What Stephanus-Stiftung does

Stephanus-Stiftung is a non-profit diaconal (evangelical social welfare) foundation headquartered in Berlin, founded in 1878 as the Bethabara-Stiftung and operating since 1963 under its current name. With approximately 4,500 employees across about 140 locations in Berlin and Brandenburg, the foundation supports roughly 10,000 people in special life circumstances, including individuals with disabilities, elderly persons, children and youth, families, and refugees. Its service portfolio spans the full continuum of social care: residential housing (group homes, assisted living), vocational rehabilitation workshops (Werkstätten), ambulatory and stationary nursing care, hospice services, kindergartens, a special-education school, counseling centers, and community outreach programs. The foundation is the umbrella over three wholly-owned operating subsidiaries — Stephanus gGmbH (core operations), Stephanus Services GmbH, and Stephanus-Zentrale Dienste gGmbH (shared services).

The organization is funded primarily through government contracts under German social law (SGB) with social services agencies and health insurers, supplemented by donations and bequests, retail revenue from workshop-produced goods (ceramics, textiles, RuppiBag tarpaulins, candles, farm products), and cafés. Technology is operational rather than differentiating: care documentation runs on SNAP and MedKitDoc, healthcare data exchange uses the Telematikinfrastruktur via gematik GmbH, and the website is hosted on Mittwald with Google Maps and Google Analytics for outreach. Notable certifications include DIN ISO 9001 for the workshops, AZAV for labor-market integration, and DSGVO/DSG-EKD data-protection compliance. In 2019, Stephanus acquired Pflegetiger (Caretiger GmbH), and in 2024 the foundation transferred its last operating division into Stephanus gGmbH, repositioning the parent primarily as an intra-group services and building-rental entity.

Name

Stephanus-Stiftung

Legal name

Stephanus-Stiftung

Website

https://stephanus.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1878

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

Stephanus-Stiftung is a 1878-founded Berlin-based diaconal non-profit foundation providing integrated social services — care, housing, vocational workshops, education, and hospice — to about 10,000 beneficiaries across Berlin-Brandenburg, funded primarily through public-sector contracts and donations.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Social Services and Diaconal Care

NAICS

Civic and Social Organizations (8134), Community Food and Housing, and Emergency and Other Relief Services (6242)

SIC

Services-Social Services (8300)

akta.pro primary industry

Disability Services & Assistive Solutions (Accessibility, Assistive Tech) (BPAGALAM)

akta.pro secondary industries

Disability Services & Independent Living Support (BPAGAEAG), Disability Services & Independent Living Support (BPAGACAG), Special Education, Disability Support & Inclusive Education Nonprofits (BPAGADAH)

Keywords

• Diaconal social services
• Vocational rehabilitation workshops
• Elderly and disability care
• Sheltered employment programs
• Non-profit foundation services

Headquarters

HQ city

Berlin

HQ country

Germany

HQ region

Europe

Offices13 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Supply Chain

Revenue model

1. Social Services / Government-Funded Care Contracts: Stephanus-Stiftung derives the majority of its revenue from public contracts with social services agencies, health insurers, and government bodies for the provision of care, support, education, and rehabilitation services. These include contracts under German social law (SGB) for people with disabilities, elderly care, child and youth services, and refugee support.
2. Donations and Bequests: Charitable donations and inheritances from individuals support the foundation's mission. The foundation explicitly states that it exists because of people who did not accept the distress of others and chose to donate.
3. Workshop Products and Retail Sales: Revenue from sale of workshop products including ceramics, textiles, candles, RuppiBags, potato containers, meat and sausage products from Heilbrunn, plants from gardens, and cafe/restaurant services (Café 8, WaschBar, Café Gartenlaube, Seeterrasse Lychen).
4. Inter-company Service Fees: Beginning 2024, the foundation now primarily provides services to other group companies and earns revenue from building rentals. Largest debtors are the Stephanus gGmbH and Stephanus-Zentrale Dienste gGmbH.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

Stephanus-Stiftung is a non-profit diaconal foundation that provides integrated social services across the full life continuum in Berlin and Brandenburg. Its core offerings include residential and outpatient care for children, adults, and seniors with disabilities; 16 sheltered workshops (Stephanus-Werkstätten) providing vocational rehabilitation and employment for over 2,000 people with disabilities; educational institutions (schools, kindergartens, after-school care); hospice and palliative care; family and migration counseling; and community-based services. The workshops also produce handcrafted goods (ceramics, textiles, candles, bags, wooden products, sausages, plants) sold through own shops and cafés across the region.

Product overview

Stephanus-Stiftung is a diaconal (evangelical social welfare) foundation providing a comprehensive portfolio of social services across Berlin and Brandenburg through its subsidiaries, primarily Stephanus gGmbH. The organization operates approximately 140 locations supporting about 10,000 people in special life situations with around 4,500 employees. The core offerings are organized into several interconnected service divisions: (1) Stephanus-Werkstätten (vocational workshops for people with disabilities) producing handicrafts sold through Stephanus-Shops and online; (2) housing and residential care services for adults, children, and seniors with disabilities; (3) senior care centers providing residential and outpatient nursing; (4) educational institutions including schools and kindergartens; (5) counseling and family support services; (6) hospice services; and (7) community and mobile outreach programs. The workshop division produces diverse handcrafted products including Albertinen ceramics, handwoven textiles, candles (Kerzenmanufaktur), RuppiBag bags from recycled tarpaulins, and operates farm shops (Hofladen Heilbrunn), nurseries (Gärtnerei Falkenberg/Waldhof), and cafés (Café 8, Café Gartenlaube, WaschBar) as social enterprises providing employment for people with disabilities. The overall architecture is a platform-plus-multiple-service-units model where the foundation provides shared infrastructure, branding, and coordination while subsidiaries and business units operate semi-autonomously with distinct specializations.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Stephanus gGmbH: Primary operating subsidiary providing social services
• Stephanus Services GmbH
• Stephanus-Zentrale Dienste gGmbH
• Stephanus-Werkstätten
• Stephanus-Akademie
• Stephanus-Hospizdienst

Products and services

• Stephanus-Werkstätten (Vocational Rehabilitation Workshops)
• Wohnangebote (Housing Services)
• Seniorenzentren (Senior Care Centers)
• Schulen, Kitas und Horte (Schools, Kindergartens, After-School Care)
• Stephanus-Hospizdienst (Hospice Services)
• Beratungsstellen (Counseling Services)
• Stephanus-Akademie (Stephanus Academy)
• Stephanus vor Ort (Local Community Services)
• Stephanus-Mobil (Mobile Services)
• Albertinen-Keramik (Albertinen Ceramics)
• Textilien/Handweberei (Handwoven Textiles)
• Kerzenmanufaktur (Candle Manufacture)
• RuppiBag
• Kartoffelmollen
• Hofladen und Fleischerei Heilbrunn (Farm Shop and Butcher)
• Gärtnerei Falkenberg und Gärtnerei Waldhof (Garden Centers)
• Garten- und Landschaftspflege (Garden and Landscape Maintenance)
• Kinderbauernhof Mümmelmann (Children's Farm)
• Cafés (Café 8, Café Gartenlaube, WaschBar)
• Stephanus-Shop (Workshop Retail Shops)

Quantifiable outcome

• 4,500 employees across 140 locations serving 10,000 people in special life circumstances
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration7 records

Feature2 records

Partnerships

Ten partnerships are on record, tiered minor and core.

• Hotel Döllnsee-SchorfheideminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe Hotel Döllnsee-Schorfheide employs workers from Stephanus-Werkstätten Templin in housekeeping and kitchen areas. The goal of this integration is to enable workshop employees to participate in the primary labor market through supported employment.
• Landvergnügen GmbHminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorLandvergnügen, a publisher of motorhome guidebooks (Stellplatzführer), uses Stephanus-Werkstätten Berlin for book shipping, merchandise fulfillment, and Christmas campaign logistics. Volumes have grown significantly over the five-year partnership.
• Schröder-ReisenminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorBus company Schröder-Reisen from Segeletz has transported employees in Ostprignitz-Ruppin to and from Stephanus-Werkstätten for 30 years. Owner Kathrin Novotny describes working with Stephanus as a matter of the heart, emphasizing mutual understanding and equal collaboration.
• SOPHIA Berlin GmbHcoreTechnology or IntegrationSOPHIA Berlin GmbH (Mehrower Allee 52, 12687 Berlin) serves as a data processor for Leistungsabrechnungen (service billing) for Stephanus gGmbH, processing personal data under Art. 28 GDPR / § 30 DSG-EKD on the basis of a data processing agreement.
• MittwaldcoreTechnology or IntegrationMittwald provides web hosting services for Stephanus-Stiftung's website (www.stephanus.org). All website analytics data is stored exclusively on Mittwald servers, inaccessible to third parties.
• Google Ireland Limited (Google Maps, Google Analytics)coreTechnology or IntegrationStephanus uses Google Maps for location services on its website and Google Analytics for web analytics. Data processing for analytics occurs with consent under § 6 Nr. 2 DSG-EKD and § 25 Abs. 1 TDDDG. EU-US Data Privacy Framework applies for US data transfers.
• Microsoft and IBMcoreTechnology or IntegrationMicrosoft and IBM are referenced as IT providers who receive access to business partner data under contractual data processing agreements within the Stephanus organization.
• LinkedIn Ireland Unlimited CompanyminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorStephanus uses LinkedIn for targeted job advertisement campaigns and recruitment. LinkedIn processes profile data, application materials, and usage data for Stephanus's recruiting activities under § 6 Nr. 4 and Nr. 5 DSG-EKD.
• gematik GmbHcoreTechnology or IntegrationAs part of its Telematikinfrastruktur (TI) connection in healthcare, Stephanus gGmbH transmits personal data to TI providers including gematik GmbH and authorized third parties within the TI network, in compliance with German healthcare law.
• Diaconical Werk Berlin-Brandenburg-schlesische OberlausitzcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerStephanus-Stiftung is a member of the Diakonisches Werk Berlin-Brandenburg-schlesische Oberlausitz, the regional umbrella organization for Protestant social welfare organizations in the area.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Evangelische Stiftung Volmarstein: Diakonal foundation in North Rhine-Westphalia offering disability services, vocational rehabilitation, healthcare, and education. Closely mirrors Stephanus's multi-segment service portfolio and diaconal operating model.
• Stiftung Hephata: Diakonal foundation in Mönchengladbach providing social and disability services, workshops, education, and psychiatric care. Directly comparable to Stephanus in mission, diaconal status, and operating model (WfbM workshops, residential care, education).
• Von Bodelschwinghsche Stiftungen Bethel: One of Germany's largest diakonal foundations, headquartered in Bielefeld, providing disability services, workshops, education, and healthcare across multiple regions. Highly comparable to Stephanus as a Diakonie-affiliated foundation with a similar integrated disability, education, and social services portfolio.
• Lebenshilfe Berlin: Berlin-based chapter of Germany's leading disability advocacy and service organization. Direct peer in the same geography, overlapping with Stephanus on disability services, workshops, family support, and inclusive education.
• Björn Schulz Stiftung: Berlin-based non-profit foundation providing hospice and palliative care services for children, youth, and adults. Comparable to Stephanus's hospice division as a specialty disability/end-of-life care provider in the same region.

Broad incumbents

• Diakonie Deutschland: National umbrella organization of Protestant social welfare organizations in Germany, of which Stephanus is a member. Stephanus is structurally comparable to the regional/state-level Diakonie organizations that operate under this umbrella.
• Caritas Berlin: Catholic counterpart to the Diakonie network in Berlin, providing a broad portfolio of social services (elderly care, disability, youth, refugee, family). Operates as a larger, broader incumbent with overlapping service categories but a different confessional anchor.
• AWO Berlin-Brandenburg: Major welfare association providing social services across Berlin and Brandenburg, including elderly care, child/youth services, and counseling. Comparable geographic footprint and breadth of services, though not specifically focused on disability workshops.

Regional players

• Pfefferwerk Stadtkultur gGmbH: Berlin-based non-profit operating social services, education, and cultural programs in Berlin neighborhoods. Comparable regional Berlin-based operator with overlapping social services and educational offerings, though with less disability-workshop focus.
• Malteser Berlin: Large Catholic social services organization active in Berlin, providing ambulatory care, hospice, refugee services, and emergency relief. Comparable to Stephanus on the healthcare/care service lines but with a different confessional anchor and broader national footprint.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/stephanus-stiftung

Compliance5 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles24 records

Subsidiaries3 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A1 record

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about Stephanus-Stiftung