What The Bergesen Foundation Fund

The Bergesen Foundation fund projects of public benefit, primarily within the fields of cultural and humanitarian work.

  • By “public benefit” we mean projects and activities which benefit the wider community and the population at large. This means that the applicant must identify which target groups the project is aimed at and how exposure to these target groups will be achieved. There are separate fields for this information in the application form in the Foundation's application portal.
  • The Foundation supports projects of all sizes. Please refer to previous grants here.
  • The Bergesen Foundation also supports projects generating new knowledge and insights that will benefit society as a whole, especially research and dissemination projects related to climate, environment and sustainability, and to patient-centred medical research.
The following is not supported and will result in an automatic rejection of the application:
  • Activities and projects that have already been completed at the time the application is processed (approx. 2-3 months after the application deadline)
  • Previously rejected projects without significant new elements
  • Operational running costs (e.g. operational costs that would need to be applied for every year and that are not applicable to a particular project)
  • Commercial initiatives and entities

  • Projects outside Norway (including foreign aid)
  • Religious purposes
  • Party political or special interest purposes

  • Physical buildings and infrastructure (such as construction or refurbishment of sports facilities, cultural centres, clubhouses, community centres etc.)
  • Cultural heritage management that does not serve the common good, and that does not involve a plan for public outreach
  • Archiving and digitization projects without a plan for public outreach

  • Fiction writing, commemorative publications and translations
  • Fiction films, series
  • Recording of music
  • Dramatic art projects without a production agreement, exhibition projects without an exhibition agreement and book projects without a publishing agreement

  • Purely private purposes such as educational financing, travel or personal aids
  • School trips, school productions, student revues or drama societies, or student festivals
  • Instruments or equipment for bands or sports clubs
  • Competitions and prize giving


The following is not ordinarily supported – Applications for projects/measures under these points should be clarified with the administration before any application (send inquiries to post@bergesenstiftelsen.no):

  • Private or closed events and activities (i.e. members’ only activities in societies, associations, choirs etc.)
  • Workshops with limited attendance; internal training; skills development that does not serve the common good
  • Podcasts and series productions
  • Decoration and equipment for sports facilities, clubhouses, community centres, cultural centers etc.
  • Memorials
  • Basic research and research projects without affiliation to a university or other recognised institution


    This list was published on October 27, 2023 and is valid from the first application deadline in 2024 and onwards.

      Til søknadsportal