Laudes Foundation

The Laudes Foundation is a philanthropic foundation based in Switzerland, launched in 2020 as part of (yet independent from) the Brenninkmeijer family enterprise.

Advancing the industry-changing work of the C&A Foundation, the Laudes Foundation envisions global markets that value all people and respect nature, an economy in which industries uplift all who participate in them and regenerate and restore nature as a fundamental part of what they do.

The Laudes Foundation provided USD 50.4 million for development in 2021 through its grantmaking activities. Compared to 2020, this amount represents an increase of 18% in real terms.

In 2021, the Laudes Foundation provided all its contributions through bilateral channels, mostly through non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and civil society (USD 23 million) and universities, research institutes or think tanks (USD 17.8 million).

In 2021, the Laudes Foundation’s development finance was mostly in South Asia and South America. USD 14 million was allocated to South Asia and USD 4.9 million to South America, accounting respectively for 27.9% and 9.8% of the foundation’s development finance. A sum of USD 31.3 million (62%) was unspecified by region in 2021.

In 2021, 33.9% of development finance went to the top 10 recipients. The Laudes Foundation’s most significant recipients included India (USD 8.2 million), Brazil (USD 4.9 million) and Cambodia (USD 1.9 million). Moreover, 66.1% of its development finance was not allocated by country.

Least developed countries (LDCs) received USD 3.1 million (6.1%) of Laudes Foundation’s development finance in 2021. The Laudes Foundation allocated the highest share of its development finance (18.1%) to lower middle income countries in 2021, followed by upper middle income countries (9.8%) in 2021, noting that USD 33.3 million (66.1%) was unallocated by income group.

In 2021, less than half of the Laudes Foundation’s development finance was allocated to social infrastructure and services. Investments in this area accounted for 44.7% of the foundation’s commitments (USD 22.5 million), with a strong focus on support to other social infrastructure & services (USD 22.4 million). Contributions to other macro sectors totalled USD 15.2 million (30.2%), focusing on general environment protection (USD 14.6 million).

In 2021, the Laudes Foundation committed the largest shares of its contributions to the goals of climate action (SDG 13), decent work and economic growth (SDG 8), partnerships for the goals (SDG 17) and responsible consumption and production (SDG 12) of the United Nations 2030 Agenda.

Official website: http://www.laudesfoundation.org/

The methodological notes provide further details on the definitions and statistical methodologies applied, including core and earmarked contributions to multilateral organisations, the Sustainable Development Goal focus of private development finance, channels of delivery, unspecified/unallocated allocations, the gender equality policy marker, and the environment markers.

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