2024 in numbers

At Laudes, just as we believe transparency can be a tool for systems change, we are committed to being transparent about our funding, how we’re contributing to change and what we’re learning with partners.

2024 in numbers

Our commitment

Number of grants and partners

Median grant size and average duration

General operating support

Leverage and co-funding

Industry transformation initiatives

Geographic footprint of active grants

Our team

Our commitment

Laudes Foundation’s active portfolio of grants in 2024 totalled EUR 195.1 million across 353 grants. This amount includes the EUR 65.8 million of new grants made in 2024.

The total commitment, including service agreements, reflects the gross value of grants awarded in 2024, before amendments in previous grants.

*Building the field includes effective philanthropy, strategy and CEO Office grants.

Number of grants and partners

In 2024, Laudes Foundation disbursed a total of 353 grants. Of these, 142 were existing partners receiving second or third grants, building long-term partnerships based on lessons and successes of previous initiatives.

Number of grants per programme

Median grant size and average duration

We aspire to build long-term and large-scale grants that allow partners to have stability and security to test ideas, take risks, and create the most impact.

At the same time, we understand the importance of philanthropic investment in small and short-term grants that can help advance research, pilot innovations, fill knowledge gaps, and develop nascent concepts.

General Operating Support (GOS)

General Operating Support (GOS), or unrestricted funding, gives partners the ability to deploy funds where needs arise. We dedicated 24.2% of our funding to trusted partners who share our overarching mission to use this flexible funding.

Although this percentage is lower than in previous years, we gave the same number of grants in 2024 as 2023. The lower percentage is due to a smaller average grant size. In total, since 2020, Laudes has committed EUR 95.4 million in GOS to partners.

We are committed to maintaining this funding to allow partners to better meet emerging needs and enhance our collective impact. Our ambition is to increase this amount and to build more resilience with our partners to support them in an increasingly challenging environment.

Leverage and co-funding

When funding new initiatives, we are intentional about bringing other funders with us through co-funding, giving partners additional resources and voices to support their work.

Throughout the partnership, by providing grantees with financial and non-financial support, we support them to leverage our initial funding to attract new funders, enabling them to scale up efforts or extend the initiative’s reach.

In 2024, Laudes invested EUR 600,000 in the Global South Just Transition Fund, managed by the ClimateWorks Foundation. This pioneering fund helps vulnerable communities build resilience to climate change and benefit from the energy transition underway. This partnership offers an opportunity for Laudes to influence the shape, scope and funding of the initiative, leveraging an additional EUR 18 million committed to the fund by IKEA Foundation.

Leverage and co-funding continued

Chart Note:
Public: Governmental and bi- / multilateral organisations / institutions
Private: Businesses/individuals
Third sector: Non-governmental organisations/community organisations/non-profits
Other: Miscellaneous

Philanthropic funding can also play a critical role in unlocking private capital to finance the transition towards a green, fair, and inclusive economy. In 2016, C&A Foundation (which evolved into Laudes in 2020) granted EUR 1.9 million to support the creation of the EUR 20 million Working Capital Investment Fund.

The fund invests in innovative technology to promote fair and resilient supply chains. By 2024, the fund leveraged EUR 427 million in additional investment, raised by the companies it supported. Of these companies, one has gone public, and three others have been acquired.

Organisational development and inclusion

In challenging times, we need resilient partners and offer a suite of services and funding to support that.

Last year, we spent EUR 633,317 to support our partners in embedding a Gender, Equity and Social inclusion lens to their work.

63 partners received personalised, non-financial consultancy support on various topics through the Nonprofit Builder platform, amounting to a total of EUR 274,000. The most requested themes for support on Nonprofit Builder were fundraising, strategic communications, and safeguarding.

Through our wellbeing support pilot, we disbursed a total of EUR 330,000 in wellbeing stipends.

Through our Partner Learning Fund, we awarded 18 grants amounting to EUR 697,124.

Industry transformation initiatives

Fashion for Good and Built by Nature are two initiatives founded by Laudes that support bold innovations and help leading companies bring new solutions and business models into the mainstream.

Fashion for Good

Fashion for Good accelerates new ideas that cut down waste, pollution, and resource use in the fashion industry, creating real benefits for people and the planet. In January 2024, it launched a new strategy to focus even more on growing and spreading eco-friendly fashion solutions through its Innovation Platform. It also works to build stronger connections among its community of sustainable fashion industry changemakers.

Over the years it has supported over 184 innovators catalysing more than EUR 2.3 billion in investment to accelerate and build innovations along the fashion supply chain. The partner base consists of 25+ pioneering brand/retail/manufacturing leaders representative of 12% of the industry.

Successes in 2024 included GALY, a climate tech company pioneering the development of first-of-its-kind sustainable cellular agriculture products which raised EUR 30 million, and TrusTrace, a global SaaS company with a market-leading platform for product traceability across the textile supply chain which raised EUR 22 million. 

*Amount in EUR.

Industry transformation initiatives

Built by Nature

Built by Nature, founded by Laudes in 2021, is a network and grant-making fund with a vision for the built environment to work in harmony with nature. Their mission is to transform the built environment by promoting the responsible use of timber and biobased materials. In 2024 it supported over 106 organisations across more than 13 countries and has built four national European networks in the U.K., the Netherlands, Spain and Italy, with networks in France and Germany planned for 2025.

It has committed EUR 5.75 million, secured an additional EUR 6.42 million in co-funding, with IKEA Foundation joining as its third major funder since LTPP Foundation joined. Laudes has recently committed to continue support for the coming four years. The Fund currently has 23 active grants with 18 grants having been completed.

In 2024, Built by Nature launched the world’s first awards programme focused on bio-based construction materials, receiving 297 applications in total, with the EUR 250,000 first prize awarded to Singapore-based company Widuz and three runners-up receiving EUR 50,000 each. It also allocated an additional EUR 100,000 for a support programme of mentoring and networking for all winners and

selected finalists. It was also recognised by the World Economic Forum's Giving to Amplify Earth Action (GAEA), winning at their inaugural Impactful Innovation Accelerator Award for solutions that are helping create enabling ecosystems for climate and nature innovation. Watch the video to catch Built by Nature's award entry.

*Amount in EUR.

Geographic footprint of active grants

To help create a green, fair, and inclusive economy, our partners work in key regions around the world — especially where decision-makers and supply chain workers in our focus industries are based.

Our Laudes team

As of December 2024

In 2024, our workforce included 52 employees across five offices (India, Bangladesh, The Netherlands, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom). In our regular pulse surveys, we consistently find our diverse employees of 22 nationalities are inspired by our mission and meaningful work. Average tenure for our colleagues is 5.1 years.

Laudes offsite May 2024