Berghof Foundation

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.

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

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

• Conflict transformation services
• Peace mediation programs
• Peacebuilding consulting
• Dialogue facilitation
• Conflict research

Headquarters

HQ city

Berlin

HQ country

Germany

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Others, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. 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

Core 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

Named customers5 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Eight partnerships are on record, tiered core and major.

• Political Development Forum (Yemen)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerIndependent 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)majorStrategic or Co-development PartnerInstitutional 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 UniversitymajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerAcademic partner in Georgia for history dialogue project, contributing to peacebuilding efforts through educational cooperation.
• Free University of TbilisimajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerAcademic partner in Georgia for history dialogue project, supporting dialogue processes and research activities.
• Caucasus University (Tbilisi)majorStrategic or Co-development PartnerAcademic partner for Georgian-Abkhazian conflict dialogue initiatives, contributing expertise and institutional resources.
• Sabauni - Sulkhan-Saba Orbeliani University (Tbilisi)majorStrategic or Co-development PartnerAcademic partner in Georgia for history dialogue project, supporting peacebuilding through educational cooperation.
• Batumi Shota Rustaveli State UniversitymajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerAcademic partner for Georgian-Abkhazian conflict dialogue initiatives, extending reach to Batumi region.
• Berghof Foundation Trust GmbHcoreOthersParent 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

Broad 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

• Xx.com/BerghofFnd
• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UCMtl7RmrV50bErX-thfUezg
• Facebookfacebook.com/BerghofFoundation
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/berghof-foundation
• Instagraminstagram.com/berghoffnd

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about Berghof Foundation