About us
Adessium Foundation was established to make a positive contribution to society and will celebrate its 20th anniversary in 2025. We support social initiatives in the Netherlands and across Europe. Find out more about our background and our journey.
Our mission
Adessium Foundation works towards an open society where everyone can participate fully, and rights and freedoms are protected. A society that will ensure a livable, compassionate world for future generations.
We support nonprofit organizations and empower them to drive lasting positive change. Our support includes grants, advice, and access to our network to help strengthen organizations and collaborations.
Our work is organized around three core programs:
In addition, we reserve part of our annual budget for initiatives outside of our predefined programs. We believe this flexible funding is important as it allows us to respond to (unforeseen) developments, urgent needs, and crises. We do not have an open application process and proactively approach potential partners.
Our background
Adessium Foundation was founded in 2005 by the Van Vliet family, who have a background in asset management. Adessium Foundation receives periodic donations from a related foundation that manages an endowment gifted by the Van Vliet family for the public good. As a result, grantmaking by Adessium Foundation and asset management activities are kept separate. Adessium Foundation receives no funding other than from the related foundation and has maintained a relatively stable grantmaking budget since 2009, based on returns from the endowment.
Adessium is led by a two-person Executive Board that oversees a professional team under the supervision of a Board of Trustees. Together, they steward the foundation’s resources to contribute to a fair, livable, and well-informed society.
Our name
The name Adessium comes from the Latin ad esse, which literally means ‘to be present’. For us, it reflects what we stand for: being close, engaged, and offering support where it’s needed. Not from a distance, but by being present in society and in the issues that affect us. It’s about more than giving; it’s about truly showing up, taking responsibility, and contributing with conviction to a better future.
Our journey
Adessium Foundation was founded more than twenty years ago with a clear purpose: to use our resources for the public good. What began as a personal wish to contribute to a better world grew into a professional foundation with a clear mission: to strengthen an open society where everyone can participate and where rights, freedoms, and solidarity are at the core. As chairman and co-founder Rogier van Vliet puts it:
“The first step is often small — a donation, a choice. But within that lies the beginning of something greater. Philanthropy requires direction, reflection, and connection. It’s about more than giving; it’s about contributing to lasting change.”
In the early years, we were finding our way. Through conversations, learning, and experimentation, we gradually shaped our direction. From providing broad support to a wide range of initiatives, Adessium evolved into a foundation with focus and cohesion.
Today, through our three programs — Informed Society, Nature and Living Environment, and Inclusive and Equitable Society — we work toward an open society where rights, freedoms, and solidarity are protected.
Adessium Foundation strives for an open society where everyone can participate and where rights and freedoms are safeguarded — a society that passes on a just and livable world to future generations.
We support nonprofit organizations working toward lasting positive change. We do so through grants, advisory support, and by connecting them to our network. Together, we strengthen initiatives that build a fairer and more sustainable society. Because even if progress sometimes feels like just a drop in the ocean — every step forward counts. Making today better than yesterday: that’s what we continue to work toward.
Annual Report 2024
The world is in constant motion. While tensions are rising in many places and democratic values are under pressure, we continue to witness the strength of civil society. All around us, people are stepping up to contribute to a just, free, and livable society.
For this Annual Report, we asked several of the organizations we support to share their perspective on 2024. Each chose a photo that, to them, captures the essence of the past year: an image that moves, surprises, or confronts, but above all, shows what committed people can achieve. We are grateful for their valuable efforts in these unpredictable times.
Download our Annual Report (pdf).
Public Benefit Organization (ANBI)
Our foundation has been designated by the Dutch Tax Authority as a Public Benefit Organization (ANBI). Each year, we complete a report with information about our ANBI status (PDF). We also provide a brief overview of our plans for the coming year (PDF).
FIN, Philea
Adessium Foundation is a member of the Dutch Association of Foundations (FIN) and the Philanthropy Europe Association (Philea). The board of Adessium Foundation declares that it complies with the FIN Code Good Governance (in Dutch) and has therefore submitted the Annual Declaration of Compliance with the FIN Code Good Governance for the 2024 financial year.
Contact
Phone number:
+31 182 646100
E-mail:
info@adessium.org
Mailing address:
Postbus 76
2810 AB Reeuwijk
Nederland
Visiting address:
Kantoorvilla ‘Het Baken’
Reeuwijkse Poort 1
2811 MV Reeuwijk
Nederland