FAQ

Our in-house group of subject experts at the IKEA Foundation scout for new partnerships and grants that are best aligned with our strategic approach and values, and targeted where the needs are greatest.

You can read more on our funding decisions here.

The IKEA Foundation’s headquarters are in Leiden in the Netherlands. We also have a Liaison Office in Gurgaon, India.

IKEA stores worldwide are active in their communities, independent from the work of the IKEA Foundation. You can learn what each store is doing and find out how to contact them via links to each country and local store at www.ikea.com.

No. The IKEA Foundation does not send unsolicited emails offering donations, and we will not ask you for your personal information. We do not provide grants to individuals. You can learn more about the way we work by clicking here.

The IKEA Foundation Board of Directors decides on our funding goals each year. We generally have a budget of around €200 million each year, but announced an additional €1 billion in spending to accelerate the reduction in greenhouse gas emissions between 2021-2025.

The IKEA Foundation and the IKEA retail business are separate, independent organisations, that share the same founder – Ingvar Kamprad. Ingvar created the IKEA retail business to provide a better life for the many people. In the same way, Ingvar had a clear vision for the IKEA Foundation. He wanted to create opportunities for vulnerable families and children to build a brighter future for themselves on a healthy planet.

At the IKEA Foundation, we are committed to People and Planet. We deliver on this through our thematic focus on climate and livelihoods. We do this because we believe the two greatest threats to children’s futures are climate change and poverty. We want families to afford a better life while protecting the planet. Therefore, our mission is to improve the lives of vulnerable children by enabling their families to create sustainable livelihoods, and fight and cope with climate change.

Our strategy is deeply rooted in the idea that people can only lift themselves out of poverty when they have a secure and stable livelihood. But many communities living in poverty around the world are already experiencing the devastating impacts of climate change. Droughts, flooding and other severe weather events are becoming more frequent, damaging people’s livelihoods. Therefore, tackling poverty and climate change must go hand in hand.

While the narrative on people and planet is often that they are in conflict, we are committed to the view that a world is possible where all families can afford a better life while we also protect the planet. We believe that we must work on these two objectives together – all with the aim of delivering a better future for children.

No, since we don’t give out direct aid, there is no grant application. We don’t accept unsolicited funding requests. There are so many great programmes out there, but we can’t fund everything. Instead, we concentrate our resources on building partnerships with key organisations to maximise our impact. We do encourage you to keep up your efforts and to look for funding avenues that match your needs.

The IKEA Foundation is a fully independent strategic philanthropy that focuses its grant making efforts on tackling the two biggest threats to children’s futures: poverty and climate change. Unlike the IKEA Social Entrepreneurship initiative, the IKEA Foundation focuses solely on social return on investment. As a philanthropy, it should not in any way drive sales for the IKEA business.

IKEA Social Entrepreneurship BV is the philanthropic arm of Inter IKEA – the IKEA franchisor. Through partnerships, programmes and impact investment, IKEA Social Entrepreneurship BV supports social entrepreneurs, creating new opportunities for people distanced from the labour market and those living in vulnerable communities, while tackling root causes of poverty and inequality.

Unfortunately, despite all efforts on climate action and supporting families and community, it is not possible to prevent disasters. Therefore, we also allocate some funding each year to respond to emergency situations. Our primary focus is on unseen emergencies – those that do not make the headlines of the global news media.

These emergencies, while just as horrifying as the ones you see in the news are increasing in frequency and impact due to climate change. Yet they receive less funding than well-publicised disasters. They tend to happen outside Europe and North America, in communities that are already vulnerable. To support those people and communities impacted, we provide a set amount of unrestricted funding to our partners like Médecins Sans Frontières and local NGOs through the Start Fund so that they can act quickly to respond where they are most needed.

We use our platform to shine a light on unseen disasters when we believe it will help to bring other funders on board.

We work to empower refugees to find sustainable pathways towards economic self-reliance so they can support themselves and their families. Together with our partners, we generate and share evidence of what works – for people and planet. This is so governments, humanitarian organisations and businesses can scale up the most effective programmes. We believe this will help millions of refugees, including children, build a brighter future.

Annual grants are dependent on partners providing annual programme reports demonstrating that funds have been used properly and according to original intentions. We work closely with our partners to overcome unexpected challenges, measure progress and impact and correct the course of the programme where necessary.

You can’t donate to us directly, but you can donate to many of our partners directly. You can also get involved by becoming part of our community on Facebook and by following us on LinkedIn, Instagram, YouTube and Twitter. Sharing our content helps to increase awareness of the work our partners do to create a better everyday life for the many people.

You can find out more about our partners by clicking here.