Associated Foundations

As part of the commitment to give children better opportunities to reach their full potential, the LEGO® owner family has entrusted the LEGO Foundation with 25 % ownership of the LEGO Group and it is primarily through this ownership that the foundation funds its activities.

When children play, they experiment, work things out and develop skills to develop their full potential. Play is an essential part of child development. But not every child gets the time and chance to play that they deserve.

To address this challenge, the LEGO Foundation works internationally to make Learning-throughPlay a priority for every child through funding of research, backing of education initiatives, and support to partners, who can positively impact children’s lives. Partners include parents, teachers, caregivers, policymakers, academics, businesses, grassroot organisations, NGOs, and governments, all over the world.

On 1 February 2023, Sidsel Marie Kristensen took up the position as CEO. She took over from former CEO Anne Birgitte Albrectsen, who stepped down in October 2022.

The LEGO Foundation aims to build a future in which Learning-throughPlay empowers children to become creative, engaged, and lifelong learners. Over the past years, the activity level in the LEGO Foundation has increased significantly, and in 2022, the LEGO Foundation went beyond previous activity levels with total grants of DKK 3.2 billion for programmes, research, and advocacy.

This included a DKK 0.1 billion donation to support the rehabilitation and rebuilding of the education system within Ukraine as well as DKK 0.9 billion awarded to five recipients of the LEGO Foundation’s global Build a World of Play challenge. The challenge was launched in relation to the 90 years anniversary of the LEGO® brand in support of organisations that make substantial contributions to the lives of children.

Build a World of Play

For the LEGO® brand’s 90th anniversary, the LEGO Foundation made a commitment to the world’s youngest children, committing grants worth DKK 0.9 billion to organisations that can help give children the best start in life. This call spurred 627 eligible applications, which were reviewed by 300+ experts. The 5 winner organisations all promote the wellbeing of children, their caregivers, and their communities using culturally relevant and sustainable approaches. With the award they will continue to give substantial contributions to the lives of children from birth to six years old and spark a global movement to prioritise early childhood development.

2022 LEGO® Prize Winner

Since 1985, the LEGO® Prize has been presented to individuals or organisations that have made an outstanding contribution to the lives of children. The 2022 LEGO® Prize was awarded to Maria Adelaida Lopez, Executive Director of the Colombian social enterprise, aeioTU. The award recognises her work advocating for, and championing Learning-through-Play in early childhood development in Colombia and Latin America and for inspiring and encouraging her wide network in this space to bring Learningthrough-Play opportunities to thousands of children.

With a history of more than 12 years of close collaboration with the Ministry of Education in Ukraine to bring Learning-through-Play to millions of children across Ukraine, the LEGO Foundation committed emergency donations during 2022 to support general humanitarian aid, education, and child protection activities in Ukraine and neighbouring countries.

By end of year, a total of DKK 0.1 billion has been committed from the LEGO Foundation as emergency response to support Ukrainian children and their families during the war.

Ole Kirk’s Fond is a charitable foundation established in 1964 in memory of the LEGO® founder to make the town of Billund an attractive place for LEGO employees and their families. The foundation still supports local communities in and around Billund, but also focuses on creating safe surroundings, wellbeing, and opportunities for children’s development throughout Denmark. On a global level, the foundation supports humanitarian aid through Danish partners.

Ole Kirk’s Fond grant level 2022 (DKK)

Foundation stone laid for Mary Elizabeth’s Hospital

A key milestone for the year was when the foundation stone was laid for ‘Mary Elizabeth’s Hospital – Rigshospitalet for Children, Teens and Expecting Families’. Since 2016, the foundation has together with the Capital Region of Denmark and Rigshospitalet worked to create the new ground-breaking hospital with the ambition to set completely innovative standards for the patients and their families.

To 253 Small And Large Projects

Responding to an extraordinary situation

In March 2022, Ole Kirk’s Fond, The LEGO Foundation, and the LEGO Group donated DKK 110 million to support the people of Ukraine affected by the war, thousands of whom have fled to neighboring countries. Shortly hereafter, Ole Kirk’s Fond released an additional DKK 10 million. All donations have been distributed through long-term partners.

In Denmark, Ole Kirk’s Fond supported families affected by inflation and price increases. For example through support to summer camps, school start aid, Christmas aid, and financial grants to cover expenses like winter clothes and medicine for families via partners.

Ole Kirk’s Fond contributes with approximately one third of the partnership’s total budget – approx. DKK 800 million – including DKK 85 million to develop the user experience at the hospital as well as DKK 90 million granted in 2022 to stand by its partners in an extraordinary situation with high cost inflation. In addition to financial support, Ole Kirk’s Fond contributes to the project with skills and capabilities from the foundation as well as from across the LEGO® ecosystem.

Case

The QATO Foundation is a charitable foundation that works to improve animal welfare by supporting the creation of long-term and sustainable solutions to fight the problems that cause poor animal welfare paying special attention to the animals that do not thrive under human care.

Since 2012, the QATO Foundation has supported more than 100 projects worldwide spanning from Iceland in the North, to the African continent in the South; however, most projects have been based in the foundation’s home country of Denmark.

Celebrating a special birthday with an anniversary grant

September 2022 marked the QATO Foundation’s 10th anniversary which was highlighted by an anniversary grant for an extraordinary project. The grant went to The Pan African Sanctuary Alliance (PASA). Together with three partners, PASA aims to create an island sanctuary for 120 chimpanzee orphans in the heart of the Democratic Republic of Congo. The sanctuary will allow for fast, life-saving treatment for confiscated apes and provide a safe, naturalistic home for orphans of the wildlife trade. The first chimpanzees are expected to arrive on the island during autumn 2023.