DOEN Foundation Funding Opportunities
Enriched – · Found: 2026-03-13 16:47
DOEN Foundation supports innovative initiatives addressing regenerative economy, solidarity society, and transformative imagination. Offers grants and loans for initiatives in circular economy, sustainable materials, landscape restoration, and social entrepreneurship in Netherlands, East Africa, and global south. Applications accepted year-round via online portal.
Source: https://www.doen.nl/aanvraag-doen/
Funding Details
- Funder
- DOEN Foundation (Stichting DOEN)
- Funding Goal
- Supports pioneering initiatives working towards a sustainable and inclusive society. Under the Regenerative Economy theme: entrepreneurs working with new business models on landscape restoration, regenerative agriculture, reducing raw material use, or replacing raw materials with natural materials. Projects must work in the Netherlands or East Africa and be in pilot or early market introduction phase.
- Funding Amount
- Not specified on website. Both grants and loans available. DOEN Ventures (separate entity) handles larger investments.
- How to Apply
- Applications can be submitted year-round via the online portal (Mijn DOEN) at https://aanvraag.doen.nl/portal/. Must be submitted at least four months before the project start. Application procedure takes approximately four months. Use the quickscan tool first to check eligibility.
- Target Region
- Netherlands and East Africa (for Regenerative Economy theme)
- Contact
- Contact via https://www.doen.nl/en/support/contact/
- Official Page
- https://www.doen.nl/en/applications/
- Last Checked
- 2026-03-13 17:16
Application Checklist
Eligibility
Project Scope
Required Documents
Constraints
Summary
DOEN Foundation is a Dutch philanthropy funded by the Postcode and Friends Lotteries. Under its Regenerative Economy theme, it supports pioneers working on landscape restoration, regenerative agriculture, and reduction or replacement of raw material use in the Netherlands and East Africa. Both grants and loans are available. The foundation seeks initiatives that are innovative, have moved beyond the research phase into pilot or early market introduction, and demonstrate a catalytic effect — meaning the initiative can continue independently after DOEN funding. Applicants must be legal entities (not individuals), with transparent budgets and governance structures. Key exclusions for the Regenerative Economy theme include: energy saving/generation from waste streams and recycling, purely R&D-phase technology development, purely product-level initiatives, and purely awareness campaigns. The geographic focus is strictly Netherlands and East Africa. For plastic waste value chain organizations, this program is a partial fit: the materials reduction and natural materials substitution themes align, but the explicit exclusion of recycling/waste-stream energy and the strict geographic limitation to the Netherlands and East Africa limit broader applicability.
Historical Context
DOEN Foundation is funded by the Dutch Postcode Lottery (Nationale Postcode Loterij) and VriendenLoterij. Offers grants and loans. DOEN Participaties (DOEN Ventures) handles larger initiatives as a separate social investment company.
Sources
- https://www.doen.nl/aanvraag-doen/
- https://www.doen.nl/en/applications/
- https://www.doen.nl/en/applications/criteria/
- https://www.doen.nl/en/applications/criteria/regenerative-economy/
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