What is the Mensa Fonds?
The Mensa Fonds, the Dutch Mensa Foundation, was established in 2013 by Mensa Netherlands (1963) with the goal of increasing the visibility of gifted individuals and giftedness in society. We are part of the global network of Mensa, the rapidly growing global ‘HIQ Society’ with more than 145,000 members in more than 100 countries. Founded in 1946 in the UK, Mensa refrains from political and religious views, making it an excellent partner in disseminating and promoting knowledge and experience regarding giftedness. A few countries, including the Netherlands, have a separate Mensa Foundation to promote public understanding of the organization Mensa.
The Foundation is dedicated to ensuring that the talents of gifted individuals are recognised and that the importance of giftedness for society is hoighlighted. We achieve this by spreading knowledge about high general intelligence, and also by encouraging special achievements and supporting projects and research.
1) The Mensa Fonds Awards are an annual event that honors individuals, teams and organizations that are making a difference in the world of giftedness. The Awards have several categories, with the Popular Award being the audience favorite.
2) The Gray Gold program draws attention to gifted elderly people in later phases of their life.
3) Endowed Chair in Giftedness, Transitions and Social Impact at Tilburg University is funded by the Foundation with the aim of strengthening scientific research into giftedness over the entire life span, within various phases and professional domains.
For more information, see also (in Dutch):
Multi-year policy plan 2020-2023;
Board of the Mensa Foundation;
Statutes of the Mensa Foundation;
Board statute; and
our Recommendation Committee