25th anniversary: Executive director with integrity as core value
... a non-profit foundation that supports active senior citizens, ophthalmology and ageing research as well as the arts and the social sciences and cultural, social and environmental objectives to promote Danish democratic society on an informed, inclusive and sustainable basis.
Ane Hendriksen is a qualified lawyer and bank clerk, and is well known for the professionalism she brings to her work whether she is engaged in administrative procedures or strategy work. And also for her integrity and caring approach.
It was a good cocktail of coincidences and networking which, 25 years ago, brought the then 33-year-old Ane Hendriksen and VELUX FONDEN together for the first time. However, it is no coincidence that on 7 August 2020 she can celebrate her 25th anniversary as an employee of the foundation.
- "The nature of the work at the foundation has changed markedly over the past 25 years, but it has always been interesting and meaningful. What has always been a constant has been the way my core values overlap with those of VELUX FONDEN, where professionalism and integrity take pride of place. When working for a foundation, it’s important to have a grip on calibrating the moral compass, stresses Ane Hendriksen, who has always had both feet firmly planted on the ground and has not been phased by the size of the grants or the possibility of wielding influence.
VELUX FONDEN and VILLUM FONDEN, which operate under the umbrella name THE VELUX FOUNDATIONS, have grown considerably over the years. When Ane Hendriksen was taken on in 1995, there were four employees in the two foundations, which together disbursed grants totalling DKK 156 million a year. In 2019, the foundations disbursed DKK 1.3 billion, and today have more than 50 employees working at the offices at Tobaksvejen 10 in Søborg in north-west Copenhagen. The building was originally built as a domicile for the company V. Kann Rasmussen & Co., which was founded by Villum Kann Rasmussen, who designed the VELUX roof window and established VILLUM FONDEN and VELUX FONDEN.
- "There has been quite a development in how the foundations operate, with a shift from being applicant-driven to having a programme of thematic philanthropy based on socially relevant themes. From having a role as an anonymous and modest donor to being a transparent and responsible partner keen to solve challenges in cooperation with research environments and civil society – while embracing diversity. And while working to realise VELUX FONDEN’s vision of promoting a democratic society on an enlightened, sustainable and inclusive basis, we are open to experimentation in terms of both method, form and content, explains Ane Hendriksen.
In 1995, VILLUM FONDEN and VELUX FONDEN together disbursed DKK 156 million between 190 projects. Of this, VELUX FONDEN disbursed DKK 96 million between 175 projects, including grants for IT equipment for active senior citizens, for the reconstruction of the baroque organ in St Mariæ Church in Elsinore, and even for a microwave oven for laboratory use for ophthalmology research at the University of Copenhagen.
Today, VILLUM FONDEN and VELUX FONDEN together disburse more than eight times as much as in 1995. In 2019, a total of DKK 1.3 billion was disbursed between 1,140 projects. Of this, VELUX FONDEN disbursed DKK 250 million to an impressive 976 projects – for example a grant was made towards the development of a nationwide digital counselling system for mentally vulnerable young people, and to an interdisciplinary research project about combatting food waste. The foundation spans themes from the oceans to the human sciences.
When Ane Hendriksen joined VELUX FONDEN in 1995, she was employed on a part-time basis as adviser, as she was also teaching family and inheritance law at the University of Copenhagen. However, she was unable to keep working for only 15 hours a week, and she subsequently accepted a full-time position as a deputy director.
One of the first tasks that landed on her desk came in the form of a folding rule: the premises needed measuring up so the workspaces could be reorganised! The folding rule was retrieved many years later when the two foundations acquired the building at Tobaksvejen 10 from VKR Holding, and Ane Hendriksen became responsible for the extensive renovation and refurbishment of the premises so that the foundations could move in 2008.
In 2006, Ane Hendriksen was appointed deputy director with responsibility for administering the foundations, for the material submitted to the Boards, and for accounting, tax, legal affairs, insurance and compliance, and in 2013 she was appointed executive director of VELUX FONDEN.
In 2018, Ane Hendriksen was involved in preparing the ground for establishing the foundations’ knowledge centre (Fondenes Videnscenter).
- A family person. She lives in Charlottenlund, a suburb of Copenhagen, with her husband Peter Schütze, and the couple have two grown-up daughters.
- Interested in art and culture, with a particular fondness for ceramics.
- A nature-lover who enjoys being active outdoors – from playing tennis to gardening.
- Member of the think-tank DEA’s advisory board.
- Member of the Board of the Velliv Association.
- Member of the Lolland-Falster ambassador corps.
- Chair of the Board of the association BalCon – a platform for dance, music and the performing arts.
