Laudes Foundation operates from Amsterdam as an independent philanthropic organization founded by the Brenninkmeijer family in 2020, building on six generations of family entrepreneurship rooted in the C&A clothing retail chain. The foundation shifted focus beyond fashion to address interconnected crises of climate change, biodiversity loss, and inequality across multiple industries.
The organization works across four primary sectors: fashion, food systems, the built environment, and finance, supported by a cross-industry program. Since its 2020 launch, Laudes has established over 620 partnerships and distributed more than 303 grants in 2023 alone, with an active grant portfolio valued at 220 million euros as of 2021.
Built by Nature, launched in 2021, exemplifies the foundation's approach. This initiative accelerates timber and biobased building transformation across Europe, bringing together developers, architects, investors, and policymakers. The fund has committed 5.75 million euros, secured an additional 6.42 million in co-funding, and completed 18 grants with 23 currently active across 12 countries.
In fashion, Laudes continues supporting the Fashion for Good initiative, which closed its Amsterdam museum in 2024 to refocus on an Innovation Platform scaling sustainable innovations throughout the value chain.
Rather than traditional grantmaking alone, Laudes provides organizational capacity building, learning funds for knowledge-sharing, and collaborative convening around systemic industry change. The foundation employs adaptive strategy informed by emerging evidence, emphasizing agility alongside long-term vision to navigate unpredictable industry transitions and global disruptions.