Grants, June 2026

The board meeting was held at VELUX Innovation House in Østbirk, Denmark, and the focus was on information of progress on initiatives.

The Strategy – Let’s work it out together

The Board received an update on the ongoing strategy work for the Employee Foundation. The process is progressing well, and the Foundation remains on track in strengthening its ability to support initiatives that benefit employees, their families, and local communities across the VKR Group.

The Board emphasised the importance of continuous learning and development in the strategy implementation. The approach is to regularly assess progress, capture insights, and make adjustments where needed to ensure the greatest possible impact.

Year-to-date development 2026

Year-to-date, financial performance is satisfactory. Returns exceed budget while costs are slightly below, and higher grant activity reflects increased visibility and relevance of the foundation. The investment portfolio has delivered strong results, outperforming both market indices and benchmarks.

The Board approved a higher risk mandate to support long-term returns.

Grants

At the meeting, the Board decided on 366 grants: Approximately DKK 7.9 million for employee purposes (131 grants related to unfortunate incidents, 77 educational grants, 67 grants for The Movement projects, and 24 grants for proactive health screenings), and approximately DKK 1.4 million for 67 community projects.

The Movement

The Movement has made a strong start since its launch in February 2026, with high engagement and positive feedback across companies. Activation is progressing globally and locally, with solid uptake of both initiatives and grants.

The Board received a status update and noted satisfactory progress against KPIs, and a continued strong interest in local activities supporting healthier habits among employees.

Proactive Health Screenings

Supporting health screenings for employees and their partners is a proactive approach that can help enable early detection, leading to less invasive treatment and improved chances of survival.

A total of 24 applications for proactive health screenings were evaluated, covering approx. 5,000 people. Based on positive experience from previous grants for health screenings, the Board approved all applications, with a total value of approximately EUR 3 million.

Dare to Dream

The first Dare to Dream Youth Camp (April–May 2026) was successfully completed, with strong participation and very positive feedback. The programme demonstrated clear impact, particularly in supporting personal development and engagement among participants. The initiative also confirmed strong relevance for the target group, with high interest and broad international representation.

Based on these results, the Board decided to continue the initiative with a new youth camp in 2027 and to investigate the opportunities for scaling up the programme to reach more participants, given its positive impact on both the young participants and their families.

Live a Dream

The board selected 18 employees who are offered to go to Slovakia in October 2026 to participate as volunteers in this year's Live a Dream building project where the building and surroundings of a meeting place for roma families with children is being maintained and renovated. The project is made in cooperation with Habitat for Humanity. The lucky employees and their respective Recommendation Committee will be notified directly.

The Board decided to again integrate a "Donate your steps" activity with Live a Dream , where the Employee Foundation will donate an amount to Habitat for Humanity, based on the total number of steps. This initiative allows more employees to support Habitat for Humanity during the week when the 18 volunteers work on the construction site.

Reconnect with Nature

The Board was informed about the progress of previously approved projects, of which 11 are still ongoing.

On 12 June, the project in Bartoszewski Park in Namysłów, Poland, will be inaugurated with participation from members of the Board and the Secretariat.

Summer Photo Competition

In the beginning of July, the Employee Foundation launches a photo competition, which runs until 15 August, where employees are encouraged to submit photos of how they keep the movement going – while staying sun safe! We hope for many creative photos so that we can send well-deserved prizes to the winners.

Change of application IT system

Because of discontinuation of the current application system, the Employee Foundation will transition to a new system, GrantOne. Expectations indicate a significantly improved system. Local Recommendation Committees will be informed and involved in due time before the launch in mid-October 2026.

The next board meeting is scheduled for 15-16 September 2026.