ZEIT-Stiftung
- Company typePrivate
- Founded1971
- HeadquartersHamburg, Germany
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2B and B2C
- OfferingServices
ZEIT-Stiftung firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- ZEIT-Stiftung
- Legal name
- ZEIT STIFTUNG BUCERIUS
- Website
- https://zeit-stiftung.de
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 1971
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
ZEIT-Stiftung industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Charitable Foundation Services
- NAICS
- Grantmaking Foundations (813211), Colleges, Universities, and Professional Schools (611310)
- SIC
- Services-Educational Services (8200)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Scholarship & Fellowship Foundations and Trusts (EDADAHAC)
- akta.pro secondary industry
- Law & Legal Studies Research Universities (EDAHABAF)
Keywords
Where ZEIT-Stiftung is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Hamburg
- HQ country
- Germany
- HQ region
- Europe
Offices1 record
Markets served
ZEIT-Stiftung business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B and B2C
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others
Revenue model
- Endowment Investment Returns: The foundation is funded by its endowment capital (approximately €1.08 billion as of 2021). Returns on this endowment are used to fund grant-making, own initiatives (Bucerius Law School, Bucerius Kunst Forum), scholarships, and operational activities.
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels3 records
Marketing channels6 records
ZEIT-Stiftung product offering
Product offeringCore offering
ZEIT STIFTUNG BUCERIUS is a private German nonprofit foundation that makes grants, scholarships, and project funding available across education, science and research, art and culture, journalism, democracy, and European affairs. It directly operates two flagship institutions — Bucerius Law School (Germany's first private foundation university for law, founded 2000) and Bucerius Kunst Forum (international art exhibition house, founded 2002) — alongside mentoring programs (WEICHENSTELLUNG), doctoral scholarships, debate forums (ZEIT Forum Wissenschaft), press freedom awards (Free Media Awards, Marion-Dönhoff-Preis), and civic education initiatives.
Product overview
ZEIT STIFTUNG BUCERIUS is a charitable foundation founded in 1971 by publisher Gerd Bucerius, functioning as a grant-making and project-implementing organization rather than a traditional software product. Its portfolio of products and services includes two flagship institutions it founded and funds — the Bucerius Law School (Germany's first private foundation university for law, est. 2000) and the Bucerius Kunst Forum (international art exhibition house, est. 2002) — as well as educational programs such as the WEICHENSTELLUNG mentoring program, Bucerius Summer School, and Bucerius Institute at the University of Haifa. The foundation also operates discussion and debate programs including ZEIT Forum Wissenschaft, the Marion-Dönhoff-Preis, Free Media Awards, and Bucerius Lab innovation laboratory. A notable recent product is the Aktionslabor mobile exhibition on news literacy, touring since 2024, along with the Urbaneo children's architecture museum opened in 2025. The foundation's activities span education, research, journalism, art, culture, democracy, and digital transformation.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Quantifiable outcome
- Over 3.5 million visitors to the Bucerius Kunst Forum since its founding in 2002
- +3 more outcomes
Companies that use ZEIT-Stiftung
Customer profileNamed customers4 records
Segments5 records
Ideal customer profiles3 records
ZEIT-Stiftung technology and API
TechnologyAPI detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
ZEIT-Stiftung partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
17 partnerships are on record, tiered core, flagship, major and minor.
- DIE ZEIT newspapercoreThe foundation's roots and identity are intertwined with DIE ZEIT. Gerd Bucerius co-founded the weekly newspaper in 1946, and the foundation manages the Marion-Dönhoff Prize jointly with DIE ZEIT and the Marion Dönhoff Foundation. The newspaper serves as a primary media partner for many foundation events.
- Marion Dönhoff FoundationcoreTogether with DIE ZEIT and the Marion Dönhoff Foundation, ZEIT STIFTUNG BUCERIUS co-organizes the annual Marion-Dönhoff Prize for international understanding and reconciliation (€20,000). Awarded 23 times as of 2025.
- Körber-StiftungflagshipCo-initiator of the 1st Hamburg Week of Press Freedom (2023) alongside ZEIT STIFTUNG BUCERIUS, supported by 20+ partner organizations. Also partner for the Exile Media Forum.
- Brost-StiftungmajorFunder and partner of the 'Redaktionelle Gesellschaft' Aktionslabor, a mobile interactive exhibition on news literacy, co-funded by Brost-Stiftung and Dieter von Holtzbrinck Stiftung.
- Dieter von Holtzbrinck StiftungmajorCo-funder of the 'Redaktionelle Gesellschaft' Aktionslabor — a mobile exhibition on news literacy and disinformation targeting adults.
- Klaus Tschira StiftungflagshipCo-initiator (with ZEIT STIFTUNG BUCERIUS) of the 'Expertise unter Druck' (Expertise under Pressure) project series (since 2024), providing protection and orientation for scientists facing public attacks. Annual symposium held at Bucerius Law School with Scicomm-Support.
- Fritt Ord (Norwegian foundation)coreTogether with Fritt Ord, ZEIT STIFTUNG BUCERIUS awards the Free Media Awards to journalists and media organizations in Eastern Europe, recognizing press freedom advocacy under difficult conditions.
- Max Weber StiftungminorPartner in the 'Global History' event series (2024–2025), initiated by the Georgia Office of the Max Weber Foundation and funded by ZEIT STIFTUNG BUCERIUS, focusing on Georgia and the Caucasus.
- Bucerius Law SchoolcoreThe foundation's own institution — Germany's first private foundation university for law, founded in 2000. The foundation serves as main supporter, providing funding, governance, and strategic direction.
- Bucerius Kunst ForumcoreThe foundation's own international exhibition house in Hamburg, founded in 2002. ZEIT STIFTUNG BUCERIUS funds and oversees the forum, which presents world art exhibitions accompanied by extensive mediation programs.
- Deichtorhallen Hamburg / Sammlung FalckenbergmajorPartnership for the 'Sammlung Falckenberg zu Gast...' project bringing the Falckenberg art collection to public spaces, starting at Bucerius Law School. Falckenberg collection comprises 2,400+ works by 500 artists.
- Kampnagel Internationale KulturfabrikmajorCo-initiator (since 2019) of 'ZEIT FÜR WELTTHEATER' — a program bringing international avant-garde theater to Hamburg through co-productions and guest performances.
- Thalia Theater HamburgmajorLong-term supporter of the 'Lessingtage' festival and 'Thalia International' program (since 2019), bringing international theater guest performances to Hamburg with supertitles and contextual introductions.
- ifa (Institut für Auslandsbeziehungen)minorCo-organizer with ifa of the Henrike Naumann Prize for Visual Arts, promoting artistic exchange.
- Bundespräsidialamt / Schloss BellevueflagshipPartner with the German Federal President's office for 'Forum Bellevue zur Transformation der Gesellschaft' — a high-profile debate series inaugurated by Federal President Frank-Walter Steinmeier on societal transformation.
- Netzwerk Recherche e. V.minorPartner for the 'Support Desk Lokale Recherche' (Local Research Support Desk), providing assistance for local journalism investigations.
- American Friends of BuceriusminorUS-based support organization for the foundation's activities, listed in the website footer alongside Bucerius Law School and Bucerius Kunst Forum.
Scale indicators6 records
Recent moves9 records
Expansion highlights5 records
ZEIT-Stiftung competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Brost-Stiftung: German journalism foundation based in Essen with a strong media-freedom and press-promotion mandate. Direct partner on the Aktionslabor; comparable in press-freedom and journalism-support portfolio.
- Körber-Stiftung: Hamburg-based German operating foundation with a thematic emphasis on civic engagement, education, and press freedom. Most direct peer given shared geography, partner status (Hamburg Week of Press Freedom), and overlapping focus on journalism and democratic debate.
- Fritz Thyssen Stiftung: German foundation focused on academic research and humanities — closely comparable to ZEIT-Stiftung's Wissenschaft & Forschung division and its doctoral scholarships.
- Robert Bosch Stiftung: Major German corporate-linked foundation with a strong focus on education, democracy, and international relations. Operates own programs alongside grants, analogous to ZEIT-Stiftung's combined institution-and-grantmaking model.
- Alfried Krupp von Bohlen und Halbach-Stiftung: Large German endowment foundation funding universities and academic institutions, with an emphasis on science and education. Comparable in capital intensity, endowment-driven grantmaking model, and long-term institutional partnerships.
- Klaus Tschira Stiftung: German science-oriented foundation that co-initiates programs with ZEIT-Stiftung (Expertise unter Druck). Operates own institutions such as the Heidelberg Institute for Theoretical Studies; comparable in combining grantmaking with own programming.
- VolkswagenStiftung: One of Germany's largest science and humanities foundations with an endowment above €3B. Closely comparable funding science, humanities, and international academic cooperation, including doctoral scholarships that compete with ZEIT-Stiftung's Promotionsstipendien.
- Bertelsmann Stiftung: Largest operating foundation in Europe, focused on education, democracy, and society. Directly analogous dual model of policy research, own initiatives, and major grantmaking with similar thematic reach into education, democracy, and Europe.
- Fritt Ord: Norwegian foundation focused on freedom of expression and press freedom. Co-awards the Free Media Awards with ZEIT-Stiftung for journalists in Eastern Europe; closely comparable in mission and program.
- Stiftung Mercator: Large German foundation funding education, science, and culture with international outlook. Comparable in mission scope (education, European integration, cultural participation) and in operating both grantmaking and own programs.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat5 records
Key risks5 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
ZEIT-Stiftung social profiles
Digital presenceZEIT-Stiftung financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
ZEIT-Stiftung leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles19 records
ZEIT-Stiftung subsidiaries and ownership
Company hierarchySubsidiaries3 records
ZEIT-Stiftung funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
ZEIT-Stiftung M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about ZEIT-Stiftung
What does ZEIT-Stiftung do?
ZEIT STIFTUNG BUCERIUS is a private German nonprofit foundation that makes grants, scholarships, and project funding available across education, science and research, art and culture, journalism, democracy, and European affairs. It directly operates two flagship institutions — Bucerius Law School (Germany's first private foundation university for law, founded 2000) and Bucerius Kunst Forum (international art exhibition house, founded 2002) — alongside mentoring programs (WEICHENSTELLUNG), doctoral scholarships, debate forums (ZEIT Forum Wissenschaft), press freedom awards (Free Media Awards, Marion-Dönhoff-Preis), and civic education initiatives.
Is ZEIT-Stiftung a public or private company?
ZEIT-Stiftung is a private company. It is classified as nonprofit foundation owned and is currently operating.
When was ZEIT-Stiftung founded?
ZEIT-Stiftung was founded in 1971. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is ZEIT-Stiftung based?
ZEIT-Stiftung is headquartered in Hamburg, Germany, in the Europe region.
How does ZEIT-Stiftung make money?
One revenue line is on record: endowment Investment Returns.
Who are ZEIT-Stiftung's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Brost-Stiftung, Körber-Stiftung, Fritz Thyssen Stiftung, Robert Bosch Stiftung, Alfried Krupp von Bohlen und Halbach-Stiftung, Klaus Tschira Stiftung, VolkswagenStiftung, Bertelsmann Stiftung, Fritt Ord and Stiftung Mercator.
Does ZEIT-Stiftung have an API?
No public API is recorded for ZEIT-Stiftung.
What industry is ZEIT-Stiftung in?
ZEIT-Stiftung's product category is Charitable Foundation Services. Its primary akta.pro industry code is EDADAHAC, Scholarship & Fellowship Foundations and Trusts, with a secondary code of EDAHABAF, Law & Legal Studies Research Universities. Its NAICS code is 813211 and its SIC code is 8200.