Grants, September 2026

The Board meeting was held at NB Polska in Gniezno, Poland, providing an opportunity to experience first-hand the scale of the operations and the high quality of the company's processes. While the production facilities and standards were remarkable, the strongest impression came from witnessing the exceptional level of engagement, collaboration, and mutual respect among employees.

During the visit, the Board also had the opportunity to see the Gąsawka Valley Project, a shelter and educational center that reflects the positive impact of local partnerships and showcased outstanding collaboration between public authorities, local stakeholders, the company and its employees. The local Forest District hosted a small ceremony marking the handover of a grant from the Employee Foundation.

Securing the future

The Board expressed its sincere gratitude for the generous support of DKK 25 million from VILLUM FONDEN. This commitment significantly strengthens the Employee Foundation's ability to pursue its purpose and provides a solid basis for creating lasting value for employees and their immediate families. The Board views this support as a strong vote of confidence in the Employee Foundation's mission and an important contribution to securing its long-term future.

Year-to-date development 2026

Year-to-date, financial performance is satisfactory despite very volatile markets. Returns exceed budget while costs are slightly below which enables the foundation to build resilience. The investment portfolio has delivered strong results, outperforming both market indices and benchmarks.

Grants

At the meeting, the Board decided on 329 grants: Approximately DKK 3.8 million for employee purposes (136 grants related to unfortunate incidents, 61 educational grants, 80 grants for The Movement projects and proactive health screenings), and approximately DKK 1.1 million for 52 community projects.

Strategic initiatives

The Board initiated a review of the Employee Foundation’s framework to establish clear guiding principles for its core support areas. This will ensure consistent and responsible application assessments while enabling the Board and Foundation resources to focus more on strategic development, partnerships, and long-term impact for employees.

The Board discussed the progress and direction of the strategic initiatives:

Reconnect with Nature

The Board decided for a more targeted approach going forward to ensure high-quality projects with strong engagement and cooperation from foundation, local community and company.

Reconnect with Human Nature

Health screenings continue to be well received and enable companies to reach a large number of employees through a preventive health initiative. To date, around 30 companies across the Group have received grants for health screenings. Funding remains available, and companies are encouraged to apply.

Launched in February 2026, The Movement is a long-term initiative designed to inspire employees and their families to live healthier and happier lives. The Board noted the positive engagement generated through the campaign's films and communication activities. The Board decided to start planning for further development and increase of grants for this program in 2027.

Future Generations

The Employee Foundation already supports employees' children's completion of education. The Board discussed opportunities to broaden this support to include life skills development for employees' children. A potential new programme will therefore be explored further.

Dare to Dream

The first Dare to Dream youth camp in spring 2026 was successful in offering employees’ children (age 16-24) to connect, reflect and grow whilst building confidence, communication skills and to take new steps into their lives.

Awareness campaign about the Dare to Dream Youth Camp taking place in May 2027, has started. Employees with children, who could be interested, can now sign up for information meeting on 13 October and with deadline for submission of applications on 26 October 2026.

Change of application IT system

The transition to a new grant management system, GrantOne, is progressing as planned with opening of new application portal on 12 October 2026.

Honorary awards

The board is pleased to have received 45 proposals for award recipients of the Villum Kann Rasmussen Award and the Lars Kann-Rasmussen Safety Award 2026. The board discussed and selected award recipients for the awards in January 2027. Companies with award recipients will be informed soon, so that the preparations for the awards on 25 January 2027 can begin.

The next board meeting is scheduled for 25 November 2026.