Country profile

Netherlands

Definition
In the Dutch Civil Code Book 2, Article 285-307, a foundation ('stichting') is defined as 'a legal person created by a legal act which has no members and whose purpose is to realise an objective stated in its statutes using capital allocated to such purpose'. Dutch Endowment Funds can also have the form of an association ('vereniging') - in accordance with the Dutch Civil Code Book 2, 26-52. Additionally, foundations and associations can apply for the fiscal public benefit status (‘algemeen nut beogende instelling’, or ‘ANBI’), if 90% of total annual spending benefits the public good.

Netherlands’s philanthropy profile

No data

Pool of assets

€2136 million (2022)

Total expenditure

No data

Total employment

Netherlands’s foundations

5910 (2022)

foundations

Among a representative sample of all public-benefit organisations registered with the fiscal authorities in 2022, Giving in the Netherlands (Bekkers, 2024) reported that 13% were endowment funds. This means that there are an estimated 5,910 endowment funds in the Netherlands. For the same sample total expenditure (including overheads) in 2022 was estimated at €2,136 million. Foundations in the Netherlands do not have to report the value of their assets in financial statements. Many foundations do not do so voluntarily. As a result, the total value of assets of foundations is not known.

Additional links

More on the sector:

Branchevereniging van Fondsen en Foundations Geven in Nederland 2024 Philea Legal Profiles

Further reading:

Filantropie op de grens van overheid en markt, Verkenning, 2018

Member organisation

Adessium Foundation Aidsfonds Association of Foundations in the Netherlands (FIN) Both ENDS Built by Nature Clean Clothes Campaign Dioraphte Foundation DOB Ecology Elsevier Foundation European Climate Foundation European Cultural Foundation European Fundraising Association het Cultuurfonds IKEA Foundation Learning for Well-being Foundation Limelight Foundation Mama Cash Foundation Oranje Fonds Porticus Postcode Lottery Group Prins Claus Fonds for Culture and Development RNW Media Simavi Stichting Fonds 1818 Stichting Instituut Gak Terre des Hommes - Netherlands University Fund Wageningen Van Leer Group Foundation Wilde Ganzen Foundation