The Bikuben Foundation is an independent commercial foundation that distributes grants from the returns on the foundation's investments. The purpose of the foundation is to "promote insight and vision in Denmark". It has the further objective of helping to improve the lives of the socially marginalised. The foundation supports and develops projects in the fields of Danish culture and social work.
Individuals cannot apply for support, and applicants must therefore apply via an institution in order to be considered.
All of the projects that the Bikuben Foundation supports or is involved in are individually assessed on the basis of technical criteria, and they must live up to one or more of the following criteria:
- They must be innovative and developmental
- They must engage and involve people
- They must be transformational in that they make a mark on society and the individual
- They must be educational and improving
- They must include a plan for rooting activities and cascading, if appropriate
The foundation has distributed grants to the sum of DKK 30,000 to 10,000,000. Applications are processed four times a year and must be forwarded via the foundation's website.