What Fondation Leenaards does

Fondation Leenaards is a privately held Swiss charitable foundation established in 1980 by Antoine and Rosy Leenaards, headquartered in Lausanne. The foundation received the majority of its capital in 1995 through the inheritance of its founders' fortune and maintains a reference capital of approximately CHF 320 million in real terms. Its sole product is grant-making across five intervention domains — Culture, Âges & Société, Sciences & Santé, Durabilité, and Médias & Démocratie — supplemented by annual cultural and scientific prizes, scholarships, and multi-year institutional support programs.

The foundation operates an invitation-based project submission system via a portal (projets.leenaards.ch) managed through Optimy (Belgium), supplemented by annual in-person events (Rendez-vous culturels, Rendez-vous sciences & santé) and an annual report publication (Regards). In 2025, the foundation evaluated 960 project submissions and selected 262 for support, distributing CHF 12,990,982 in total. Since 1995, cumulative support totals approximately CHF 281 million. Geographically, the three Domains (Culture, Âges & Société, Sciences & Santé) are concentrated in Vaud and Geneva, while Durabilité and Médias & Démocratie extend nationally across Switzerland.

The foundation's revenue model is philanthropic endowment distribution: it does not sell goods or services, instead deploying investment returns and additional testamentary bequests into grant-making. Annual support budgets per program are set independently of portfolio returns. Operational headcount is small (11-50), with a Board of Trustees and specialised commissions (cultural, sciences & santé, financial) governing disbursements. Recent strategic emphasis includes a new five-year health initiative ("Vers une santé partagée," 2026-2030, up to CHF 1,750,000 annually), a multi-year Media Forward Fund partnership (CHF 1.8M initial), and a refreshed cultural-institution support cycle (CHF 1,440,000/year for 2026-2028).

Name

Fondation Leenaards

Legal name

Fondation Leenaards

Website

https://leenaards.ch

Company type

Private

Founded year

1980

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Fondation Leenaards is a privately held Swiss charitable foundation established in 1980 in Lausanne, distributing grants across culture, health research, social innovation, sustainability, and media/democracy. It supports around 262 projects per year in Switzerland from a CHF 320 million reference endowment, with a focus on the Lémanic arc (Vaud and Geneva).

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Philanthropy and Grant-making Foundation

NAICS

Grantmaking Foundations (813211), Other Grantmaking and Giving Services (813219), Grantmaking and Giving Services (8132), Voluntary Health Organizations (813212)

akta.pro primary industry

Grantmaking & Philanthropic Funds (Institutional Donors) (BPADAOAB)

akta.pro secondary industries

Research & Science Grantmaking Foundations (BPAGAKAI), Arts, Culture & Humanities Grantmaking Foundations (BPAGAKAJ), Health & Medical Research Grantmaking Foundations (BPAGAKAL), Environmental & Climate Grantmaking Foundations (BPAGAKAM)

Keywords

• Philanthropic grant making
• Cultural funding programs
• Biomedical research prizes
• Social innovation grants
• Ecological transition funding

Headquarters

HQ city

Lausanne

HQ country

Switzerland

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Others

Revenue model

1. Philanthropic endowment distribution: The foundation distributes funds from its endowment capital, which was established in 1995 from the inheritance of Antoine and Rosy Leenaards' fortune. Additional revenue comes from testamentary bequests and donations. The foundation determines annual support amounts per domain independently of portfolio returns.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Fondation Leenaards is a Swiss philanthropic foundation that distributes grants, prizes, and multi-year institutional funding to nonprofit organizations, cultural institutions, artists, and biomedical researchers across five domains: Culture, Âges & Société, Sciences & Santé, Durabilité, and Médias & Démocratie. It also runs strategic initiatives (such as "Vers une santé partagée" 2026-2030) and organizes annual cultural and scientific events plus the Regards annual report. Its core activity is grant-making from an endowment of roughly CHF 320 million, supporting around 262 projects per year with a budget near CHF 13 million.

Product overview

Fondation Leenaards is a Swiss philanthropic foundation that does not offer a technology product in the traditional sense. Instead, it operates grant-making and support programs across five domains: Culture (with cultural prizes, scholarships, and institutional support), Sciences & Santé (with scientific prizes, integrative health initiatives, and the new 'Vers une santé partagée' program 2026-2030), Âges & Société (with community solidarity and aging programs), Durabilité (sustainability initiatives), and Médias & Démocratie (media and democracy support). Notable initiatives include the Prix Tremplin for emerging artists, the Spatz AI-powered hyperlocal news project, and various participatory health forums. The foundation manages approximately CHF 13 million in annual support to around 262 projects.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Prix culturels Leenaards
• Bourses culturelles
• Prix scientifiques Leenaards
• Initiative « Vers une santé partagée »
• Santé intégrative & société
• Soutien aux institutions culturelles
• Programme Durabilité
• Programme Médias & Démocratie
• Appel à projets « Âges & société »
• Prix Tremplin

Quantifiable outcome

• 960 projects evaluated and 262 projects supported in 2025 for CHF 12,990,982
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers8 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles5 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration2 records

AI capability3 records

Partnerships

Eight partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Media Forward FundcoreGTM or Marketing Partner · 30 March 2026Philanthropy-public partnership including Ville de Genève, Fondation Aventinus, FERS Stiftung, and Fondation Leenaards, contributing CHF 1.8 million initial amount to support Romand media of general interest through 'Launch Grants' planned for September 2026 and February 2027.
• Fonds d'innovation pour le journalisme multimédiacoreGTM or Marketing Partner · 2 September 2025Partnership between Ernst Göhner Foundation, Aventinus Foundation, Leenaards Foundation, and Gebert Rüf Stiftung contributing CHF 1 million additional funding for multimedia journalism innovation projects in French-speaking Switzerland.
• Gebert Rüf StiftungcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCooperation on the 'Fonds d'innovation pour le journalisme multimédia' supporting interdisciplinary teams of journalists, interactive media designers, and web developers with CHF 500,000 funding pool.
• Geneva AcademyminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaboration on right to food research and advocacy in Geneva canton.
• Fondation MaterminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaboration on right to food research and advocacy.
• Université de Lausanne / Le ColLaboratoirecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership for integrative health initiative, including population survey of 3,000 people and citizen laboratory.
• FORS (Fondation suisse pour la recherche en sciences sociales)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaboration on population survey regarding integrative health approaches.
• Fondation EthoscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership for exercising voting rights at Swiss listed real estate companies and active dialogue with Swiss and international companies on responsible investment practices.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Fondation Aventinus: Swiss private foundation focused on media pluralism and journalism. Direct peer in the media/journalism domain and explicit co-funder with Leenaards in Media Forward Fund (CHF 1.8M).
• Gebert Rüf Stiftung: Basel-based Swiss foundation focused on education, science, and innovation. Direct peer operating at similar endowment scale and explicit co-funder of Fonds d'innovation pour le journalisme with Leenaards.
• FERS Stiftung: Swiss foundation supporting media and information projects. Direct peer as co-funder in the Media Forward Fund alongside Leenaards, Ville de Genève, and Fondation Aventinus.
• Fondation Volkart: Swiss foundation supporting environment, education, and cultural preservation. Direct peer at similar scale in Swiss multi-domain grantmaking and co-funder on Swiss Press Council modernization.
• Fondation Louis-Jeantet: Geneva-based biomedical research foundation supporting translational medicine. Direct peer in the Sciences & Health domain, with similar Swiss/Romandie geographic anchor and comparable prize-model grantmaking.
• Ernst Göhner Stiftung: Zug-based Swiss foundation supporting cultural, social, and educational projects. Direct peer in multi-domain Swiss philanthropy and explicit co-funder of Fonds d'innovation pour le journalisme alongside Leenaards.
• Stiftung Mercator Schweiz / Fondation Mercator Suisse: Swiss branch of Mercator with thematic focus on integration, education, science, and culture. Direct peer in multi-domain Swiss grantmaking and co-funder on Swiss Press Council modernization.
• Fondation Ethos: Swiss foundation for sustainable development and ethical investment. Direct peer and active partner with Leenaards on responsible investment practices and dialogue with Swiss-listed real estate companies.
• Fondation Jan Michalski: Swiss foundation supporting literature and written creation. Direct peer in Leenaards' Culture domain and the Lémanic regional ecosystem.

Broad incumbents

• SwissFoundations (Verein Schweizerischer Stiftungen): Industry association representing Swiss grantmaking foundations. Broad-incumbent organizational counterpart providing sector benchmarking, code-of-conduct oversight, and best-practice coordination rather than direct grantmaking competition.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights5 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubevimeo.com/user32810492
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/fondation-leenaards
• Instagraminstagram.com/fondationleenaards

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Fondation Leenaards