PIN

What PIN does

PIN. Freunde der Pinakothek der Moderne e.V. is a Munich-based, registered non-profit association (eingetragener Verein) founded in 1965 that serves as the primary private funding partner for the Pinakothek der Moderne and Museum Brandhorst. The organization supports five major art institutions under the Pinakothek umbrella, having acquired over 1,300 works for the museum collections and supported more than 150 exhibitions over six decades.

Its core service offering has three pillars: art acquisitions (Erwerbungen), exhibition funding (Ausstellungsförderung), and educational mediation programs (Vermittlung). The Vermittlung portfolio is layered by audience — PIN.K for children ages 5-12, PIN.A for toddlers 2-5, PIN.occhio for socially disadvantaged children 6-10, looPIN.g for teenagers 13-17, the Factory creative lab for digital/analog art production at Museum Brandhorst, KunstWerkRaum for intercultural workshops, and DENKRAUM DEUTSCHLAND as an annual sociopolitical forum recognized by the European Museum Academy. The membership-based PIN.YC (Young Circle) targets art-interested individuals up to age 40 with tiered €200-€400 subscriptions, while the annual PIN. Benefizauktion charity auction, run with auction house Ketterer Kunst, provides a transactional fundraising channel. The technology stack is minimal: a website, a self-serve member portal, Matomo analytics, and MailChimp newsletters — the organization is fundamentally a human-curated patronage institution rather than a technology platform.

The business model combines recurring membership subscriptions (€200-€400 per year), Patenschaft (sponsorship) gifts at €200, tax-deductible donations, corporate sponsorships from Allianz, BMW, DJE Kapital, Beisheim Stiftung and others, and auction proceeds split 50/50 with contributing artists/galleries. Go-to-market is event-driven and community-led, with acquisition occurring at the museum venue, online portal, and through targeted outreach to art enthusiasts, families, young professionals, and corporate CSR partners. The organization operates with 1-10 employees from its Gabelsbergerstraße headquarters in Munich and does not publicly disclose revenue.

Name

PIN

Legal name

PIN. Freunde der Pinakothek der Moderne e.V.

Website

https://pin-freunde.de

Company type

Private

Founded year

1965

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

PIN. Freunde der Pinakothek der Moderne e.V. is a Munich-based, 60-year-old non-profit association that funds acquisitions, exhibitions, and educational programs for the Pinakothek der Moderne and Museum Brandhorst through memberships, donations, and an annual charity auction.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Arts & Cultural Patronage

NAICS

Grantmaking Foundations (813211)

akta.pro primary industry

Donor-Advised Fund (DAF) Sponsors (BPAGAKAF)

Keywords

• Art patronage association
• Museum membership programs
• Contemporary art acquisitions
• Arts education programs
• Charity auction services

Headquarters

HQ city

Munich

HQ country

Germany

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Membership fees: Annual membership subscriptions from regular members and PIN.YC (Young Circle) members provide recurring revenue. Membership fees range from €200-400 per year depending on tier.
2. Benefit auction proceeds: Annual benefaction auction (PIN. Auktion) generates revenue through auction sales. Works are donated and sold, with proceeds supporting museum acquisitions. 50/50 split with artists/galleries.
3. Donations and sponsorships: Tax-deductible donations from members and corporate sponsors support exhibitions and acquisitions. Sponsorship amounts vary by partner.
4. Patenschaft (Sponsorship) program: Annual sponsorship of €200 enables young people under 35 to join PIN.YC membership-free for one year.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

PIN. is a Munich-based registered nonprofit association that supports the Pinakothek der Moderne and Museum Brandhorst through art acquisitions, exhibition funding, and educational programs. It generates revenue through membership subscriptions, donations, corporate sponsorships, and an annual charity auction to fund museum activities that would otherwise be curtailed by shrinking public budgets.

Product overview

PIN. Freunde der Pinakothek der Moderne e.V. is a friends association for the Pinakothek der Moderne and Museum Brandhorst in Munich. The organization operates as a unified membership-based nonprofit offering multiple interconnected programs: art acquisitions service (Erwerbungen) acquiring over 1,300 works since 1965; exhibition support funding innovative shows across four museums; the PIN.YC (Young Circle) youth membership program for under-40s; the annual PIN. Benefizauktion (charity auction) with Keter Kunst; and extensive educational Vermittlung programs including PIN.K (children 5-12), PIN.occhio (socially disadvantaged children 6-10), PIN.A (toddlers 2-5), looPIN.g (teenagers), Factory creative lab, KunstWerkRaum inter-cultural workshops, and DENKRAUM DEUTSCHLAND annual forum. Members access a dedicated online portal for event registration and program management.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• PIN.YC (Young Circle) Young members program for art-interested individuals up to age 40, offering free museum entry, exclusive previews, artist talks, studio visits, and Art Weekends in European art capitals.
• PIN. Benefizauktion Annual charity auction in cooperation with Ketterer Kunst featuring artworks for the benefit of the Pinakothek der Moderne, Museum Brandhorst, and participating artists. Includes live and silent auction formats with online bidding.
• Erwerbungen (Art Acquisitions) Ongoing art acquisition program funding the purchase of contemporary works for the four museums under the Pinakothek der Moderne roof, including pieces by Francis Alÿs, Francis Bacon, Joseph Beuys, and Gerhard Richter.
• PIN.K (Kinder können Kunst) Open children's program for ages 5-12 offered every Sunday at the Pinakothek der Moderne, encouraging creativity through workshops with weekly changing themes.
• looPIN.g (Teen Summer Program) Summer vacation program for teenagers ages 13-17 using multimedia approaches combining film, sound, and design to activate youth audiences and reduce barriers to museum attendance.
• Mitgliederbereich (Member Portal) Online member portal for PIN. members to view program details, register for events, manage registrations, and access photos from past events.
• DENKRAUM DEUTSCHLAND Annual interdisciplinary education and mediation project in October at Pinakothek der Moderne, bringing together cultural professionals and museum audiences for exchange on sociopolitical topics. Awarded 'Special Recognition' by European Museum Academy.
• Factory - Kreativlabor im Museum Open hybrid creative workshop and art production space at Museum Brandhorst combining analog and digital art education with an online platform, part of 'dive in. Programm für digitale Interaktionen' by Kulturstiftung des Bundes.

Quantifiable outcome

• Over 1,300 artworks acquired for museum collections since 1965
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers5 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration3 records

Partnerships

Seven partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Allianz SEcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerAllianz is a major sponsor of PIN programs including the PIN.K (Kinder können Kunst) children's program, summer programs for youth, and general museum support. The partnership includes free museum entry programs and Pop-up-Kids Factory at Museum Brandhorst.
• BMW GroupcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerBMW Group is a longstanding cultural partner celebrating 50 years of partnership with the Pinakotheken. The collaboration is described as an essential component of BMW's social sustainability and creativity engagement.
• Ketterer KunstcoreImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerKetterer Kunst serves as auction house for PIN.'s annual benefaction auction, conducting live and silent auctions at the Pinakothek der Moderne.
• Werner Murrer RahmenminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerProvides framing services for PIN. Party events, supporting art presentation.
• Dahlmann GmbHminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCulinary partner providing catering for PIN. Party events and projects.
• MADAME (Magazine)minorGTM or Marketing PartnerMedia partner for PIN. Party, providing editorial coverage and credibility.
• Thaddaeus Ropac GalleryminorGTM or Marketing PartnerGallery contributes works to PIN. Auction as consignor.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves8 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Broad incumbents

• Tate Members: Broad incumbent — Tate's membership program serves as a scaled analogue of the PIN.YC model: tiered fees, free entry, exclusive previews, and acquisition input for a major UK contemporary art institution.
• MoMA Members (The Museum of Modern Art): Broad incumbent — MoMA's membership and patron programs operate the same free-entry, exclusive-event, donor-tiered structure PIN uses, but at global scale and order-of-magnitude larger institutional footprint.
• The Met Membership (Metropolitan Museum of Art): Broad incumbent — Metropolitan Museum's membership tiers offer comparable benefits (free entry, previews, trips) and represent a much larger-scale version of PIN's value proposition.

Direct peers

• Verein der Freunde des Hauses der Kunst München: Direct peer — Munich-based friends association supporting Haus der Kunst, a major contemporary art exhibition venue, with similar membership acquisition and exhibition-support mandates.
• Freunde und Förderer des Museums Ludwig: Direct peer — friends-and-supporters association for Museum Ludwig in Cologne, running similar membership tiers, donations, and acquisition funding for a major German contemporary art museum.
• Förderkreis des ZKM Karlsruhe: Direct peer — sponsorship and friends circle for the ZKM Center for Art and Media Karlsruhe, a contemporary art and technology institution analogous in mission to PIN's museum cluster.
• Gesellschaft der Freunde der Bayerischen Staatsgemäldesammlungen: Direct peer — fellow Munich-based 'Verein' supporting the Alte and Neue Pinakothek under the same Bayerische Staatsgemäldesammlungen umbrella that houses PIN's museums; runs the same membership/donation/auction model.
• Verein der Freunde der Nationalgalerie Berlin: Direct peer — Berlin's flagship museum friends association supporting the Nationalgalerie of the Staatliche Museen zu Berlin via memberships, donations, and acquisition funding; structurally identical to PIN.

Others

• Ketterer Kunst: Ecosystem participant — auction house partner that runs PIN's annual Benefizauktion; a key infrastructure provider rather than a direct peer, but comparable in serving the German contemporary art acquisition market.

Regional players

• Kunstverein München: Regional peer — Munich-based Kunstverein operating as a membership-driven contemporary art exhibition platform, overlapping PIN's geography and constituency but focused on programming rather than acquisition funding.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/pinfreunde
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/pin.-freunde-der-pinakothek-der-moderne

Compliance2 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles8 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about PIN