New Dutch foundation launches to protect and strengthen mission-driven companies

Foundation aims to protect Ben & Jerry’s independent social mission while advancing new ownership models that safeguard mission-driven businesses.

AMSTERDAM, NETHERLANDS, October 29, 2026 /EINPresswire.com/ -- A new Dutch foundation, the Stichting ter ondersteuning van missie gedreven ondernemingen, has been launched to protect and strengthen mission-driven companies: businesses that care not only about profit and growth, but also about their role in society. It’s first two projects: supporting the campaign to restore the independent mission of Ben & Jerry’s, and developing ownership models and mission-driven investment that help companies keep their mission intact as they grow.

The foundation builds on the definition of business purpose formulated by Professor Colin Mayer, Emeritus Professor of Management Studies and former Dean of the University of Oxford’s Saïd Business School. According to Mayer, the purpose of business is “to create profitable solutions for the problems of people and planet, while not profiting from creating problems for either.”

Founded in July 2026, the foundation supports mission-driven companies with knowledge, visibility, financing, legal support and advocacy: from discussions with stakeholders and finding the right investors to designing governance that protects their mission and shaping their strategy.

Ben & Jerry’s: a mission under pressure

Ben & Jerry’s was founded on a simple but radical belief: that a business could make a great product, fight for justice, and make a profit at the same time. For nearly fifty years, its unique structure — which encompasses product, social, and financial missions, all of which are equal and interdependent — has driven the company’s commercial success.

There are other companies that make really good ice cream, but Ben & Jerry’s is differentiated by its values and progressive social activism, which enabled it to build the kind of consumer loyalty that no competitor has been able to replicate.

When Unilever acquired Ben & Jerry’s in 2000, the agreement included an independent board to safeguard the company’s social mission. Since Ben & Jerry’s became part of the listed Magnum Ice Cream Company, that independence has come under pressure, with a public dispute over the role of that board. The consequences reach beyond governance. Ben & Jerry’s became one of the world’s best-known brands because it stood for something. When that mission erodes, so does what the brand stands for: for its fans, its employees and, in the end, its shareholders.

The foundation believes that the short-term demands on a listed company do not match the long-term character of a mission-driven company. It strongly advises Magnum to sell Ben & Jerry’s to investors who understand and support its mission.

“Mission-driven companies show that business can solve problems instead of creating them. Yet when their mission comes under pressure from shareholders or new owners, they too often stand alone,” says Leen Zevenbergen, Chair of the foundation. “Ben & Jerry’s shows what is at stake. We want to make sure mission-driven companies can grow without giving up what they stand for.”

Ownership and investment

Alongside Ben & Jerry’s, the foundation is working on ownership models that anchor a company’s mission for the long term, and on encouraging more mission-driven investment. Both determine whether a mission survives growth, a sale or a change of shareholders.

The foundation is set up to take on more projects of this kind over the coming years. Mission-driven companies facing pressure from shareholders or new owners are invited to get in touch.

The foundation is receiving broad support from the Dutch business community and is building its structure, with a strong board and financial backing.

For more information, visit www.missiegedreven.nl

Leen Zevenbergen
missiege dreven
+31 653764613