Our focus

A fair chance to participate in society in the Netherlands

The Anton Jurgens Fonds supports social enterprises that seek to give everyone in the Netherlands the opportunity to participate fully in society. We provide organisations with financial assistance and other support. The types of initiatives we focus on are described below.

The value of work

For many people, work is an important and even defining part of their life. People on the margins of the labour market often struggle with feelings of loneliness, inadequacy, social isolation and shame. However, working in a team, with colleagues who value their particular strengths, provides them with a safe and supportive environment that promotes their social, economic and professional growth.

A safe working environment for a better chance to participate in society

Social entrepreneurship – the key to social inclusion

We believe that work helps people gain self-confidence, self-reliance and social skills. People in vulnerable situations therefore deserve a safe and supportive working environment where the focus is on their personal strengths – a place that offers the resources and opportunities they need to develop and provides them with a fair chance to participate in society. If you ask us, social enterprises are the best way to achieve this.

Social and enterprising

We work together with social enterprises that focus on improving employment prospects and actively contribute to creating an inclusive labour market. They don’t see their business as an end in itself, but as a means to accomplish their mission of creating social impact.

Acquiring skills

By offering apprenticeships, sheltered work environments or supported work activities, social entrepreneurs give their employees the opportunity to learn valuable skills – skills that are essential for participating in society and gaining access to the labour market.

Financially sustainable

Social entrepreneurs work in a financially sustainable way. This means a business will eventually be able to stand on its own two feet. This is important to us, as financially healthy companies can continue to exist and generate lasting positive impact.

Long-term commitment

To maximise our positive impact, we enter into long-term partnerships with social enterprises that will outgrow the need for our support over time. We do not mind that it might take your social enterprise a little while to get to that point – we focus on social impact rather than financial gain. Our support comes in the form of a loan, a grant or a combination of the two and is always accompanied by non-financial support.

Non-financial support

Healthy organisations with well-established social objectives can achieve greater social impact. That’s why we will also provide your social enterprise with organisational and business support. Our non-financial support may include:

impact strategy, including baseline assessment, management and support
leadership and team development
entrepreneurship, experience, knowledge, expertise and networks
anchoring social objectives in governance and organisational structures
market strategy and revenue models
operational, administrative and financial management
evaluation and reporting

We will also track the growth and development of your enterprise to help ensure the continuity of your social impact.

Sharing our knowledge and network

If we decide to support your initiative, we will ask you to participate in several training sessions with other social entrepreneurs. You will also gain access to our network of sector associations, private sector companies, care organisations, government agencies, experts, advisers, other charitable organisations and fellow social entrepreneurs. The knowledge we develop and share helps us all improve our ability to reach our ultimate goal: enabling more people in vulnerable situations to participate fully in society.

Our non-financial help is very well received by the social entrepreneurs we support. In a large independent survey several years ago, we asked them the following question: ‘Given the choice, would you have preferred to receive more financial assistance instead of our non-financial support?’ Only 8% would have preferred more money, while 92% preferred our combination of financial and other support.

IGNITE Award

The IGNITE Award is a programme we created to give enterprising people the opportunity to translate promising business ideas into positive social impact. Social start-ups receive individual coaching, attend business workshops and can win up to €100,000 to invest in their company. It’s an inspiring programme that helps beginning entrepreneurs transform their ideas into solid business plans and lay the foundation for a successful social enterprise.