IKEA Foundation is a European philanthropic trust associated with the Swedish furniture company IKEA. Founded in 1982 by Swedish businessman Ingvar Kamprad, the foundation is a subsidiary of the Dutch INGKA Foundation, which controls the majority of IKEA stores through a holding company. ¹ IKEA Foundation supports environmentalist, pro-immigration, and anti-poverty causes around the world. ² The Foundation partners with left-of-center nongovernmental organizations such as European Climate Foundation, Ashoka, Breakthrough, Climate Action Network International, The Clinton Health Access Initiative, The Rockefeller Foundation, the World Economic Forum, and the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). ^{3 4}

The foundation was accused of using funds for corporate rather than charitable motives in 2006, bringing increased scrutiny to Kamprad’s assortment of foundations and holding companies through which he maintained control of IKEA and allegedly shielded profits from taxes. ⁵ This triggered a restructuring in 2009, with increased focus on social causes. ⁶

Founding and History

After founding IKEA furniture in 1943, Swedish businessman Ingvar Kamprad established IKEA Foundation in 1982 as a charitable project of the company. The foundation is funded by the Stitching INGKA Foundation, founded by Kamprad the same year and based in the Netherlands, which also owns the majority of IKEA stores. ⁷

The foundation was initially dedicated to design innovation. In 2006, however, The Economist highlighted the fact that INGKA Foundation was the world’s wealthiest charitable foundation, valued at $36 billion, but did proportionately little charitable work. As Dutch law did not require either INGKA Foundation or IKEA Foundation to disclose its donations, it became unclear what either foundation did beyond holding ownership over IKEA stores through a complex web of holding companies and tax-exempt foundations controlled by Kamprad. ⁸

As a result of this controversy, the IKEA Foundation expanded its charter in 2009 to instead focus on childhood poverty. ⁹ The Foundation has since focused its work on climate and immigration issues in partnership with the United Nations, the World Economic Forum, and other nongovernmental organizations. ¹⁰

Grants

IKEA Foundation’s philanthropic efforts nominally focus on children’s welfare in impoverished countries, but extend to investment in wind and solar energy, technology education, immigrant resettlement, and a other issues, typically from a left-of-center perspective.  ¹¹ The foundation has given grants to a large number of left-of-center nonprofits, including €4.73 million to Co-Impact and €2.55 million to BRAC in 2019, €950,000 to InfluenceMap and €1 million to Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors in 2020, and multiple grants to the European Climate Foundation, which proposes completely decarbonizing the European economy by 2050. ¹² The foundation also partners with Ashoka, Breakthrough, Climate Action Network International, The Clinton Health Access Initiative, the World Economic Forum, and the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). ¹³

In 2017, the foundation partnered with UNHCR to provide solar power for the Azraq Refugee Camp in Jordan for €8.75 million. ¹⁴ In 2021 it partnered with The Rockefeller Foundation for a $1 billion global investment in wind and solar energy technologies, with the stated goal of eliminating 1 billion tons of carbon emissions. ¹⁵

1. “About.” IKEA Foundation. Accessed May 14, 2023. https://ikeafoundation.org/about/
2. “Themes.” IKEA Foundation. Accessed May 14, 2023. https://ikeafoundation.org/themes/
3. “Grant Dataset.” IKEA Foundation. Accessed May 14, 2023. https://ikeafoundation.org/grant-dataset/
4. “Partners.” IKEA Foundation. Accessed May 14, 2023. https://ikeafoundation.org/about/partners/
5. Rex Features. “Flat Pack Accounting.” The Economist. May 11, 2006. Accessed May 14, 2023. https://www.economist.com/business/2006/05/11/flat-pack-accounting
6. “About.” IKEA Foundation. Accessed May 14, 2023. https://ikeafoundation.org/about/
7. “About.” IKEA Foundation. Accessed May 14, 2023. https://ikeafoundation.org/about/
8. Rex Features. “Flat Pack Accounting.” The Economist. May 11, 2006. Accessed May 14, 2023. https://www.economist.com/business/2006/05/11/flat-pack-accounting
9. “About.” IKEA Foundation. Accessed May 14, 2023. https://ikeafoundation.org/about/
10. “Themes.” IKEA Foundation. Accessed May 14, 2023. https://ikeafoundation.org/themes/
11. “Themes.” IKEA Foundation. Accessed May 14, 2023. https://ikeafoundation.org/themes/
12. “Grant Dataset.” IKEA Foundation. Accessed May 14, 2023. https://ikeafoundation.org/grant-dataset/
13. “Partners.” IKEA Foundation. Accessed May 14, 2023. https://ikeafoundation.org/about/partners/
14. “Azraq, the world’s first refugee camp powered by renewable energy.” UNHCR and IKEA Foundation. May 17, 2017. Accessed May 14, 2023. https://www.unhcr.org/news/stories/azraq-worlds-first-refugee-camp-powered-renewable-energy
15. “Ikea Foundation and The Rockefeller Foundation Join Forces to Set up a Historic $1 Billion Initiative to Catalyze Investments in Distributed Renewable Energy.” Rockefeller Foundation. June 21, 2021. Accessed May 14, 2023. https://www.rockefellerfoundation.org/news/ikea-foundation-and-the-rockefeller-foundation-join-forces-to-set-up-1-billion-dollar-initiative-in-distributed-renewable-energy/