12. May 2023

Kavli Trust Annual Report 2022: 60 years of sharing all profits with good causes

On 25 April 2022, it was 60 years since Knut Kavli, son of the Kavli Group’s founder, Olav Kavli, established Kavli Trust and made the foundation the owner of the group. In the statutes he laid down that the entire profit from the Kavli Group must be distributed to humanitarian, cultural and scientific causes.

Today we have launched the Kavli Trust’s Annnual Report 2022. The report gives you you the full overview of Kavli Trust’s 60 years as the sole owner of Kavli, our work and donations throughout the years, how we work today, prioritised areas, projects that received funding in 2022 and annual accounts.

Download the report here

Much has happened since the first two allocations in 1965. It has been a process of moving away from art grants and monumental works gifted to municipalities locally, to working strategically to help solve the great societal challenges of our time in three continents.

Since 2016, Kavli Trust has contributed to more than 15,000 children having the opportunity to participate in inclusive cultural activities. We have developed our own call for proposals for health research, and we are proud to be a foundation that looks beyond our own national borders.

GENERAL MANAGER: Inger Elise Iversen. Photo: Anne Elisabeth Næss/Kavli Trust

Kavli Trust has supported international aid projects since 2001. Through our long-standing collaboration with the Strømme Foundation, Kavli’s profits have contributed to over 25,000 children in Burkina Faso, Nepal, Bangladesh and Myanmar receiving quality education. We believe that it is important to contribute where the challenges are greatest.

The international commitment is also in line with our founders’ values. Olav and Knut Kavli were both internationally oriented global citizens, in business life and as humanitarians.

Kavli Trust today gives back more than ever before to the local communities where our values are created. In our 60th year, we are happy to support a wide range of good causes in all four countries where the Kavli Group operates: Norway, Sweden, the UK and Finland.

During Kavli Trust’s 60 years, thousands of people have been employed by our companies. Every day has been a contribution to create profit for good causes. In total, Kavli Trust has distributed NOK 1.2 billion during these 60 years. We at Kavli Trust and the Kavli Group are proud of everything we have managed to create and accomplish together in our management of the legacy of Olav and Knut Kavli.

But none of this would have been possible without all the consumers who have bought spreadable cheese and other Kavli products. Thank you to everyone who has played a part through their everyday choices at the supermarket!

We will continue to work strategically and in collaboration with other partners to maximise the value of the money we distribute. In the spirit of Olav and Knut Kavli, we will also actively explore how we can improve our work and think innovatively to adapt to the current and changing reality. This is particularly important in the times of crisis the world has faced in recent years.

Both Knut and Olav were big-hearted, socially engaged people who were known for sharing with others. They would certainly have been happy to see that their life’s work has created – and continues to create – ripple effects in the lives of tens of thousands around the world.

We look forward to 60 new years for good causes!

– Inger Elise Iversen 

* UNESCO Institute for Statistics (UIS), 2020