the Komarnica river from hydropower dam development. Collaborates with Taxon Foundation on citizen science expeditions to document biodiversity and support conservation arguments.
• Montenegrin Ecologists Society (MES)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerLocal Montenegro conservation organization collaborating on Komarnica River biodiversity program since 2023, working together with Save Komarnica, local communities, and international citizen scientists.
• Mulokot FoundationcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerFoundation representing Wayana Indigenous people in Suriname, partnering on first systematic rainforest biodiversity inventory around village of Apetina.
• National Zoological Collection of SurinamemajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerAcademic institution collaborating on Wayana area biodiversity research project in southeastern Suriname.
• Vrije Universiteit AmsterdammajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerAcademic institution partnering on Amsterdam expedition research receiving digitized specimen data.
• Hortus Botanicus LeidenmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerBotanical garden institution collaborating on Singelpark expeditions and hosting research activities.
• De GrachtwachtminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerLocal Leiden organization collaborating on Singelpark research.
• Ilia State University TbilisiminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerGeorgian university listed as a partner organization.
• Georgian National Federation of Speleology and CanyoningminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerGeorgian sports and science federation listed as a partner organization.
• Thomas a Kempis College, ArnhemminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerSecondary school listed as a partner organization.
• Expeditie LeidenminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerLocal Leiden organization listed as a partner.
• Maarn Maarsbergen NatuurlijkminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerLocal nature association collaborating on Backyard Expedition Maarn-Maarsbergen.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Broad incumbents

• Natuurmonumenten: Largest Dutch nature conservation NGO and listed partner/sponsor of Taxon Foundation. Operates at much larger scale across protected area management but shares mission of biodiversity stewardship.
• Naturalis Biodiversity Center: Major Dutch natural history museum and research institute; a core strategic partner of Taxon Foundation that conducts its own biodiversity research, citizen science programs, and collections digitization at significantly larger scale.
• Cornell Lab of Ornithology (eBird / Celebrate Urban Birds): Global benchmark for academic-anchored citizen science biodiversity programs (eBird, Merlin). Sets standards for data quality, scale, and funder engagement that Taxon Foundation aspires to in its invertebrate/cryptobiota niche.

Emerging players

• iNaturalist: Global citizen science biodiversity platform that crowdsources species observations from amateur naturalists. Competes for community-science participation and funder attention, though it is platform-based rather than expedition-led.
• Waarneming.nl (Observation International): Dutch citizen science platform where Taxon Foundation publishes expedition outputs. Overlapping audience of amateur naturalists and shared dataset infrastructure makes it both a partner and a partial substitute.

Regional players

• Zuidhollands Landschap: Regional landscape conservation organization partnered on the Voorne beetles re-inventory project. Operates in the same Dutch geography with overlapping biodiversity monitoring use cases.

Direct peers

• Taxon Expeditions: Parent organization and direct counterpart of Taxon Foundation. Taxon Expeditions runs fee-based international scientific expeditions for non-experts, while Taxon Foundation operates the nonprofit community-led citizen science arm — sharing founders, expertise, and methodology.
• IVN Natuureducatie: Dutch nature education organization collaborating on Expeditie Voelspriet. Comparable citizen-engagement focus on accessible nature experiences and biodiversity literacy.
• KNNV (Koninklijke Nederlandse Natuurhistorische Vereniging): Royal Netherlands Natural History Association and an active co-organizer of Taxon Foundation expeditions (e.g., Zwolle Nooterhof, Voorne beetles). Comparable mission of engaging amateur naturalists in biodiversity documentation.

Others

• NLBIF (Netherlands Biodiversity Information Facility): Funded Taxon Foundation's Amsterdam collection digitization and serves as the GBIF node for the Netherlands. Enabling infrastructure for biodiversity data publishing rather than direct competitor.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/TaxonFoundation
• Facebookfacebook.com/TaxonFoundation
• Instagraminstagram.com/taxon_foundation
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/taxon-foundation

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles4 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about Taxon Foundation