Trolltech was founded by Haavard Nord and Eirik Chambe-Eng in 1994.

Their philosophy was to never forget the world around them. Right from the beginning, the company’s bylaws stated that 10% of all profits were to be donated to non-religious charities working in developing countries.

In 2000, external investors began investing in the company, and it became clear that a more permanent mechanism was needed to secure future charitable donations. The first 8 employees and founders of Trolltech decided to establish a foundation to replace the rule in the bylaws.

Together with the company lawyer, Rune Nesseth, they established Trolltech Foundation in 2000. Nesseth saw the significance of what they wanted to achieve and offered to do all legal paperwork for free. He was invited to join the board of the foundation, and has since been the chairman of the board.

Upon establishment, 5% of all Trolltech shares were transferred to the foundation.

In 2008, Trolltech was sold to Nokia and the foundation received around 31 million NOK for its shares.

The only administrative costs of the foundation are for accounting and auditing. The board seats are all non-paid and board members carry all meeting costs themselves.

The foundation has a board of representatives which elects the foundation’s board.
The board of representatives currently consists of:
Eirik Aavitsland, Warwick Allison, Eirik Chambe-Eng, Matthias Ettrich, Arnt Gulbrandsen, Rune Nesseth, Haavard Nord, Suetelane Paludo and Paul Olav Tvete.

Members of the board of the Trolltech Foundation are currently:
Leonor González-Valencia, Haavard Nord, Rune Nesseth, and Eirik Chambe-Eng (Chair of the board).