Last round of 2024 Community Engagement Grants

The Community Engagement Grants support employees of Grundfos and Grundfos companies who work with local NGOs, institutions, authorities, and philanthropic initiatives that address critical challenges in their communities.

Grundfos in Hungary steps up on volunteering

In Hungary, Grundfos colleagues are volunteering for various causes. One is STEM education, where colleagues in Székesfehérvár are taking the lead:

In 2024, the International Young Phycisist Tournament was hosted in Hungary. With the support of the Poul Due Jensen Community Engagement Grant, we contributed as a gold sponsor to the organization of the 10-day event where young scientists from all over the world presented their research results. Olivér Szundy, Managing Director of Grundfos Hungary, gave the opening speech, and Grundfos colleagues volunteered to showcase the company to the interested young physicists both at the event and during a special visit to the factory in Székesfehérvár.

The intervention was a great success, and Grundfos colleagues in Hungary will continue volunteering for the Hungarian competition alongside the team sponsorship of the Hungarian team provided through the Foundation’s Community Engagement Grant. The 2025 International Young Phycisist Tournament will be hosted in Lund, Sweden.

2025 Young Physicists’ Tournament and team sponsorship: Grundfos employees assisted as jury members at the Hungarian qualifier in January. Photo by Péter Topa

Diversity and inclusion are also a key element in the volunteering efforts. In Tatabánya, Grundfos employees have pledged three years of volunteering support for the Komárom-Esztergom County Association of Disabled People through repairs and gardening work at the Association’s Rehabilitation Community Garden, providing valuable opportunities for its 900 members. It is expected that more than 60-100 colleagues will be involved, accumulating up to 800 hours of volunteer work.

In Budapest, the Vadvirag Foundation organized a series of workshops aimed at enhancing the financial well-being and employability of individuals with disabilities in Hungary.

“We hosted a workshop at the Grundfos office in Budapest, where Grundfos employees volunteered in various capacities. They organized a comprehensive financial well-being day, which included multiple workshops. Additionally, several employees volunteered in workshops held outside the Grundfos premises, successfully meeting the expected annual volunteering hours within the first half of the project,” explains DE&I Lead Specialist Dora Deak from the Grundfos Shared Services Centre in Budapest.

Furthermore, the Vadvirag Foundation initiated a collaboration with Skilly, another Community Engagement Grant recipient where Grundfos employees in Budapest participate as mentors for individuals with disabilities.

In 2024, the Vadvirag Foundation organized a series of workshops aimed at enhancing the financial well-being and employability of individuals with disabilities in Hungary. One of these workshops was hosted at the Grundfos office in Budapest, where Grundfos employees volunteered in various capacities. Photo by Dora Deak

Finally, Hungarian Grundfos employees will also be able to participate in a tree planting event with 10 millió Fa Alapítvány (10 millon Tree Foundation) which is to take place 28 February nearby Budapest. Interested colleagues can register to volunteer from January 30 – February 14.

“The aim is to plant thousands of trees in a single day, thus contributing to the reforestation efforts and enhancing the local ecosystem,” says Lead Coordinator Noémi Pusztai.

Virtual volunteering for sustainable growth

Physical volunteering can be great for teambuilding, but what do you do if your team is distributed across countries and even continents? The recent grants support two organisations offering colleagues to participate in virtual volunteering, benefiting startups and entrepreneurs:

• Workshops We Make Change Global Limited will host up to 6 ‘change days’ enabling up to 150 Grundfos employees to participate in virtual volunteering. Each change day will focus on aiding 4-5 small but established organisations within Water, Climate and People, and the participants will join a 3 hour intensive workshop together with the organisations to solve a current challenge.
• Mentorships Bridge for Billions enhances the livelihoods and drive economic growth for migrants, youth, and women in Africa (Nigeria, Rwanda, Kenya, South Africa) and LATAM (Mexico, Colombia, and Central America). Through a tailored incubation programs, the initiative will support the business growth and revenue generation of over 3,000 MSMEs, 50% being women-led. Grundfos mentors’ involvement will drive innovation and sustainability, contributing to stronger entrepreneurial ecosystems across Africa and LATAM.

More volunteering opportunities are available at the Community Engagement and Volunteering site (Grundfos intranet).

Grundfos employees can apply for grants four times a year.

• The next deadline for application is on March 26, 2025.
• Find out how to apply for the grant here.

List of most recent grants

• Find out how to apply for the grant here.
• The next deadline for application is on March 26, 2025