The man behind the Foundations

The Aage V. Jensen Foundations were established by the Danish master carpenter, Aage V. Jensen. He was deeply interested in nature, wild animals and birds, and he decided that the primary objective of the Foundations should be: Nature conservation and wildlife protection.

Aage Villiam Jensen was born on 17 November 1911 near Nibe in northern Jutland. His parents were small­holders. At the age of 8 he moved with his family to the city of Aalborg, where he was later apprenticed to a local master carpenter.

As a journeyman he travelied and worked in Germany, ltaly, and Switzerland. In the Swiss Alps he found a beau­tiful small valley close to the river Rhone, which made an unforgettable impression on him.

After his return to Denmark in the mid-1930s he set up his own business as a master carpenter in Capenhagen and began building minor houses. Never making much of himself, Aage V. Jensen became one of the leading builders in Denmark during the 1960s.

When he retired from the day-to-day running of his com­pany in 1969 he moved to his beautiful Swiss valley. While hiking in the mountains he decided that a part of his fortune should be donated to charity – especially to nature conservation and popular nature education.

Aage V. Jensen died on 10 May 1986 in his home in Switzerland.

All his life Aage V. Jensen had the reputation of being an unobtrusive and modest man and until his death he made a large number of anonymous donations. To provide for the future work for nature conservation and wildlife pro­tection he established the Aage V. Jensen Foundations, and he left it to the Board to implement and develop his plans after his death.

Aage V. Jensen was a entrepreneur, both by profession and in spirit. Throughout his life he broke new ground; also in relation to his greatest passion: Nature. By founding the Aage V. Jensen Charity Foundation he wanted to reciprocate the enormous joy nature had given him and help ensure its conservation.