Stiftung Weltethos

What Stiftung Weltethos does

Stiftung Weltethos (Global Ethic Foundation) is a non-profit foundation founded in 1995 by Prof. Dr. Hans Küng in Tübingen, Germany, dedicated to promoting a shared ethical framework across religions and cultures. The foundation operates five core program areas: educational institutions (Weltethos-Schulen/ Global Ethic Schools network, ImpACT youth democratic-participation program, worldlab, Active 4 Future student network); municipal consulting (Weltethos-Kommunen, Räte der Religionen/ Councils of Religions); public engagement (Weltethos-Reden lecture series, traveling Weltethos-Ausstellung exhibition, 'Religion? All you can ask!' talk series); and publications including the Declaration Toward a Global Ethic available in 15+ languages and didactic materials. Its served customer base comprises schools, municipalities, religious communities, and adult education actors across Germany, with DACH-region extension through partner organizations in Switzerland and Austria.

The foundation operates with no proprietary technology platform — its stack consists of a WordPress website with a WooCommerce shop and a standard event management system. Revenue mechanics are donation-dependent: the e-commerce shop sells educational materials at €0.50–€4.50 per unit, events are mostly free, and the majority of operating capital comes from donations and project grants, with Adolf Würth GmbH & Co. KG acting as a major anchor donor (funding the 2025 headquarters renovation). Reach signals include 30+ certified Global Ethic Schools in Germany, a State Congress of Councils of Religions covering 12 Baden-Württemberg cities, and a core team of approximately 14 staff.

In September 2025, coinciding with its 30th anniversary, the foundation inaugurated new headquarters at Waldhäuser Straße 23 in Tübingen — the renovated former residence of founder Hans Küng — and launched the Weltethos-Kommunen municipal program, signaling strategic intent to scale beyond its Baden-Württemberg school-network base into broader municipal and interfaith consulting. The foundation is governed by a Board of Directors under President Prof. Dr. Bernd Engler and Managing Director Lena Zoller, with a Board of Trustees (Kuratorium) comprising representatives from academia, healthcare, media, judiciary, and religious communities.

Name

Stiftung Weltethos

Legal name

Stiftung Weltethos

Website

https://weltethos.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1995

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Stiftung Weltethos is a German non-profit foundation founded in 1995 that promotes global ethics and interreligious dialogue through school certification programs, municipal consulting, public lectures, and educational materials, serving schools, municipalities, and religious communities across the DACH region.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Values Education and Interfaith Dialogue

NAICS

Grantmaking Foundations (813211), Grantmaking and Giving Services (81321)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200)

akta.pro primary industry

Education Access & Quality (International Development) (BPAGABAE)

akta.pro secondary industries

International Grantmaking & Development Foundations (BPAGAKAH), Community Foundations (BPAGAKAB)

Keywords

• Values education
• Interfaith dialogue
• Global ethics
• School certification
• Municipal consulting

Headquarters

HQ city

Tübingen

HQ country

Germany

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Donations and Foundation Funding: The foundation operates as a charitable organization funded primarily through donations, with major support from entities such as Adolf Würth GmbH & Co. KG for building renovations.
2. Shop Sales: Sale of educational materials, posters, postcards, declaration documents, and didactic cubes through an e-commerce shop. Products range from €0.50 to €4.50.
3. Free Educational Resources: Free downloads of annual reports, teaching materials, and base texts including the Declaration Toward a Global Ethic in multiple languages.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

Stiftung Weltethos (Global Ethic Foundation) is a non-profit foundation based in Tübingen, Germany, dedicated to promoting global ethics, interreligious dialogue, and values-based education. The foundation develops and delivers educational programs, certifications, exhibitions, and consulting services for schools, municipalities, and the general public, centered on its Weltethos framework for shared human values.

Product overview

Stiftung Weltethos (Global Ethic Foundation) offers a portfolio of educational programs, publications, and resources focused on interfaith dialogue, values education, and democratic participation. Core programs include ImpACT (democratic skills for youth), the Weltethos-Schulen school network certification program, the traveling Weltethos-Ausstellung exhibition, the Religion? All you can ask! talk series, the newly launched Weltethos-Kommunen municipal program, and Weltethos-Reden public lectures. Supplementary offerings include worldlab student projects, Active 4 Future student networks, Councils of Religions consulting services, and a range of publications including the Erklärung zum Weltethos declaration (available in 15+ languages), didactic materials, and merchandise. The organization also provides free educational downloads and lesson plans for classroom use.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Weltethos-Schulen (Global Ethic Schools): Network of schools implementing global ethic values and interreligious education programs
• ImpACT
• Weltethos-Kommunen
• Weltethos-Reden (Global Ethic Lectures)
• Weltethos-Ausstellung

Products and services

• Weltethos-Schulen (Weltethos Schools) A structured program that helps schools integrate the Weltethos (Global Ethic) values framework into their culture, curriculum, and daily practice, culminating in certification as a Weltethos-Schule.
• ImpACT Continuing education and training program for educators that supports them in implementing the Weltethos values framework in classroom practice.
• Weltethos-Ausstellung (Weltethos Exhibition) A traveling exhibition that communicates the principles of the Global Ethic to broad public audiences through visual displays and accompanying educational material.
• Religion? All you can ask! An interactive interreligious dialogue format that allows audiences to pose questions directly to representatives of different religions and worldviews.
• Weltethos-Kommunen (Weltethos Municipalities) Consulting and partnership program that supports municipalities in embedding the Weltethos values into local governance, civic life, and community initiatives.
• Weltethos-Reden (Weltethos Speeches) A series of public keynote speeches and lectures delivered by foundation representatives on global ethics topics for conferences, institutions, and events.
• worldlab An educational program for young people that uses experiential learning to explore global ethics, sustainability, and shared human values.
• Active 4 Future A youth-focused program that engages young participants in projects addressing global challenges through the lens of Weltethos values.
• Räte der Religionen (Councils of Religions) An initiative supporting the establishment and operation of local interreligious councils that foster dialogue and cooperation between religious communities.
• Educational Downloads A library of free downloadable educational materials, lesson plans, and resources for teachers and multipliers working with the Weltethos framework.
• Stiftung Weltethos Shop and Publications An online shop offering books, publications, and branded merchandise produced by or associated with the foundation, including works by founder Hans Küng.

Quantifiable outcome

• Network of 30+ Global Ethic Schools across Germany including first in Berlin
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers6 records

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Five partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Stiftung Weltethos Schweiz (Global Ethic Foundation Swiss)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerSwiss partner organization with its own leadership including Dr. Odilo Noti (President), Anne Schwöbel-Storz (Vice President), and Caroline Gamma (Management). Located at Kulturpark, Pfingstweidstrasse 16, 8005 Zürich.
• Initiative Weltethos Österreich (IWEO)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerAustrian partner organization led by Helmut Schüller (President since December 2, 2025) with Prof. Mag. Edith Riether as Honorary President. Contact: [email protected]
• Weltethos-InstitutcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerRelated but separate institute located at Hintere Grabenstraße 26, 72070 Tübingen. Conducts research and academic work on global ethic. Phone: +49 7071 54940-30.
• Interkulturelle Woche Tübingen PartnersminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCooperation with local initiatives including Asylzentrum Tübingen e.V., Caritas Schwarzwald-Gäu, Integrationsrat Tübingen, Diakonisches Werk Tübingen, and others for Intercultural Week events.
• Akademie der Diözese Rottenburg-StuttgartminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCo-organizer of the event 'Ist Gott ein Grüner?' (Is God a Green Person?) on climate justice and religion.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Jacobs Foundation: Swiss-based foundation focused on child and youth education and values development. Close functional peer given Stiftung Weltethos's expansion into student networks (Active 4 Future), youth empowerment (ImpACT), and the foundation's Switzerland sister organization.
• KAICIID (King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz International Centre for Interreligious and Intercultural Dialogue): International interreligious dialogue centre that convenes religious leaders, policymakers, and educators. Overlaps directly with Stiftung Weltethos's mandate to institutionalize interreligious competence at municipal and educational levels.
• Körber-Stiftung: Hamburg-based German foundation with a strong focus on civic participation, democratic education, and inter-cultural dialogue. It is one of the closest functional analogues to Stiftung Weltethos in operating school- and civic-facing values programs in Germany.
• Religions for Peace: Global interreligious coalition with national chapters, including in Germany. The most direct international peer for Stiftung Weltethos's interreligious dialogue mandate and Räte der Religionen (Councils of Religions) consulting work.

Broad incumbents

• Robert Bosch Stiftung: Major Stuttgart-based German foundation with extensive programs in education, international relations, and social cohesion across Europe. Operates at substantially greater scale but addresses overlapping themes including interreligious understanding and democratic resilience.
• World Council of Churches (Ökumenischer Rat der Kirchen): Global ecumenical organization headquartered in Geneva with a strong interreligious and interfaith dialogue agenda. Adjacent to Stiftung Weltethos's mission, though operating at a substantially larger, ecclesial scale.
• Bertelsmann Stiftung: One of Germany's largest foundations, active in education, democratic cohesion, and international affairs. Far broader in scope and budget than Stiftung Weltethos, but competes for the same public and school-segment audience for values and citizenship programming.
• Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung: Major German political foundation running national political-education programs for schools, educators, and municipalities. Competes with Stiftung Weltethos for municipal-counseling and civic-curriculum mindshare across Germany.
• Heinrich-Böll-Stiftung: German political foundation affiliated with the Greens, active in political education, democracy, and sustainability programs in Germany and abroad. Competes for the same schools-and-municipalities civic-education segment.
• Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung: Large German political foundation with decades of programs in political education, civic participation, and international dialogue. Comparable to Stiftung Weltethos in its civic-education mission and event-driven engagement with schools and adults, but party-affiliated and much larger.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xtwitter.com/weltethos
• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/weltethos
• Facebookfacebook.com/stiftungweltethos
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/global-ethic-foundation
• Instagraminstagram.com/weltethos

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 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 Stiftung Weltethos