Funding

The Achmea Foundation invests in sustainable initiatives, giving priority to social impact. We do not believe that you can make a long-term difference with a short-term donation. 
Local entrepreneurship and a local presence are the driving forces for long-lasting improvements.
With our partners, we always seek a form of investment that will boost local businesses.

The Achmea Foundation particularly wants to support progressive initiatives where the proposed innovation still has to prove itself, meaning that the founder is finding it difficult to attract sufficient funding. It is important that the initiatives also have the potential to be scaled up. There must also be the prospect of long-term financial independence. We offer three types of financing: social lending, donations and combined, or hybrid, financing.

 

Social lending

Social lending promotes entrepreneurship among those involved. It creates commitment. And it promotes creativity among recipients of the loans. Experience shows that their entrepreneurship and creativity help them to make the best-possible use of the loans.
The loans granted by the Achmea Foundation are always what are known as soft loans. These are either interest-free loans or loans subject to a very low rate of interest. An added advantage of this type of funding is that we can reach many more people with our funds: after all, all the money that is paid back can be reinvested.

Donations

Where there is no financial capacity for a loan, we may decide to donate money. Local conditions sometimes require a donation because the very poorest members of society often need a one-off investment.
The Achmea Foundation aims to reach precisely this poorest section of the population, who would not be reached without this additional effort. This is why we donate money. We always agree in advance what we expect in return for the donation. It may also be that a project’s development costs are so high that a donation is required to cover the risk.
The basic principle for making donations is that the donation is the first essential injection without which a project would not be able to get off the ground. The next step in funding is, in principle, always a social loan.