Donation strategy

We support the good life

Nordea-fonden has a charitable purpose and supports projects that promote a good quality of life in Denmark, Greenland and the Faroe Islands. We don’t have the perfect recipe for achieving the good life, but we do believe that it’s something we create together. 

Health
Several initiatives targeted at children and young people in particular aim to promote both physical and mental well-being. Among the elderly, targeted initiatives aim to make communities more inclusive. These two focus areas are called Well-being for children and youth and Caring communities.

Exercise
More people should get more exercise, play more and be more physically active, together with others as well as on their own. Physical activity is an important key to a good life. The focus areas are More than sweat on your brow and Staying active.

Nature
Denmark, Greenland and the Faroe Islands has rich and attractive nature areas. We want to help more people discover this treasure and make it easier for them to get to and experience nature. The focus areas are Wide open nature and Curious about nature.

Culture
We support cultural activities that promote inclusive communities and inspire and encourage more people to take part in our democracy. The focus areas are Culture close to you and Getting involved.

We have four focus areas that we prioritise support for:

• Local life
  Activities that strengthen local communities. These are typically projects driven forward by local enthusiasts that support active communities, promote mental health and encourage a sense of belonging. You can apply for up to DKK 200,000. 
• Helping children and young people on their way
  Projects that encourage children and young people to come out of their shells and grow as people alongside others. Our target group is children age 0-18.
• Getting outdoors
  Projects that increase opportunities for people to get outside into the great outdoors and motivate more people to engage with their natural environment.
• Encouraging participation
  Projects that promote participation in civic life by taking responsibility for people and organisations in the local community and encouraging engagement with democracy as a whole. 

Grants for studying abroad

To promote a global outlook we annually hand out up to DKK 10 million in grants to masters’ and bachelor’s students completing part of their education abroad.

How to apply

Before you apply, we would like to discuss your ideas with you. We do this to ensure we are on the same page and that no one’s time is wasted. Not only that, but we are also keen to offer you advice that may strengthen your project application – for instance, by sharing knowledge with you from other projects we have supported. 

Please feel free to contact us anytime by email, phone or filling out this short assessment.

How much can you apply for?

For the Local life focus area, the application limit is DKK 200,000.

For the other focus areas, you can apply for multiple grants.

About the foundation’s mission and grants

Nordea-fonden’s mission is to support a good quality of life by means of health, exercise, nature and cultural initiatives. Our grants are provided in line with our adopted strategy, in which we have chosen four focus areas for the 2022-2024 period.

Every year we distribute in the region of DKK 700 million to charitable projects across Denmark, Greenland and the Faroe Islands. Charitable projects must be widely accessible and be beneficial to many people and society as a whole. They must not result in any profit commercial gain for individuals or businesses.

The funds for our grants come from returns on the foundation’s investments. Since the foundation was established in 1989, the majority of its capital has been invested in banking shares, currently represented by a shareholding in Nordea Bank Abp. This is thanks to our mutual historic roots in Sparekassen SDS, which is why we share a name with the bank.