Initiatives

Fred Foundation supports a variety of third-party initiatives from large to small, in the Netherlands and elsewhere. We choose initiatives that help make tomorrow’s world a nicer place.

Our themes

The initiatives we support fall under three themes, each with their own specific points of attention.

Nature and climate

The Fred Foundation’s work is underpinned by the view that everything on the planet is inextricably linked. Our efforts are committed to more stable ecosystems, where nature is given space to recover and develop. On the one hand, we focus on ‘turnaround initiatives’ that counteract pollutants such as pesticides and plastics on the other, we target ‘constructive initiatives’ that offer new courses of action such as rewilding, regenerative agriculture and drinkable rivers. This is how we want to help accelerate the change processes.

Compassion for our fellow humans

Fred Foundation is committed to ensuring a dignified existence for everyone. In the world we live in now, the family or country you are born into largely determines the opportunities you get. We want to help reduce that inequality and we back initiatives that play a real part in improving the lives of our fellow humans from humanitarian aid to projects that can change the system, nationally and internationally, large and small.

Because refugees face specific issues, we have set up a separate sub-theme for this issue within our theme of ‘compassion for our fellow humans’.

People in challenging circumstances

A growing group of people are no longer sure of their livelihoods – or even their lives. Various factors play a role here, such as being born in the right place, safety, health, social connections, housing and income. The international initiatives we back focus mainly on providing opportunities. In the Netherlands, we are gradually expanding our support to local initiatives, spread across the larger municipalities, as well as nationwide projects. We explore where the energy is, where there is bottom-up collaboration, where a real difference can be made and where new or additional funding is needed. We make connections as we go and actively help think things through, so that more and more people can both see and feel a perspective for a better life, in a better world.

Refugees

Every day, people flee their homes and communities because of conflicts, violence, human rights violations and persecution. Their prospects on the road and in their host countries are often far from rosy. We take a holistic view of migration and search out initiatives that play a part at all levels in safeguarding the human rights of refugees. That’s how we work towards systemic change and stronger backing. We assist projects that offer concrete help at the psychosocial, legal or integrational level. We also fund emergency relief where sustainable change will not be available in time. A leitmotif running through all these topics is the need for connection.

Public interest

How can we take proper care of our society’s well-being? (Investigative)journalism plays a crucial role in this. Journalists have a monitoring role in promoting transparency and accountability of the rule of law. That is why we back initiatives that expose abuses, promote freedom of the press and work for the safety of journalists. This is how we help promote an open society that will benefit everyone.

Initiatives

A selection of the initiatives is given below. A summary of all initiatives can be found here.
Besides the various initiatives in each theme, you will also find more information about our own initiatives here.