What does the Kelmendi Foundation do?

The Kelmendi Foundation organises its work around eleven permanent strategic pillars, from humanitarian assistance, education and health to agriculture, environment, research and institutional development, delivering charitable programmes across Kosovo, the Western Balkans and beyond.

What are the eleven pillars of the Kelmendi Foundation?

The eleven pillars are: Humanitarian Assistance & Emergency Response; Education, Scholarships & Vocational Skills; Health & Wellbeing; Youth Development, Employment & Entrepreneurship; Women, Girls & Economic Empowerment; Children, Family & Future Generations; Agriculture, Food Security & Rural Resilience; Sustainability, Environment & Climate; Peace, Rule of Law & Human Security; Research, Science & Innovation; and Community & Institutional Development.

What We Do — Kelmendi Foundation

The model

A focused, two-tier structure.

The Foundation organizes its work around eleven permanent strategic pillars — its complete mission map. Cross-cutting commitments such as safeguarding, inclusion, environmental responsibility and ethical technology run through every pillar, alongside broader themes including arts, culture and heritage, faith and values, and animal welfare.

This two-tier model preserves focus while honouring the full breadth of the Foundation’s ambition — and, distinctively, allows the Foundation not only to fund others but to build and own institutions as permanent endowment assets.

Strategic pillars

Eleven pillars, one enduring mission.

Humanitarian Assistance & Emergency Response

Food and essential-needs assistance, shelter and winterisation, disaster and emergency response, and refugee, displaced-person and recovery support.

Food & essentialsShelter & winterisationDisaster responseRefugee support

Education, Scholarships & Vocational Skills

The Kelmendi Scholars Programme, vocational and technical training, STEM and digital literacy, teacher development and research mobility.

Kelmendi ScholarsVET & apprenticeshipsSTEM & digitalTeacher development

Health & Wellbeing

Primary and specialist care access, prevention and screening, maternal and mental health, rural telemedicine, and elderly and palliative care.

Healthcare accessPreventionMental healthTelemedicine

Youth Development, Employment & Entrepreneurship

Mentoring and leadership, careers and internships, entrepreneurship and innovation labs, and the Kelmendi Fellows Programme.

MentorshipInternshipsInnovation labsKelmendi Fellows

Women, Girls & Economic Empowerment

Scholarships and leadership, employment and entrepreneurship, financial inclusion, women’s and maternal health, and survivor support.

LeadershipEntrepreneurshipFinancial inclusionMaternal health

Children, Family & Future Generations

Early childhood development, child nutrition and protection, parenting and family support, disability inclusion and child and adolescent mental health.

Early childhoodChild protectionFamily supportDisability inclusion

Agriculture, Food Security & Rural Resilience

Smallholder and family-farm productivity, water and soil management, cooperatives and market access, cold chain, and climate-resilient agritech.

Smallholder farmsWater & soilMarket accessAgritech

Sustainability, Environment & Climate

Renewable energy and efficiency, climate adaptation, water and watershed protection, reforestation and biodiversity, and the circular economy.

Renewable energyClimate resilienceBiodiversityCircular economy

Peace, Rule of Law & Human Security

Peacebuilding and social cohesion, anti-trafficking and victim services, community safety, rule-of-law and rights education, and civil protection.

Social cohesionAnti-traffickingVictim servicesRights education

Research, Science & Innovation

Applied and scientific research grants across AI, engineering, clean technologies and bioscience — laboratories, institutes and public-interest innovation.

Research grantsAI & digitalClean techBioscience

Community & Institutional Development

Community centres and public spaces, institutional capacity grants, arts, culture and heritage, and inclusive local economic development.

Public spacesCapacity grantsCulture & heritageLocal economy

Applies across all eleven pillarsSafeguarding, non-discrimination, anti-fraud and anti-bribery, conflict-of-interest management and institutional independence are cross-cutting controls governing every pillar — not a pillar in themselves.

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Institutional development

We build institutions, not only grants.

Subject to law and to its statutes, the Foundation may establish, own, operate, acquire or endow institutions that form part of its permanent endowment and mission assets.

Educational

Schools, colleges, universities, academies and libraries

Healthcare

Hospitals, clinics, research hospitals and medical centres

Research

Research centres, laboratories and innovation hubs

Social infrastructure

Community centres, cultural centres, museums and public facilities

Environmental

Conservation areas, botanical gardens and sustainability centres

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Geographic scope

Global ambition, in deliberate phases.

We begin where our roots and capabilities are strongest and expand outward as capacity, partnerships and endowment grow. This sequencing reflects discipline rather than limitation.

Local

A strong base of programmes and institutions in Kosovo.

Regional

Proven programmes extended across the Western Balkans.

European & diaspora

Partnerships across Europe and engagement of the global Albanian diaspora.

Global

Participation in international initiatives in the manner of leading global foundations.

Intended beneficiaries

Children & familiesYouth & studentsWomen & entrepreneursVulnerable & excluded groupsRural & underserved communitiesPatients & the elderlyResearchers & innovatorsCommunities where the Group operates

Eleven pillars for human progress.