The Villum Foundation (Danish: Villum Fonden); formerly Villum Kann Rasmussen Foundation (Villum Kann Rasmussen Fonden[1]) was set up in 1971 by civil engineer Villum Kann Rasmussen (1909–1993). 10 years later, he set up the Velux Foundation (Velux Fonden).[2][3][4] Rasmussen was the founder of VELUX and Velfac, Danish window companies.[5] Both foundations are part of VKR Holding A/S, owned by the Rasmussen family and the Villum Foundation, which is the main shareholder.[6]
The foundations fund scientific, cultural, artistic and social projects, and award honorary prizes. In 2018, they together granted EUR 118 million divided among 1,015 donations.[7] The money comes from the revenues of the VKR Group and income generated by the foundations’ other assets.[4]