What Workers' Samaritan Federation (ASB) does

Arbeiter-Samariter-Bund Deutschland e.V. (ASB) is a German non-profit aid and welfare organization (eingetragener Verein, e.V.) founded in 1888 and headquartered in Köln with a secondary federal office in Berlin. Operating across 30+ countries, ASB delivers a comprehensive portfolio of social and humanitarian services through a federated structure of regional associations (Landesverbände) and local branches (Ortsverbände). Its domestic service portfolio spans elderly care across more than 150 nursing homes and in-patient facilities, child and youth welfare (crèches, kindergartens, children's homes, family assistance), disability services (sheltered workshops, assisted living, individual care), refugee integration programs, home emergency call systems (Hausnotruf), meals-on-wheels (Essen auf Rädern), hospice and palliative care including the Wünschewagen last-wish transport service, and first aid training.

Internationally, ASB conducts emergency relief, reconstruction, and disaster risk reduction operations through consortium partnerships with organizations such as arche noVa, the German Toilet Organization, and Aktion Deutschland Hilft, funded primarily by the German Federal Foreign Office, EU bodies, and UN agencies. Its FAST (First Assistance Samaritan Teams) rapid response units were certified in 2017 by the World Health Organization as Emergency Medical Team Type 1 fixed — the first aid organization worldwide to achieve this designation. Active foreign aid engagements include a €12.27 million WASH (Water, Sanitation, Hygiene) program across 13 countries during 2023-2026 and sustained Balkans operations since 1991 involving 350+ projects and €175 million+ in cumulative project volume.

The organization's revenue model is multi-stream: recurring membership fees, individual and corporate donations, testamentary bequests, fees for professional services (care, training, rescue, events), and government/institutional grants. Technology infrastructure is modest and largely commodity-based, centered on a HumHub-based internal collaboration platform (RITA), a member portal (Mein ASB), Google Analytics 4, Microsoft Clarity, and FundraisingBox for donation processing. The wholly-owned charitable Arbeiter-Samariter-Stiftung (founded 2009) supports innovative projects across ASB's programmatic lines. Leadership comprises a Bundesvorsitzender (Knut Fleckenstein), a Hauptgeschäftsführer (Dr. Uwe Martin Fichtmüller), and Geschäftsführer overseeing operations, education, and legal/compliance functions.

Name

Workers' Samaritan Federation (ASB)

Legal name

Arbeiter-Samariter-Bund Deutschland e. V.

Website

https://asb.de

Company type

Private

Founded year

1888

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

501–1,000 employees

Short description

Arbeiter-Samariter-Bund Deutschland e.V. (ASB) is a German non-profit aid and welfare organization founded in 1888, delivering elderly care, disability services, child welfare, refugee integration, and international humanitarian aid across 30+ countries. It operates 150+ nursing homes domestically and WHO-certified FAST emergency medical response teams internationally.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Humanitarian Aid and Social Welfare Services

NAICS

Emergency and Other Relief Services (62423), Individual and Family Services (6241)

SIC

Services-Social Services (8300), Services-Health Services (8000)

akta.pro primary industry

Refugee, IDP & Migration Humanitarian Assistance (BPAGAAAH)

akta.pro secondary industries

Refugee, Migration & Displacement Support (BPAGABAH), Humanitarian Health & Emergency Medical Relief NGOs (HLAJAKAE), Refugee & Humanitarian Newcomer Orientation (Resettlement Support) (EDAAADAI)

Keywords

• Humanitarian aid
• Rescue services
• Elderly care
• Disaster relief
• Civil protection

Headquarters

HQ city

Köln (Cologne)

HQ country

Germany

HQ region

Europe

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Membership Fees: ASB generates revenue through membership fees from its members across Germany
2. Donations and Fundraising: Individual donations, corporate donations, and testamentary bequests support ASB operations and projects
3. Service Fees: Fees for social services including care services, emergency response services, first aid training, and educational programs
4. Government and Institutional Funding: Government funding from EU, German Federal Foreign Office, federal and regional government for humanitarian and development projects

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels6 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

ASB Germany is a registered humanitarian and welfare association (eingetragener Verein) providing rescue and emergency medical services, civil and population protection, disaster relief, elderly and disability care, child and youth welfare, refugee integration, international humanitarian aid, first aid training, and event medical services. It operates as a federated non-profit with approximately 1.3 million members, around 42,000 employees, and over 5,000 civil protection volunteers.

Product overview

Arbeiter-Samariter-Bund (ASB) is a traditional German aid and welfare organization offering a comprehensive portfolio of humanitarian and social services, not a technology product company. The organization operates multiple interconnected service divisions: (1) Rescue and Emergency Services including rescue dispatch, first aid courses, disaster relief, civil protection, and event medical services; (2) Care Services encompassing elderly care (home care, nursing homes, day care), child and youth welfare (crèches, kindergartens, children's homes), and disability inclusion services; (3) International Aid operating in over 30 countries with emergency relief, reconstruction, and disaster risk reduction programs; (4) Living Support Services including home emergency call systems, meals on wheels, and the Wünschewagen (wish fulfillment transport for terminally ill); (5) Integration services for refugees; (6) the ASB-Bildungswerk educational center; and (7) the Arbeiter-Samariter-Stiftung charitable foundation. ASB also operates RITA, an internal HumHub-based collaboration platform for staff, and provides member services through the Mein ASB portal.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Arbeiter-Samariter-Stiftung: A charitable foundation established in 2009 that supports ASB projects, with a focus on hospice and palliative care, children and youth welfare, elderly care, disability assistance, first aid, disaster relief, and foreign aid.

Products and services

• Rescue and Emergency Medical Services

Quantifiable outcome

• More than 30 countries served with humanitarian aid
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers9 records

Segments6 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature2 records

Partnerships

Nine partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• arche noVa e.V.coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 November 2023Consortium partner for the ECT WASH project implementing climate-resilient water, sanitation and hygiene services. arche noVa handles implementation in Lebanon, Somalia, Ethiopia, Myanmar, and Mali.
• German Toilet Organization e.V. (GTO)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 November 2023Consortium partner for the ECT WASH project, contributing expertise in toilet and sanitation solutions for humanitarian contexts.
• Aktion Deutschland Hilft (ADH)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerGermany's Relief Coalition for disaster relief, pooling resources with ASB and other German aid organizations to ensure efficient emergency response and avoid duplication of measures.
• Förderverein Hospiz Jena e.V.minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaborated with ASB Jena to establish a joint ambulatory children's hospice service. ASB provides funding through the foundation while the partner provides local hospice expertise.
• Centre for Disability in Development (CDD)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerLocal partner for WASH project implementation in Bangladesh, focusing on inclusive services for people with disabilities.
• Assistance and Cooperation for Community Resilience and Development (ACCORD)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerLocal partner for WASH project implementation in the Philippines, working on climate-resilient water and sanitation services.
• UNAGcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerLocal partner for WASH project implementation in Nicaragua, working with municipalities and government agencies on emergency response.
• AdkoulcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerLocal partner for WASH project implementation in Niger, focusing on vulnerable communities in Tahoua and Tillia regions.
• APEDEScoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerLocal partner for WASH project implementation in Honduras, working in the western region most affected by drought.

Scale indicators8 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Broad incumbents

• Diakonie Deutschland: Diakonie is the Protestant welfare confederation providing nursing, disability services, child welfare, refugee integration, and humanitarian aid; comparable to ASB in domestic social services scale and faith-rooted welfare identity, but operates with broader institutional reach across Germany.
• M\u00e9decins Sans Fronti\u00e8res (MSF): MSF is a globally operating medical-humanitarian NGO that, like ASB's FAST teams, deploys emergency medical response units in conflict and disaster zones; a broader incumbent that competes for WHO/UN humanitarian medical contracts and donor mindshare in international emergency health.
• CARE International: CARE International is a major humanitarian and development NGO operating in similar geographies to ASB (WASH, disaster response, refugee aid, women's empowerment) and competing for the same European governmental donor budgets and consortium partnerships.
• Caritas Germany (Deutscher Caritasverband): Caritas is one of Germany's largest welfare confederations, operating elderly care, disability services, child/youth welfare, refugee aid, and social services at far larger scale than ASB; it is the dominant Catholic-affiliated peer and competes for the same government contracts, donations, and skilled care workforce.
• International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC): The IFRC is the world's largest humanitarian network and a counterpart to ASB in international disaster response, refugee support, and emergency medical deployments; sets global standards that ASB's FAST teams align with and competes with for multilateral funding and partnership visibility.

Others

• Aktion Deutschland Hilft (ADH): ADH is the coalition of German aid organizations through which ASB pools disaster-relief fundraising and coordinates international emergency response; both a partner and an adjacent ecosystem player that shapes the competitive landscape ASB operates in for international humanitarian contracts.

Direct peers

• Johanniter-Unfall-Hilfe (JUH): Johanniter is a direct peer offering the same portfolio as ASB — first aid training, ambulance/rescue services, hospice care, youth work, refugee aid, and international humanitarian assistance — competing head-to-head in German markets for membership, donations, and government contracts.
• German Red Cross (Deutsches Rotes Kreuz, DRK): The DRK is Germany's largest welfare and humanitarian aid organization, directly comparable to ASB across rescue services, nursing/elderly care, child/youth welfare, refugee integration, and international disaster relief — both compete for the same German membership, donation, and federal-government funding pools.
• Malteser Hilfsdienst: Malteser is a German welfare organization offering rescue services, first aid courses, social services, refugee aid, and international humanitarian missions — highly comparable to ASB in service mix, German operating geography, and member-based funding model.

Emerging players

• International Rescue Committee (IRC): The IRC is an international humanitarian NGO providing emergency relief, refugee resettlement, and health/wash programming in conflict-affected countries; comparable to ASB's international aid arm in service mix and donor base (EU, DFID-style government funding).

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/asb_de
• YouTubeyoutube.com/user/ASBDeutschland
• Facebookfacebook.com/asb.de
• Instagraminstagram.com/asb_de
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/asb-germany

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Subsidiaries2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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

Frequently asked questions about Workers' Samaritan Federation (ASB)