The Van Leer Foundation

We are an independent Dutch organisation working globally to foster inclusive societies where all children and communities can flourish.

Since 1949, the Van Leer Foundation has been dedicated to supporting young children, caregivers and communities worldwide. Our work is grounded in the legacy of the Van Leer Family, and their leadership in the fields of early childhood development, the human sciences and the arts.

 

Where we work
We support scalable ideas all around the world. Our country and global portfolios represent diversity in social, economic and cultural terms.
Scaling through partnership

We work with our partners to achieve social change. We look and listen for ideas that align with our mission and expertise, but also where our support can help to have impact at scale. Our support is a unique combination of funding, knowledge, technical assistance, executive education, study tours, policy design and advocacy.

Sharing knowledge and learning

We are always looking to understand what works, where, and why. We monitor, evaluate and document initiatives that have powerful learnings on sustainable change at scale. Our interdisciplinary collection of knowledge produced by us and our partners enables us to share ideas and evidence across borders and disciplines.

People and culture

Our team is what turns our values of fairness, creativity and service leadership into action. The team consists of 40+ professionals representing more than 20 nationalities with a diverse array of expertise in early childhood development, urban planning, effective philanthropy, public policy, executive education, monitoring and evaluation, advocacy and strategic communications, behavioural science, impact investing and financial management. 

Governance
The Foundation is governed by our Board of Trustees. They combine their diverse expertise and backgrounds to guide our path towards inclusive societies.
Meet the board