In 2005, the Van Vliet family officially established the Adessium Foundation.

In 2009, Adessium set up the Erasmus Centre for Strategic Philanthropy (ECSP) in cooperation with Erasmus University and the Rotterdam School of Management. Adessium financed this institute until 2018. The ECSP contributed to the development of knowledge, effectiveness and impact of the philanthropic sector.

Adessium supported Voedselbanken Nederland (Dutch Food Banks) from 2012 to 2018 with the food safety certification procedure for food banks. This resulted in an increase in the number of food products offered and improvements in quality and diversity. From 2018, Adessium’s support has focused on strengthening the distribution chain.

Adessium provided financial support to Natuurmonumenten for the creation of the Marker Wadden from 2014 to 2018. A unique addition to the Dutch natural landscape is being created at this location. New natural islands are being built from sand, clay and sediment from the Markermeer Lake. Adessium’s financial support led to substantial funding from major parties such as the Dutch Ministry of Waterways and Public Works.

Adessium supports the Marilles Foundation since 2015 including the financing of an exploratory study, initiating the foundation of Marilles in 2016 and supporting the organization’s continued development. Marilles Foundation is dedicated to expanding the capacity of NGOs and stakeholders and leads to improved nature conservation and the sustainable development of the Balearic Sea.

Adessium supports Bellingcat since its start in 2016. Bellingcat has introduced innovative methods for investigative reporting by citizens who study public online sources such as open data and social media. The organization made an important contribution to the fact-finding efforts regarding the MH17 crash.

In 2017, an interview appeared in Alliance Magazine that featured the family and board of Adessium. In this magazine for the philanthropic sector, the family speaks openly about its experiences with Adessium, addressing its motivation, methods and lessons learned.

Intrigued by the potential of the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ), Adessium starts to support this network in 2009. ICIJ has set a new standard for international collaboration in investigative journalism. Through the network journalists all over the world work together, for example on The Panama Papers. In 2017 ICIJ won the Pulitzer Prize for its work in the field of tax justice.

From 2007 to 2017, Adessium supported the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICAN) via PAX. ICAN is a coalition of more than 450 NGOs in over 100 countries. Thanks in part to this campaign, the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons was ratified by 122 countries in the United Nations. ICAN won the Nobel Peace Prize for these efforts.

Adessium supported the Stichting Kinderpostzegels and Het Vergeten Kind from 2014 to 2020. Acting in a consortium with other funds through a silent lobby, they advocate for independent case files for children in shelters. In 2017, the assignment of independent case files was guaranteed by the adoption of a motion submitted to the Lower House of Parliament.

Since 2013, Adessium has been supporting various digital rights organizations such as the European Digital Rights Initiative, Privacy International and Bits of Freedom. By joining forces, these organizations ultimately played a major role in the creation of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) in 2018. By adopting the GDPR, the EU has set an important example; the regulation is crucial to the protection of people’s privacy in a digital society.

Adessium supports Defence for Children and Stek since 2015. These organizations have made the case for reaching an agreement on the children’s pardon. In 2019, the government decided that 630 of the 700 refugee children would be allowed to remain in the Netherlands.

Since 2016, Adessium has supported The Ocean Cleanup in its efforts to develop the Interceptor, an innovative system that can trap and collect plastic waste in the world’s most polluted rivers and has the capacity to remove 50,000 kilos of this waste each day. This helps prevent plastic waste from flowing from the rivers into the oceans. The first two Interceptors were deployed in 2019.

Adessium has been a financial partner of the Rethink Plastic Alliance since 2017. This is a consortium of European NGOs that are part of a worldwide movement to rid the planet of plastic pollution. The EU adopted the Single Use Plastic Directive in 2019. This guideline curbs the production of the most problematic single-use plastic products. The Rethink Plastic Alliance fought hard to achieve this goal.

Adessium is one of the initiators and financiers of Civitates. This pooled fund for democracy and solidarity in Europe was founded in 2019 and provides grants to initiatives that contribute to a well-functioning digital public space and independent journalism. Adessium supports Civitates together with 15 other funds.