2025 Looking back at
Nurturing childhoods since 1986
We believe childhood is not just a phase of life — it’s the making of one. Since 1986, we have worked to nurture and protect childhood, supporting efforts that help children grow, learn and thrive.
We focus on the realities children face, addressing barriers, supporting learners of all abilities, and responding where children are touched by crisis and humanitarian needs.
By investing in the holistic ecosystems that shape childhood — from families and schools to communities and entire societies – we work to strengthen access to education, creativity and play.
Through partnerships in Denmark and around the world, we work alongside those closest to children’s lives. Together, we build evidence to drive lasting change — improving systems, lifting up young learners, and creating the conditions for every child, everywhere to thrive and grow.
2025 in Numbers
In 2025, the LEGO Foundation committed new grants at a total value of
DKK
1,726 million
(EUR 231 million)
Children in Conflict and Crisis
DKK
1,016 million (EUR 136 million)
Children in Denmark and Greenland
Local community support and collaborative projects
DKK 528 million (EUR 71 million) DKK 146 million (EUR 20 million)
2025 grant payments DKK 1,933 million (EUR 259 million)
- payments on awarded grants, covering both new and existing grants
Children with special educational needs
DKK 35 million (EUR 5 million)
individual grants were approved 33
About us
Our areas of work
Crisis and humanitarian settings
In times of crisis, children are among the most vulnerable. The LEGO Foundation funds programmes that protect children’s access to education in crisis and humanitarian settings, ensuring that children can keep growing and learning, even in the hardest circumstances.
Special educational needs and learning opportunities
All children, regardless of ability, deserve the opportunity to learn and grow through quality education. With a special focus on autism and ADHD, we work closely with educational organisations to strengthen support for neurodivergent children, helping them thrive.
Supporting children in Denmark
As a Danish foundation, we are deeply engaged in supporting every child in Denmark to have a good childhood. We collaborate with municipalities, institutions and civil society to strengthen the education and wellbeing systems that shape children’s everyday lives, helping them learn and grow in a changing world.
Building evidence, sharing impact
Our philanthropic mission is to support initiatives in education, research, and child development — both directly and indirectly. We are committed to impact that can be measured and to sharing evidence openly, so partners, communities and governments can see what truly helps children thrive and grow.
In 2025 we....
... committed 33 grants to 28 partners with a total value of DKK 1,726 million across the world
2025 Grant Highlights
In 2025, the LEGO Foundation awarded grants totalling DKK 1,726 million, contributing to approximately DKK 10.5 billion distributed globally over the past five years. Supported through its 25% ownership of the LEGO Group, the Foundation sharpened our strategic focus to direct resources where they can create the greatest impact for children. Going forward, we will work with fewer, larger partners and prioritise initiatives with strong potential to improve children’s wellbeing, learning and development at scale, while continuing its long-standing commitment to the value of childhood as we approach our 40th anniversary in 2026.
Supporting Children in Denmark Every Child's Daycare
This year, the LEGO Foundation launched its largest Danish grant to date, aimed at creating a strong foundation for improving young children’s development and wellbeing through play and inclusive communities.
With a commitment of DKK 100 million, we support local capacity building for early childhood educators and childcare centre leaders across 17 municipalities.
The programme, Alle Børns Dagtilbud (“Every Child's Daycare”), is delivered in partnership with three key organisations: Kommunernes Landsforening, Komponent, and the University Colleges of Denmark. Over the next four years, more than 2,000 educators and 100 leaders will have the opportunity to work systematically on strengthening quality in their early childhood settings — with play as the central driver.
2025 Grant Highlights
From Vision to Global Inspiration: ISB’s Expansion of Play-based Learning
In September 2025, the International School of Billund (ISB) opened its largest expansion to date, bringing the campus to 20,000 m² and creating space for up to 750 pupils. In just 12 years, ISB has grown from an ambitious vision into an internationally recognised model for play-based education.
Collaboration between the LEGO Foundation and ISB has been central from the very beginning. Together with Harvard University, the partners have shaped the Pedagogy of Play (PoP),
a play-based approach that builds on children’s natural curiosity and positions play as a catalyst for academic depth, creativity and wellbeing.
Today, more than 1,000 educators and decisionmakers from around the world visit ISB each year to see how these principles are embedded in everyday teaching and school life. The expansion marks not only a growth in facilities, but a continued shared investment in children’s futures — in Denmark and globally.
Two foundations, one goal: Making childhoods better
Ole Kirk’s Fond works closely alongside the LEGO Foundation, with a clear focus on improving the quality of life for vulnerable children and their families in Denmark.
While prioritising children facing difficult circumstances, Ole Kirk’s Fond also supports broader, preventive efforts that strengthen children’s wellbeing more generally.
In 2025, Ole Kirk’s Fond awarded grants to support a wide range of initiatives. In addition to social efforts, it supported cultural, church and educational activities, as well as selected humanitarian causes and local projects in Billund. DKK 220 million of its grant funding comes from the LEGO Foundation, reflecting the strong link between the two foundations and our shared ambition to create positive change for children and communities.
Grant Highlights
Scaling Play-based Support in Crisis and Humanitarian Settings
In 2025, the LEGO Foundation entered a five-year strategic partnership with BRAC to support children growing up in crisis-affected settings.
Grounded in a shared belief that every child deserves dignity, care and the opportunity to thrive, the partnership focuses on strengthening education, wellbeing and psychosocial support through play-based approaches.
Building on a long-standing collaboration — including the development of BRAC’s pioneering Play Lab model — the USD 50 million partnership will support children from birth to 18 in fragile contexts in Bangladesh and Uganda.
By investing in long-term, adaptive approaches, the partnership aims to strengthen systems around children in crisis and contribute to more inclusive, resilient learning environments — even in the most challenging circumstances.
When crisis hits
In crisis, childhood is often the first thing at risk. That is why we partner with Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC) and Save the Children through an acute humanitarian response mechanism, which enables both organisations to rapidly deliver vital education that provides stability, the chance to rebuild, and hope for children living through emergencies.
In acknowledging the importance of this work, we renewed our commitment to the acute humanitarian response mechanism with USD 16 million each to NRC and Save the Children, extending our partnership until 2030. This work matters every day, across the world. And on World Human Rights Day, we are reminded that human rights not only protect, but also help bring joy, safety, and dignity into children’s daily lives.
Millions of children receive play in a box
In 2025, LEGO® Play Boxes reached more than 2.1 million children across 27 countries.
The LEGO Play Box is a non-commercial resource, made partly from surplus materials. Used together with local partners, caregivers and practitioners, it helps support children’s social and emotional skills, wellbeing and everyday learning through play, even in complex and challenging contexts.
This work is made possible through partnership. We are especially grateful to the 166 retired LEGO colleagues who volunteered their time this year, continuing to support children and communities around the world.
A Childhood for all Today and Tomorrow
15 years
Supporting children in Ukraine
In 2025, ensuring that children in Ukraine can keep learning and develop socially and emotionally remains more important than ever.
Over the past year, the LEGO Foundation has continued to strengthen partnerships in Ukraine focused on learning, wellbeing and social and emotional development through play. This includes collaboration with the EASEL Lab at Harvard, exploring how, in the context of ongoing crisis, play-based learning and social and emotional learning are essential for children’s
resilience, engagement and sense of safety — and for supporting educators working under extraordinary conditions.
Building on a 15-year commitment in Ukraine, national teacher training efforts reached more than 130,000 educators and up to 2 million children. Despite the challenging context and operational changes, the focus remains clear: ensuring children have sustained opportunities to learn, grow and thrive.
10 years
Reaching Millions with Right To Play
Over the past decade, the LEGO Foundation has partnered with Right To Play to expand access to playful learning for children in diverse contexts. Together, the partnership has reached more than 7 million children and 200,000 teachers across 12 countries, contributing to lasting improvements in classrooms, schools and communities.
The collaboration spans a range of initiatives tailored to local needs. This includes Play to Grow in Uganda and Tanzania, which
strengthens parent–child relationships in refugee communities; Plug in Play in Rwanda, supporting students’ engagement with robotics and coding; and Partners in Play in Ghana, which has helped improve learning experiences for approximately 600,000 students.
Across contexts, the partnership demonstrates how sustained investment in play-based approaches can support children’s learning, wellbeing and development at scale.
5
years
PlayMatters in East Africa
In 2025, the LEGO Foundation’s investment in the PlayMatters programme delivered clear, measurable impact for children growing up in crisis-affected regions. Over the past five years, the programme has equipped teachers in Ethiopia, Tanzania, and Uganda with play-based, crisis-responsive approaches that help children learn, develop and cope in challenging environments.
As Project Director Martin Omukuba notes, teachers are central to the programme’s success, as strengthened pedagogical practices directly improve children’s learning and wellbeing. Play Matters builds on children’s natural
motivation to play, creating safe, inclusive settings where hands-on, meaningful activities support both curriculum learning and broader social, emotional and creative skills. New research results show significant improvements in children’s psychosocial wellbeing, reading comprehension, creativity, and social-emotional development.
PlayMatters is implemented by a consortium led by the International Rescue Committee, together with Plan International, War Child Alliance, Innovations for Poverty Action and the Behavioral Insight Team.
We have talked with children about many aspects of their lives, and one area that weighs heavily for many of them is their online life.
1 year
Voices from children in Greenland
2025 marks our first year of collaboration with MIO – The National Advocacy Center for Children’s Rights. Through focus groups across Greenland, children have shared their perspectives on everyday life – in their own words, through drawings, and through the experiences that shape their childhoods.
As Camilla Lennert, Project Manager at MIO, explains:
“We have talked with children about many aspects of their lives, and one area that weighs heavily for many of them is their online life. They spend a lot of time online and are part of online communities, for example through gaming. But many also talk about unpleasant experiences.
For instance, many have encountered violent content and attempts at grooming. We have carried out a literature review and had structured conversations with children and both confirm that we know very little about their online lives. That is why this will be one of the areas we place special focus on in a nationwide survey that we will be conducting next year.”
MIO will continue its work to fill a vital knowledge gap, ensuring that children from all walks of life –including those who are often overlooked, such as children with special needs and those from remote settlements – have the opportunity to share their stories and perspectives.
Camilla Lennert Project Manager at MIO
A Childhood for all