Our 50+ years of impact
Lasting positive change — it’s what we have been committed to since 1974. Just as it is for Rabobank, Friedrich Wilhelm Raiffeisen’s cooperative idea has been our foundation: together we achieve more than alone. By joining forces and working together, people can strengthen their social and economic position. From the start, we have invested in the self-reliance of people in vulnerable situations in the Netherlands and far beyond. While our approach has evolved over the decades, our commitment to an inclusive and sustainable future remains. Read our timeline to discover key milestones from our history.
1974 - Start of Stichting Steun door Rabobanken
Rabo Foundation is established under the name: Stichting Steun door Rabobanken (SSR). It continues the work of Stichting 150 jaar Raiffeisen (150 years Raiffeisen Foundation) and Stichting Internationale Ontwikkelingshulp door Boerenleenbanken (International Development Aid by Agricultural Cooperative Banks Foundation). The aim is to promote the cooperative idea of the Rabobank organization by supporting projects in the Netherlands and in developing countries in Africa, Asia and Latin America. From our founding, we have been committed to an inclusive society in the Netherlands, in the early years by, among other things, supporting care farms for people with disabilities. And internationally by offering smallholders farmers the prospect of a better life by investing in their self-reliance. By, among other things, making the establishment of savings and credit cooperatives possible.
1994 - More impact with loans
Rabo Foundation starts providing loans such as microfinance (short-term loan). Thanks to new rules, we as a foundation can provide loans in addition to donations. This allows us to support organizations even better and this also fits in with our vision of encouraging self-reliance. With loans we rely on people's own capabilities from the start and there is a better chance that they will ultimately survive without outside help. Rabo Foundation was one of the first foundations to provide loans and now providing loans is our key financing product. And, by starting to provide loans, Rabo Foundation became a revolving fund. With the loan repayments we can replenish our fund every year, redeploy the money and thus finance more organizations.
1995 - Local currency loans
Starting this year, we improve access to loans for organizations by offering them in the local currency. In doing so, we reduce the currency risk for our partners, meaning they are less dependent on international exchange rates.
2002 - New name: Rabobank Foundation
Stichting Steun door Rabobanken (SSR) is now called the Rabobank Foundation. This name has already been in use for some time internationally because it is easier to communicate. It proved inconvenient to work with a different name (SSR) within the Netherlands than abroad, which is why we opted for a single name.
2008 - First project employee abroad
Our first local consultant starts in India. An important step forward to support organizations abroad even better in their development. Local team members speak the language and know the cultural, political and economic context. Because they are active close to our projects, they can visit projects more easily and more frequently. We now can build on various people working in Africa, Asia and Latin America. Together with them, we form a strong international team that works daily to increase our impact.
2011 - Start Rabo Rural Fund B.V.
The Rabo Foundation establishes the Rabo Rural Fund with support from Cordaid and the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Now we can also finance cooperatives and farmers' organizations that are too big for Rabo Foundation financing and too small for a commercial loan. The fund finances agricultural businesses and cooperatives in the emerging economies of Latin America, Africa and Asia.
The photo shows our client Acopagro, one of the largest cocoa cooperatives in Peru.
2013 - Start measuring impact
From its inception, Rabo Foundation has focused on achieving social impact. Measuring this impact, however, is not easy. Starting this year, we ask our project partners to report their results to us through an online survey. Measuring the impact gives us insight into the changes taking place, the role the Rabo Foundation plays in them and how we can further support our project partners.
2016 - Start Social Entrepreneurship Program
Since its inception, Rabo Foundation has been working towards an inclusive society in the Netherlands. This year our Social Entrepreneurship Program started. Supporting social entrepreneurs who are committed to helping people in the Netherlands who want to work, but have trouble finding a job. Like, Dignita who was one of the first social enterprise we financed. Now we support almost 200 social entrepreneurs in their growth by giving them access to financing, knowledge and our network.
2017 - Winner Jacques Diouf Award
The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) honors us with an FAO Award: the Jacques Diouf Award. In doing so, it recognizes our commitment to strengthening the economic self-sufficiency of smallholder farmers worldwide. And thus our contribution to the food system transition.
Ankie Wijnen, Chair of the Rabo Foundation Supervisory Board 2017 - 2023, accepted the award from FAO Director General José Graziano da Silva.
2019 - More attention to environmental impact in new strategy
Whereas before we focused mainly on social and economic impact, we now broaden our focus with environmental impact. This is a direct response to the effects of climate change. With our support to partners, we can help smallholder farmers become more climate resilient. Only in this way can they build a sustainable future.
2020 - The COVID-19 pandemic
The global health crisis has a major impact on our partners – partly because the crisis is accompanied by drastic measures, such as lockdowns, social distancing and travel restrictions, which have negative effects on the global economy. We establish a temporary emergency fund of €750,000 for acute assistance to our partners' initiatives, and offer a number of organizations deferred repayments on their current loans.
This year we will also start the first discussions about the partnership program 'India Covid Response Program for Agri Transition'. Led by US International Development Finance Corporation (DFC) and supported by USAID along with Rabo Foundation and two European foundations and three financial institutions in India.
2026 and beyond
Throughout the journey, Rabo Foundation has demonstrated that lasting positive change starts when people join forces—rooted in the cooperative idea that together we achieve more than alone, and in investing in self-reliance in the Netherlands and far beyond. In 2026, we renewed our strategy with a clear commitment to double our impact: reaching more people and improving livelihoods more deeply by focusing on four drivers—access to finance, innovation, climate resilience, and equality.