Berghof Foundation
Berghof Foundation is a Berlin-based non-governmental, non-profit organization founded in 1971 that facilitates conflict transformation through dialogue, mediation, and peace education in more than fifteen conflict-affected contexts including Yemen, Lebanon, Georgia-Abkhazia, Ethiopia, and Colombia, funded primarily by the German Federal Foreign Office and the European Union.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded1971
- HeadquartersBerlin, Germany
- Headcount51–100
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingServices
What Berghof Foundation does
Berghof Foundation is a Berlin-based non-governmental, non-profit organization founded in 1971 that supports conflict transformation and peacebuilding in more than fifteen conflict contexts globally, including Yemen, Lebanon, the Georgian-Abkhaz context, Ethiopia, Colombia, and the MENA region. Its core services are multi-level dialogue facilitation, mediation and negotiation support, peace education, and applied research on conflict transformation, delivered through field-based programming in conflict-affected areas, structured online courses (notably a seven-week National Dialogue and Peacemaking course), specialized workshops such as Digital.Truth for countering misinformation, and reference publications including the Berghof Handbook for Conflict Transformation, the Berghof Glossary, and the National Dialogue Handbook. The organization also maintains knowledge assets such as the Oral History Archive (~1,000 biographical interviews with witnesses of the Georgian-Abkhaz war) and the Transitional Justice Hub portal covering the climate-justice-transitional justice nexus. Customers and partners include national and local governments (e.g., Yemen's Ministry for Local Administration), civil society organizations (Political Development Forum in Yemen since 2012), and academic institutions across Georgia.
The operating entity is Berghof Foundation Operations gGmbH, registered in Berlin-Charlottenburg (HRB 95319 B) and 100% owned by Berghof Foundation Trust GmbH. The foundation is exempt from German corporation tax. It has 51–100 employees and reports to a Board of Trustees chaired by Johannes Zundel, with executive leadership comprising Chris Coulter (Executive Director), Cord-Christian Drews (Deputy Executive Director & COO), and Carolin Poeschke (Chief of Staff). Its revenue model is non-commercial: the organization is funded almost entirely through institutional grants and project-related donations rather than fees for services. In 2024, two institutional donors — the German Federal Foreign Office (32.8% of total funds) and the European Union (16.3%) — together provided roughly half of all funding, with the remainder drawn from other project-related institutional sources. The foundation does not publicly disclose revenue figures, does not maintain venture or equity funding, and distributes its work through direct field delivery, online workshops, training courses, and open-access publications rather than commercial channels.
Berghof Foundation firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Berghof Foundation
- Legal name
- Berghof Foundation Operations gGmbH
- Website
- https://berghof-foundation.org
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 1971
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 51–100 employees
- Short description
- Berghof Foundation is a Berlin-based non-governmental, non-profit organization founded in 1971 that facilitates conflict transformation through dialogue, mediation, and peace education in more than fifteen conflict-affected contexts including Yemen, Lebanon, Georgia-Abkhazia, Ethiopia, and Colombia, funded primarily by the German Federal Foreign Office and the European Union.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Berghof Foundation industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Peacebuilding and Conflict Resolution Services
- NAICS
- Grantmaking Foundations (813211), Social Advocacy Organizations (8133), Human Rights Organizations (813311), Civic and Social Organizations (813410)
- SIC
- International Affairs (9721)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Peacebuilding, Conflict Resolution & Stabilization (BPAGABAJ)
- akta.pro secondary industry
- Private Foundations (BPAGAKAA)
Keywords
Where Berghof Foundation is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Berlin
- HQ country
- Germany
- HQ region
- Europe
Offices1 record
Markets served
Berghof Foundation business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Others, Marketing or Sales
Revenue model
- Institutional Funding and Grants: The Berghof Foundation operates as a non-profit organization funded primarily through institutional donors. The majority of funds received are project-related. In 2024, two donors provided more than 10% of total funds: German Federal Foreign Office (32.8%) and European Union (16.3%).
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels4 records
Marketing channels6 records
Berghof Foundation product offering
Product offeringCore offering
The Berghof Foundation is a non-profit, non-governmental organization that supports conflict transformation and peacebuilding through mediation, dialogue facilitation, and applied research. Founded in 1971 and headquartered in Berlin, the foundation designs and delivers programs in 15+ active conflict contexts (including Yemen, Lebanon, Georgia/Abkhazia, Ethiopia, and Colombia), working with governments, civil society, and international partners to enable peaceful resolution of armed and political conflicts.
Product overview
The Berghof Foundation operates a portfolio of peacebuilding products and services organized around conflict transformation, dialogue facilitation, and peace education. Core offerings include dialogue facilitation services, the Oral History Archive (biographical interview collection for reconciliation), the Digital.Truth misinformation workshops, and the National Dialogue and Peacemaking online course. The Foundation also maintains online knowledge resources including the Transitional Justice Hub portal, Berghof Handbook for Conflict Transformation, National Dialogue Handbook, Berghof Glossary, and Handbook Dialogues publications. The organization's work spans multiple geographic contexts including Yemen, Lebanon, Georgia/Abkhazia, and the Middle East, with projects often organized as multi-track dialogue programs combining high-level political engagement, community-level dialogue, and local initiative support.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Quantifiable outcome
- Nearly 2,500 workshops with Georgians reaching ~30,000 people over 5 years
- +3 more outcomes
Companies that use Berghof Foundation
Customer profileNamed customers5 records
Segments3 records
Ideal customer profiles3 records
Berghof Foundation technology and API
TechnologyAPI detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Berghof Foundation partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Eight partnerships are on record, tiered core and major.
- Political Development Forum (Yemen)coreIndependent non-profit institution working closely with Berghof Foundation since 2012 on joint programming in Yemen, focusing on political dialogue, conflict transformation, and local governance support.
- Ilia State University (Georgia)majorInstitutional partner in Georgia for history dialogue project on Georgian-Abkhazian conflict, conducting discussion rounds and workshops on war memory.
- Faculty of Law and International Relations of Georgian Technical UniversitymajorAcademic partner in Georgia for history dialogue project, contributing to peacebuilding efforts through educational cooperation.
- Free University of TbilisimajorAcademic partner in Georgia for history dialogue project, supporting dialogue processes and research activities.
- Caucasus University (Tbilisi)majorAcademic partner for Georgian-Abkhazian conflict dialogue initiatives, contributing expertise and institutional resources.
- Sabauni - Sulkhan-Saba Orbeliani University (Tbilisi)majorAcademic partner in Georgia for history dialogue project, supporting peacebuilding through educational cooperation.
- Batumi Shota Rustaveli State UniversitymajorAcademic partner for Georgian-Abkhazian conflict dialogue initiatives, extending reach to Batumi region.
- Berghof Foundation Trust GmbHcoreParent company that owns 100% of Berghof Foundation Operations gGmbH, with subscribed registered capital contribution of €25,000.
Scale indicators8 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights5 records
Berghof Foundation competitors and assessment
Company assessmentBroad incumbents
- The Carter Center: Broader conflict resolution and election-monitoring institution; an incumbent that also conducts mediation and works on democracy/conflict, though with a wider thematic portfolio than Berghof.
- United States Institute of Peace (USIP): Publicly funded US peacebuilding institution with a much larger budget and broader mandate; competes for the same institutional donor attention and offers overlapping conflict resolution and training programs.
Direct peers
- International Crisis Group: Operates in similar conflict geographies (Yemen, Ethiopia, Lebanon, Colombia) and combines field-based analysis with policy advising to governments and international bodies, paralleling Berghof's high-level engagement model.
- Interpeace: International peacebuilding organization that supports locally driven peace processes, directly comparable in its emphasis on local partnership and national dialogue work.
- Conciliation Resources: London-based peacebuilding NGO focused on Track II dialogue and conflict transformation in similar geographies (including Caucasus), with a comparable programmatic mix of dialogue, research, and capacity building.
- Search for Common Ground: Largest dedicated peacebuilding NGO; directly comparable to Berghof in offering dialogue facilitation, conflict transformation programs, and field presence across multiple conflict-affected countries.
- Center for Humanitarian Dialogue (HD Centre): Private diplomacy and mediation organization that, like Berghof, maintains back-channels to conflict parties and conducts mediation support across multiple theaters including Yemen and the Middle East.
- International Alert: London-based peacebuilding NGO working on security, gender, and conflict transformation across similar country contexts; comparable mission scope and donor mix to Berghof.
- Swiss Peace: Swiss-based peace research and practice organization with comparable focus on conflict transformation methodology, training, and policy advisory — strong methodological peer.
Emerging players
- Peace Direct: Smaller peacebuilding support organization focused on locally led peace; partial overlap with Berghof's local-partner approach but with a more grantmaking and capacity-building orientation.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat4 records
Key risks5 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
Berghof Foundation social profiles
Digital presenceBerghof Foundation financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Berghof Foundation leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Berghof Foundation funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Berghof Foundation 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 Berghof Foundation
What does Berghof Foundation do?
The Berghof Foundation is a non-profit, non-governmental organization that supports conflict transformation and peacebuilding through mediation, dialogue facilitation, and applied research. Founded in 1971 and headquartered in Berlin, the foundation designs and delivers programs in 15+ active conflict contexts (including Yemen, Lebanon, Georgia/Abkhazia, Ethiopia, and Colombia), working with governments, civil society, and international partners to enable peaceful resolution of armed and political conflicts.
Is Berghof Foundation a public or private company?
Berghof Foundation is a private company. It is classified as nonprofit foundation owned and is currently operating.
When was Berghof Foundation founded?
Berghof Foundation was founded in 1971. It employs 51 to 100 people.
Where is Berghof Foundation based?
Berghof Foundation is headquartered in Berlin, Germany, in the Europe region.
How does Berghof Foundation make money?
One revenue line is on record: institutional Funding and Grants.
Who are Berghof Foundation's main competitors?
Broad incumbents on record are The Carter Center and United States Institute of Peace (USIP). Direct peers are International Crisis Group, Interpeace, Conciliation Resources, Search for Common Ground, Center for Humanitarian Dialogue (HD Centre), International Alert and Swiss Peace. Peace Direct is listed as an emerging player.
Does Berghof Foundation have an API?
No public API is recorded for Berghof Foundation.
What industry is Berghof Foundation in?
Berghof Foundation's product category is Peacebuilding and Conflict Resolution Services. Its primary akta.pro industry code is BPAGABAJ, Peacebuilding, Conflict Resolution & Stabilization, with a secondary code of BPAGAKAA, Private Foundations. Its NAICS code is 813211 and its SIC code is 9721.