Over 30 years of service

About the foundation

Since 1991, Employee Foundation of the VKR Group has assisted employees and their families in many different situations. The Employee Foundation has funded community activities in the vicinity of the VKR Group and conferred the Villum Kann Rasmussen Award on specially selected employees.

The Employee Foundation was established in 1991 to support employees and their families worldwide. Since then, it has made over 10,000 grants and more than 7,200 employees have received support. At the same time, more than 2,700 projects in the vicinity of the VKR Group companies have benefited from grants from the Employee Foundation.

Although the foundation has supported many purposes since it came into existence, it is not possible to grant all applications. The Employee Foundation makes its donations and other financial awards on the basis of a “most in need – highest support” criterion.

It starts locally

Organisation

Recommendation Committees

Act as local ambassadors for the Employee Foundation. Every company within the VKR Group has a committee/representative that is the important link between the applying employees and the foundation. The committees comprise employees only and are in every aspect organised to reflect the company/organisation, including diversity.

Board of directors

Focuses on the strategy and the overall goals of the foundation and guides the management to follow the strategy and to work towards the goals. Monitors the foundation’s financial resources to ensure sufficient means.

Board members: Michel Langrand (Chair), Anine D. Bråten, Elin Persson, Robert Purol, Madalina Petrescu

Secretariat

Management and staffing of the secretariat are reduced to a strict minimum. The secretariat provides information and efficient tools to the recommendation committees. The secretariat ensures the visibility of the Employee Foundation and handles all administrative tasks and prepares the board meetings.

Secretariat: Lotte Kragelund, Anna-Helene Kirk, Gitte Hemmingsen, Jane Kristensen, Jasna Jelinek, Hanne Raun

Scouts

Our ambassador network, which consists of employees who on a voluntary basis support the local recommendation committees and help spread the knowledge of the foundation and its work.

SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY IS CORE TO OUR VALUES

Our social responsibility

Social responsibility and integrity have been core values for the VKR Group from the outset. In 1965, Villum Kann Rasmussen formulated the Model Company Objective, which has since served as a beacon for the VKR Group.

”The purpose of the VKR Group is to establish a number of model companies, which cooperate in an exemplary manner. A model company works with products useful to society and treats its customers, suppliers, employees of all categories and shareholders better than most other companies. A model company makes a profit which can finance growth and maintain financial independence.”
Villum Kann Rasmussen, 1965

The Employee Foundation exemplifies the concept of the Model Company Objective by assisting individual employees and their local communities alike. In this way, the spirit of Villum Kann Rasmussen lives on through the activities of the Employee Foundation, which also confers the Villum Kann Rasmussen Award and the Safety Award on employees for outstanding achievements.

Learn more about the foundation

Our capital base

The foundation’s capital base of DKK 350 million is invested in stocks and shares.

The returns on the investments are distributed as follows according to the trust deed

Employee purposes

For the employees of the VKR Group companies, their partners or children

For specific items or for encouragement in difficult times in case of illness, accident, death.
Support for the completion of the vocational or final academic education of employees’ children.
Live a dream, volunteering.
Senior clubs.
Proactive health initiatives.

Community purposes

For projects in the communities, where the VKR Group companies operate

Local clubs and associations for social and cultural purposes.
For specific items.
Special programmes.

Awards

For the annual Awards, the Villum Kann Rasmussen Award
the Lars Kann-Rasmussen Safety Award

Gifts for the award recipients
Posters

More information

mindful of our employees and society around us

Mission & Vision

Our Mission

To treat the employees of the VKR Group better than most other companies

Our Vision

To be visible and proactively encourage well-being, a sense of belonging for employees and retirees and to be a positive element in employer branding

Download our Mission/Vision

We recognise outstanding achievements

The Awards

Each year, the Employee Foundation confers the Villum Kann Rasmussen Award on employees who in their exceptional personal achievements have far exceeded expectations. The recipients are selected based on qualities that exemplify Villum Kann Rasmussen’s Model Company Objective;

As from 2023, the foundation confers the Lars Kann-Rasmussen Safety Award on employees who have great attitudes within safety, proactively as well as reactively.

The awards are conferred annually to coincide with the late Villum Kann Rasmussen’s birthday on 23 January. The distinctions are accompanied by a certificate and a gift. The Awards are primarily a distinction recognising the exemplary individualised achievements of employees in different parts of the VKR Group.

If you believe that one of your colleagues is a deserving candidate for one of the Awards, contact your local recommendation committee to let them know the name of this person. Find inspiration and more information about the Awards in this document.

About the Awards

Making a difference

Award recipients

This year, it gives us great pleasure to confer the VILLUM KANN RASMUSSEN AWARD on thirteen employees who each in their own way have made a special contribution to realising the Model Company Objective of the VKR Group; it is an equally great pleasure to announce the five recipients of the LARS KANN-RASMUSSEN SAFETY AWARD which honours extraordinary actions to promote safety at work or away from work, inspirational and proactive conduct within safety that broke convention and prevented accidents. The recipients of the Awards are selected by the Board of the Employee Foundation following nomination by the individual companies.

Recipients of the Villum Kann Rasmussen Award Recipients of the Lars Kann-Rasmussen Safety Award

Who we are

Over 30 years of service

About the foundation

It starts locally