Stiftung SPI

What Stiftung SPI does

Stiftung SPI (full legal name: Stiftung SPI, Sozialpädagogisches Institut Berlin »Walter May«) is a charitable foundation of civil law (gemeinnützige Stiftung des bürgerlichen Rechts) founded in 1981 and headquartered in Berlin, Germany. The foundation operates as part of the AWO Berlin network (Arbeiterwohlfahrt Landesverband Berlin e.V.) and delivers a comprehensive portfolio of social services across over 50 locations in Berlin and Brandenburg, covering all 14 Brandenburg districts. Its service portfolio spans youth work and counseling, family support centers, addiction counseling and assisted living, school social work, cultural and leisure facilities for youth, refugee and migrant integration support, and state-recognized vocational training through three Fachschulen (nursing, social pedagogy, special needs education).

The foundation's product and service platform includes the SPI PraxisAkademie — a digital qualification and consulting platform for pedagogical professionals built on BigBlueButton video conferencing — alongside physical facilities such as Haus Jule (Cottbus), Jugend-Freizeit-Zentrum OASE (Velten), Pegasus (Senftenberg), Lindenpark (Potsdam), and MIKADO Mehrgenerationenhaus (Frankfurt Oder). It also operates program agencies managing federal programs for the Bundesministerium für Bildung Familie Senioren Frauen und Jugend (BMFSFJ), including Mehrgenerationenhäuser and Demokratie leben, and produces a knowledge repository of 582+ publications.

Stiftung SPI's revenue model is primarily based on publicly funded project commissions from federal, state, and municipal governments, supplemented by tuition and course fees from vocational schools, participation fees at family centers, and donations. Most services are provided free at point of use to beneficiaries. The organization holds TÜV quality management certification and operates with 501-1000 employees across its regional structure, which includes the headquarters in Berlin-Friedrichshain, a Brandenburg regional office in Frankfurt (Oder), and four operating divisions (Fachschulen/Qualification; Health/Housing/Employment; Living Conditions/Diversity/Urban Development; Brandenburg Branch; Strategies for Social Integration).

Name

Stiftung SPI

Legal name

Stiftung SPI, Sozialpädagogisches Institut Berlin »Walter May«

Website

https://stiftung-spi.de

Company type

Private

Founded year

1981

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

501–1,000 employees

Short description

Stiftung SPI is a German non-profit foundation affiliated with AWO Berlin that delivers social services across 50+ locations in Berlin and Brandenburg, including youth and family support, addiction counseling, vocational training, and school social work, primarily funded by public sector commissions.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Social Services

NAICS

Religious, Grantmaking, Civic, Professional, and Similar Organizations (813), Civic and Social Organizations (8134), Colleges, Universities, and Professional Schools (611310)

SIC

Services-Social Services (8300)

akta.pro primary industry

Education Partnerships for Equity, Inclusion & Gender (EDADALAF)

akta.pro secondary industries

Education Systems Strengthening (Policy, Planning, EMIS, Governance) (BPADAKAK), Governance, Public Financial Management & Service Delivery Reform (BPADAEAD), Global Health & School Health Partnerships (WASH, Nutrition, SRH) (EDADALAH)

Keywords

• Social services foundation
• Youth welfare programs
• Vocational social education
• Addiction counseling services
• Community development initiatives

Headquarters

HQ city

Berlin

HQ country

Germany

HQ region

Europe

Offices26 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Others

Revenue model

1. Public funding and government grants: Primary revenue from publicly funded social projects, grants, and subsidies from federal, state (Land), and municipal (Kommune) government bodies. Projects are commissioned by government entities including the Senatsverwaltung für Bildung, Jugend und Familie Berlin, and various Brandenburg district offices.
2. Tuition and course fees (Fachschulen): State-recognized private schools (Pflegeschule, Fachschule für Sozialpädagogik, Fachschule für Heilpädagogik) and continuing education programs generate fee-based revenue from participants.
3. Participation fees: Some facilities charge participation fees for services such as family center offerings, with fees based on the type and scope of the service.
4. Donations and charitable contributions: The foundation maintains a donation account (SozialBank) and accepts charitable contributions. Also includes EU funding through ESF.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Stiftung SPI is a non-profit foundation that operates social work projects and facilities at over 50 locations in Berlin and Brandenburg. It delivers a comprehensive portfolio including vocational schools for nursing, social pedagogy, and special needs education; youth and family counseling centers; addiction counseling and assisted living; school-based social work; cultural and leisure centers; and program management for federal and state social initiatives.

Product overview

Stiftung SPI is a non-profit foundation providing a comprehensive portfolio of social services across Berlin and Brandenburg. The organization operates as a multi-module service platform comprising educational institutions (vocational schools for nursing, social pedagogy, and special needs education), digital learning through the SPI PraxisAkademie, youth and family counseling centers, cultural and leisure centers, addiction counseling and support services, assisted living facilities, and school social work programs. The foundation also runs program agencies managing federal and state programs, and produces publications documenting social work research and best practices. With over 50 locations and 582 publications, the organization serves as a significant provider of social infrastructure in the Berlin-Brandenburg region.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• SPI PraxisAkademie

Quantifiable outcome

• 118+ projects managed across 14 Brandenburg districts and all Berlin districts
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers8 records

Segments7 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature2 records

Partnerships

Ten partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Arbeiterwohlfahrt Landesverband Berlin e.V. (AWO Berlin)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerStiftung SPI is established as a charitable foundation (Stiftung des bürgerlichen Rechts) of AWO Landesverband Berlin e.V. The foundation operates as part of the AWO network, which provides institutional backing and shared values in social welfare.
• Robert Bosch StiftungcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner for the 'Vielfaltsgestalter – Lokale Bündnisse für Zusammenhalt in Vielfalt' program. The Robert Bosch Stiftung funds local alliances promoting diversity and social cohesion, with Frankfurt (Oder) as a participant city.
• Stadt CottbuscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerMunicipal funder of the Jugendberatungs- und Familienzentrum 'Haus Jule' in Cottbus. Co-finances family center operations and provides ongoing institutional support.
• Stadt Senftenberg and Landkreis Oberspreewald-LausitzcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerMunicipal partners for the Kultur- und Freizeitzentrum 'Pegasus' and other youth facilities in the Oberspreewald-Lausitz district.
• Stadt Velten and Ministerium für Infrastruktur und Landesplanung des Landes BrandenburgcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerJoint funders of the 1.2 million euro renovation of Jugend-Freizeit-Zentrum OASE in 2019-2020. The city contributed directly while the state ministry funded a large portion of the construction.
• Wohnungsbaugesellschaft Mitte mbH (WBM)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaboration on the preservation and renovation of Haus Schwarzenberg, a mixed-use memorial, art, culture and youth work building in Berlin-Mitte. Stiftung SPI's Stadtentwicklung division provided financing concepts and project management.
• Land BerlincoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerFunder of urban development and heritage preservation projects including Haus Schwarzenberg. Provided financial support enabling WBM to acquire and preserve the building.
• FU Berlin (Freie Universität Berlin)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerAcademic partner in the Building Bridges research project, a joint initiative with Uni Duisburg-Essen and Stiftung SPI focusing on mentoring for BIPoC girls and FLINTA* in the psychosocial field.
• Uni Duisburg-EssenminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerAcademic partner in the Building Bridges research project alongside FU Berlin and Stiftung SPI.
• Various schools and educational institutions in Berlin and BrandenburgcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnerships with schools for Schulsozialarbeit, school-based projects, cooperation on youth culture and media education. Includes Willy-Brandt-Schule, Johann-Wolfgang-von-Goethe-Oberschule Eberswalde, and many others.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves3 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Der Paritätische Gesamtverband: Umbrella for non-confessional German non-profit welfare organizations, coordinating child welfare, youth services, family centers, and social counseling — comparable operational and funding profile to Stiftung SPI.
• Diakonie Deutschland: National Protestant welfare association delivering child/youth welfare, addiction services, refugee support, nursing education, and family aid — a direct service-line overlap with Stiftung SPI, scaled to all 16 German Länder.
• Caritas Deutschland: Germany's largest Catholic welfare confederation, operating youth services, family counseling, addiction care, housing support, and care education nationally — overlapping directly with SPI's service portfolio but at much greater scale.
• Malteser Deutschland: Catholic aid organization running youth services, migration support, social counseling, and continuing-education programs nationwide — overlapping with SPI on education and integration services.
• Arbeiterwohlfahrt (AWO) Bundesverband: National umbrella of the AWO welfare network, of which Stiftung SPI is a member foundation (AWO Landesverband Berlin). Operates across the same social-services, youth, and family-services categories but at national scale across Germany.
• Johanniter-Unfall-Hilfe: Germany-wide welfare and humanitarian organization with comparable youth, family, social, and education programs funded through public contracts and donations — structurally similar at greater national scale.

Others

• bpa (Bundesverband privater Anbieter sozialer Dienste): Industry association representing private social-service providers in Germany. Adjacent to Stiftung SPI as a coordinating body for the same customer/procurement landscape rather than a direct service competitor.

Direct peers

• SOS-Kinderdorf: Operates multi-site residential youth welfare, family services, and educational programs across Germany under a similar trusteeship model — directly comparable to SPI's youth-and-family centers.
• Internationaler Bund (IB): Large German non-profit delivering youth social work, vocational training, migration support, and education across multiple federal states. Closely comparable to Stiftung SPI in multi-service model, public funding mix, and vocational-school operations.

Regional players

• Volkssolidarität Bundesverband: East German welfare association focused on senior, family, and social services with strong Brandenburg presence — a regional-overlap peer with comparable eastern-German operating context.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/SPI_FAN_BB
• Facebookfacebook.com/fanberlinbrandenburg
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/stiftung-spi

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles4 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about Stiftung SPI