How DOEN Foundation drives social impact at scale with Optimy
DOEN Foundation
The DOEN Foundation supports pioneers committed to a green, social, and creative society — funding initiatives across three themes: green (planetary sustainability), social (inclusion and participation), and creative (art and culture). In 2020, DOEN launched the PostcodeLoterij Buurtfonds, a new initiative supporting small neighbourhood projects to improve community cohesion and quality of life. Today, this fund processes hundreds of applications end-to-end with Optimy.
country: Netherlands | themes: Green, Social, Creative | fund: PostcodeLoterij Buurtfonds
Building a brand-new fund from scratch — with full process flexibility
When establishing the PostcodeLoterij Buurtfonds, the DOEN Foundation made a deliberate choice not to reuse their existing processes or systems. They wanted to design the process from the ground up. Most grant management systems limit this kind of process freedom — until they discovered Optimy.
- New fund required a completely bespoke process — not a clone of existing DOEN workflows
- Most grant management applications constrain process design — limiting flexibility
- High volume of applications requiring a streamlined, error-proof intake and review process
- Team needed to configure and adjust processes themselves — without IT dependency
A fully flexible platform — and automated bank payments at approval
Optimy's flexible, user-friendly interface allowed the DOEN Foundation team to design their process from scratch and adjust it on the go. Even colleagues less comfortable with technology quickly became confident users. Beyond process design, Optimy's banking integration enabled automated grant payment upon approval — eliminating nearly all manual disbursement tasks.
- Fully customizable process design: The team built the entire PostcodeLoterij Buurtfonds application and review workflow from scratch — adjusting it at any time to stay aligned with strategy.
- Automated bank payment integration: Once a project is approved in Optimy, an automated process triggers a communication to the Foundation's banking environment — minimizing manual tasks in disbursement.
- User-friendly for all team members: Even less tech-savvy colleagues adopted Optimy quickly — the interface was described as capable of converting even the most technophobic users.
- High-volume application management: Hundreds of neighbourhood project applications managed end-to-end — from intake through selection and payment — with the team focused on impact, not admin.
PostcodeLoterij Buurtfonds — a huge success, built on an idiot-proof process
The PostcodeLoterij Buurtfonds has attracted a large volume of applications and is delivering on its mission to support neighbourhood cohesion across the Netherlands. With Optimy, the team has the time and headspace to focus entirely on social impact.
100s applications
Processed end-to-end for the neighbourhood fund
Auto bvank payments
Triggered automatically upon project approval
Scratch process design
Entire workflow built from zero — fully bespoke
Self-serve adjustments
Team modifies forms and workflows independently, any time
We are new in this operation, and it's great to be able to do configurations ourselves. Optimy makes it possible to adjust our strategy and get things done that we would not even think would be possible without a system.
Sustainability Manager — DOEN Foundation
DOEN Foundation built a brand-new grant fund entirely from scratch on Optimy — with automated payments, self-configured processes, and hundreds of applications handled seamlessly.
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