As part of Grundfos’s 75th anniversary celebrations, the Poul Due Jensen Foundation (Grundfos Foundation) has increased its budget for donations from a planned DKK125 million in 2020 to DKK200 million.
The main donation areas remain water, research and inclusion, but this year the Poul Due Jensen Foundation will also focus on the fight against Covid-19.
“In 2020, Grundfos turns 75. This is a good occasion for expanding the donation activities significantly, and we plan to commit DKK200 million to donations this year,” said Kim Nøhr Skibsted, executive director of the Poul Due Jensen Foundation. “The funds will primarily support our existing donation areas where we support mission-driven research and learning, sustainable solutions, humanitarian aid through access to drinking water and inclusion of the socially vulnerable through public-private collaboration. There’s plenty of worthy causes to support, and our donations should help bring about new, groundbreaking solutions.”
Now, Covid-19 means there will be a change of focus in 2020.
“Water is a source of life and a prerequisite for improving quality of life and economic development,” said Nøhr Skibsted. “WASH (Water, Sanitation, Hygiene) is also a core tool to shield humans against the corona pandemic, and we are following the situation closely to see how we can be of assistance. Within research, we will support changed priorities that can help mitigate the consequences of the Covid-19 outbreak now and in future. We will remain true to our partnerships, but we will adapt to the new reality in Denmark, and globally.”
In 2019, the Poul Due Jensen Foundation celebrated the completion of the Nyarugusu Refugee Camp water distribution system in Tanzania and bringing access to drinking water to over 200 000 people in Western Tanzania in partnership with the American NGO Water Mission. The Poul Due Jensen Foundation also supports similar projects in collaboration with UNICEF, Plan International and Oxfam.
The Poul Due Jensen Foundation was set up in 1975 by Grundfos founder Poul Due Jensen. The main purpose of the foundation, which owns 88% of the shares in Grundfos, is to ensure and support healthy economic growth and development of the Grundfos Group. The foundation also contributes donations toward the continued development of sustainable solutions for clean water and humanitarian aid efforts around the world, committing DKK117 million to philanthropic projects in 2019.
Grundfos, which is headquarted in Bjerringbro, Denmark, was founded in 1945.
