The Novo Nordisk Foundation tops the charts as the largest foundation in the world. Novo Nordisk Fonden based in Denmark is the wealthiest charitable foundation, soaring above all other philanthropic organizations with assets totaling $93.73 billion (697 billion DKK) in 2021. For comparison, in 2021 the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation had approximately $53 billion in assets. Novo Nordisk has vast resources, and a different means of operation, but nowhere near the same level of name recognition.

How did the foundation come to be?

It started in 1922, when a Danish professor, August Krogh, the winner of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1920, got permission to manufacture active insulin in the Nordic countries, which led to the development of novel diabetes medicines as well as the launch of a Danish company and an export endeavor. This later led to the formation of the Novo Nordisk Foundation, an enterprise that seeks to support people’s health and the sustainability of society and the planet in the field of medical treatment and research. The Foundation leadership stated the intention was for the profits from the sales of diabetes medicine would be utilized for scientific and humanitarian purposes. Insulin-producing corporations like Novo Nordisk are however not without controversy, given questions regarding price-gouging in the US market, though they have also followed a recent trend in announcing planned price reductions. Today, the foundation supports a broad range of projects that advance global sustainability and health initiatives as part of its 2030 Strategy.

“World events such as climate change, food shortages, global public health, and a pandemic affect our focus areas. In the coming years, we will increase our efforts to help solve these urgent societal challenges.”

                                                                                 Professor Mads Krogsgaard Thomsen, CEO of the Novo Nordisk Foundation

Where does the money come from?

The Novo Holdings A/S dividend payments generate funding for the Novo Nordisk Foundation. Prior to being distributed as dividends, the paid dividends are taxed in the underlying businesses in accordance with Danish corporate tax laws. Through the foundation‘s subsidiary business, Novo Holdings A/S, the Novo Nordisk Foundation is the main shareholder of Novo Nordisk A/S and Novozymes A/S. In addition to Novo Nordisk and Novozymes, the foundation holds a significant amount of stock in more than 75 additional businesses. Dividends and profits from these assets are used to provide the foundation with a robust financial endowment.

What is the focus of the Novo Nordisk Foundation?

The foundation works on a wide range of projects that impact people’s lives, society, and the planet, such as health, sustainability, and life science ecosystems. They also fund the arts and have dedicated funds for humanitarian aid, often in partnership with UN agencies or other major international NGOs.

The rest of the Foundation’s past grants including information on recipients, issue areas, and funding amounts can be searched here. Financial support varies, from smaller grants, $13,000 to the University of Copenhagen for structural biology research, and much larger amounts such as a $255 million grant to the Steno Diabetes Center in Copenhagen. The majority of their funding goes toward biomedical and health-related research at European institutions and Scandinavian Universities. As such they are unlikely to be a likely prospect for small grants to local NGOs abroad but contribute via local branches of INGOs as seen in the grant examples above.

How much grant money does the foundation give in a year?

In 2021, the foundation awarded a total of $1.2 billion (DKK 8.9 billion) in grants for various projects and initiatives; while Novo Nordisk Foundation has a larger endowment, this is notably less than the $6.7 billion the Gates Foundation gave in 2021. While having greater assets, Novo Nordisk Foundation does not provide as much funding annually, as of 2021 they were ranked third in the world in grant amounts, or to as wide a range of issues as Gates. Grants are largely dispersed within Europe or are operationalized internationally via European NGOs (ie WHO, Danish Refugee Council, World Diabetes Foundation). Each year, the foundation typically awards more than $300 million in grants in the area of life science and bioscience research, a key area for them as the foundation of a medical research company. It also provides grants for research in general practice and family medicine, nursing, and art history. Novo Nordisk is accepting funding applications for various areas, with varying deadlines. 

How can these funds be accessed?

If you wish to partner with the Novo Nordisk Foundation, you must apply via the Foundation’s online application system and keep an eye on deadlines via the NORMA portal. The grant types and requirements vary. You can follow their efforts and calls for applications on LinkedIn or their website. The Foundation has various open-call grants that may suit your project idea and organizational aims, or submit an unsolicited inquiry via their expression of interest form. The Foundation can be contacted at info@novonordiskfonden.dk, and given their acceptance of unsolicited inquiries, it doesn’t hurt to reach out.

Writing a clear, effective, and ultimately successful application is a challenge, but Philantropia has courses and training available in the online school to support this process. For a Foundation as big as Novo Nordisk, writing a solid, clear, and persuasive proposal is crucial. The foundation is constantly looking for partnerships in its thematic areas, so if you have a proposal or innovative idea to share, particularly in a health-related or humanitarian issue area, there is an opportunity to be had.

The courses below are a few examples of the many courses available at Philantropia.org to help support your fundraising efforts from this and other foundations: 

More resources and articles on funding your NGO are also available here:

For foundations similar to this, check donordatabase.org. This platform allows you to easily search through thousands of grant-giving organizations in over 100 countries. New users can access the donor lists for free. With access to a comprehensive list of donors, donordatabase.org makes connecting with potential donors who share your organization’s values and mission easier than ever.