Rabobank Foundation

The Rabobank Foundation works to improve “the lives of the underprivileged and disadvantages groups of people in society by providing them with the opportunity to live full and independent lives.” It was established in 1973 in Netherlands. Though working as an independent foundation, it is also supported by the Rabobank Group. It provides funding to NGOs. However, half of its funding support is for projects in Netherlands while the other half is allotted to development interventions in developing countries.

The focus of the Foundation is to enhance savings and thrift activities amongst the rural poor in the developing countries. For this reason, it supports NGOs that work on microfinance and cooperatives. It also provides funding support to microfinance organizations, operating independently and providing services to the communities. Although grants are provided, the Foundation ensures that the grantee organizations are able to achieve sustainability and operate in a grant-free environment over a period of time. The Foundation has 25 countries as part of its global area focus. These are: Albania, Honduras, Philippines, Bangladesh, India, Paraguay, Brazil, Indonesia, Peru, Cambodia, Kenya, Senegal, Cameroon, Laos, Tanzania, Ecuador, Mexico, Uganda, Ethiopia, Mozambique, Vietnam, Ghana, Nicaragua and Zambia

NGOs can go through the application guidelines at this link and download the grant application from this link. The contact information of the Foundation is:

Rabobank Foundation
P.O. Box 17100
3500 HG UTRECHT
The Netherlands
URL: http://www.rabobank.com/content/about_us/rabobank_foundation/