Heinrich Boll Stiftung

What Heinrich Boll Stiftung does

Heinrich-Böll-Stiftung is a German non-profit political foundation (eingetragener Verein) affiliated with Bündnis 90/Die Grünen (the German Green Party), headquartered in Berlin. Founded in 1997 and named after Nobel Prize-winning author Heinrich Böll, the foundation conducts political education, policy research, and advocacy on ecology, democracy, social justice, feminism, and migration. Its primary audience is the German and international civil-society public, alongside policymakers, journalists, students, and activists.

The foundation's core "products" are media and educational offerings rather than commercial technology. These include the Atlanten series of thematic atlases on environment and corporate power, the quarterly Böll.Thema magazine, the bö.ll.paper policy paper series, bö.ll.fakten fact sheets, and a portfolio of podcasts including bö.ll.podcast, Pick Your Battles, and Märkte Mächte Emissionen with Adam Tooze. It also operates the Studienwerk scholarship program supporting more than 1,000 students and doctoral candidates per year across all disciplines, the GreenCampus continuing-education academy, the Gunda-Werner-Institut for gender policy, the Heimatkunde migration policy portal, and a calendar-driven event and conference program with livestreams. Distribution runs through its own digital channels and a network of 16 German state-level foundations and 30+ international offices.

The foundation's revenue model is institutional government funding, primarily from the German Federal Ministry for Research, Technology and Space (BMBF) and the Federal Foreign Office (Auswärtiges Amt), alongside donations. All core outputs (publications, events, scholarships, educational materials) are provided without charge in service of its civic mandate. Revenue figures are not disclosed publicly. The organization is governed by an executive board that includes Imme Scholz and Jan Philipp Albrecht.

Name

Heinrich Boll Stiftung

Legal name

Heinrich-Böll-Stiftung e.V.

Website

https://boell.de

Company type

Private

Founded year

1997

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

251–500 employees

Short description

Heinrich-Böll-Stiftung is a German Green Party-affiliated political foundation headquartered in Berlin that conducts political education, policy research, and advocacy on ecology, democracy, and social justice for the general public, students, policymakers, and activists, funded primarily by federal ministries and operating 30+ international offices.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Berlin

HQ country

Germany

HQ region

Europe

Offices9 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Government Funding: As a German political foundation affiliated with the Green Party (Bündnis 90/Die Grünen), the foundation receives institutional funding from German federal ministries, particularly the Federal Ministry for Research, Technology and Space (BMBF) and the Federal Foreign Office (Auswärtiges Amt) for its scholarship programs and international work.

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels10 records

Core offering

Heinrich-Böll-Stiftung is a German political foundation affiliated with Bündnis 90/Die Grünen that delivers political education, policy research, and progressive advocacy. It produces thematic atlases, the Böll.Thema magazine, policy papers, fact sheets, and multiple podcast series; administers the Studienwerk scholarship program supporting more than 1,000 students and doctoral candidates annually; runs GreenCampus continuing education; operates the Gunda-Werner-Institut for gender policy and the Heimatkunde migration portal; and coordinates events and international cooperation across more than 30 global offices.

Product overview

Heinrich-Böll-Stiftung is a political foundation offering a diverse portfolio of publications, educational programs, and advocacy resources. The core offering includes the Atlanten series (thematic atlases on agriculture, environment, and society), the Böll.Thema magazine, böll.paper policy papers, and böll.fakten fact sheets. The foundation operates the Studienwerk scholarship program, GreenCampus continuing education academy, and the Gunda-Werner-Institut for gender policy research. Additional offerings include multiple podcast series (böll.podcast, Pick Your Battles, Über den Tag hinaus), the Heimatkunde migration policy portal, and an event calendar platform. The organization functions as a think tank and educational institution rather than a technology product company.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• böll.thema: The foundation's magazine featuring political analysis and commentary on democracy, ecology, and social justice topics.
• böll.podcast
• GreenCampus
• Gunda-Werner-Institut
• Heimatkunde
• Studienwerk
• Archiv Grünes Gedächtnis
• Atlanten series

Products and services

• Atlanten (Atlases Series) A publication series of thematic atlases providing data-driven analysis on agriculture, food industry, soil, water, climate, and biodiversity topics in Germany and Europe, distributed to the general public, policymakers, and journalists.
• Böll.Thema Magazine The foundation's quarterly magazine covering political topics including democracy, ecology, Europe, and social justice, aimed at the general public and civil society readers.
• böll.paper Policy papers and analytical studies addressing digital policy, climate, foreign policy, and economic policy, targeted at policymakers, journalists, and civil society stakeholders.
• Studienwerk (Scholarship Program) Scholarship program providing financial and ideological support to undergraduate, graduate, and doctoral students across all disciplines in Germany, awarded to more than 1,000 recipients annually.
• böll.podcast (Podcast Series) Multiple podcast formats covering politics, society, environment, and regional topics, distributed via Soundcloud, YouTube, and the foundation website to a general audience.
• böll.fakten Concise educational fact sheets on topics such as artificial intelligence, climate change, and atomic energy, intended for the general public and educational use.
• GreenCampus Continuing education academy providing seminars in political management, personnel development, and gender and diversity management for professionals and political actors.
• Gunda-Werner-Institut Institute concentrating the foundation's gender policy and feminist research, hosting the annual Feminist Imaginaries Festival and supporting women's rights and LGBTQIA+ advocacy.
• Heimatkunde Online portal providing information and resources on migration policy topics for the general public, journalists, and policymakers.
• Veranstaltungskalender (Event Calendar Platform) Online event calendar and registration platform hosting the foundation's conferences, panel discussions, book presentations, and educational events, with live streaming via YouTube.

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Three partnerships are on record, tiered core and major.

• EFF (Electronic Frontier Foundation)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe Heinrich-Böll-Stiftung and EFF co-released an updated database of vendors providing technology to U.S. Department of Homeland Security agencies including Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Customs and Border Protection. The partnership also produced a step-by-step guide for navigating federal procurement databases including FPDS.gov, USASpending.gov, SAM.gov, and GSA Advantage.
• Bündnis 90/Die Grünen (German Green Party)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe foundation maintains close institutional ties with the German Green Party, sharing core values of ecology, democracy, solidarity, and non-violence. Political party affiliation provides ideological foundation and access to political networks.
• BUND (Bund für Umwelt und Naturschutz Deutschland)majorStrategic or Co-development PartnerJoint production of atlases including the Wasseratlas (Water Atlas) and other environmental publications, combining advocacy and research capabilities.

Scale indicators1 record

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung: The SPD-affiliated German political foundation. Most directly comparable in structure, funding model (federal grants), international office network, scholarship program, and policy publication operation. Differs only in political alignment (center-left vs. green).
• Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung: The CDU-affiliated German political foundation. Operates the same institutional model: federal government funding, scholarship program, international offices, policy papers, and political education. Comparable scale and operational footprint.
• Rosa-Luxemburg-Stiftung: Die Linke-affiliated German political foundation. Mirrors HBS's structure with grant funding, international offices, scholarship program (Studienwerk), and progressive policy research focus, with overlapping ideological priorities on social justice.
• Friedrich-Naumann-Stiftung: The FDP-affiliated German political foundation. Operates the same federal-funded political foundation model with international presence, scholarships, and policy publications, though with a liberal rather than green orientation.
• Hanns-Seidel-Stiftung: The CSU-affiliated German political foundation. Similar institutional structure with government funding, political education programs, scholarship support, and international development cooperation work.
• Heinrich-Böll-Stiftung (US office context: sister European progressive foundations): The foundation itself operates across multiple geographies; for peer-comparison purposes, comparable European green-aligned foundations include the European Green Foundation and Green European Foundation which coordinate at EU level on progressive policy work overlapping with HBS's themes.

Broad incumbents

• Bertelsmann Stiftung: One of Germany's largest privately-funded operating foundations. Comparable scale of policy research output and publications but broader thematic scope (education, economy, health, governance) and not tied to a political party.
• Open Society Foundations: Global progressive grantmaking and advocacy organization. Comparable in progressive policy advocacy and international grantmaking footprint, though privately endowed rather than government-funded and not party-affiliated.
• German Marshall Fund: Transatlantic policy institute with strong European and U.S. presence. Comparable in policy research, international convening, and transatlantic focus areas (democracy, climate, security) relevant to HBS's international office work.
• Chatham House: International affairs think tank producing policy research and convening global stakeholders. Comparable in international policy research output and convening power, though headquartered in the UK and without a scholarship program of comparable scale.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/boell_stiftung
• YouTubeyoutube.com/user/boellstiftung
• Facebookfacebook.com/boellstiftung
• LinkedInde.linkedin.com/company/boellstiftung
• Instagraminstagram.com/boellstiftung

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Subsidiaries8 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about Heinrich Boll Stiftung