Children for a better World e.V.
Children for a better World e.V. is a Munich-based, donation-funded nonprofit founded in 1994 that runs child poverty relief, youth project funding, children's advisory boards, and democracy education programs across Germany through 80 partner facilities.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded1994
- HeadquartersMunich, Germany
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2C
- OfferingServices
What Children for a better World e.V. does
Children for a better World e.V. (CHILDREN) is a donation-funded, registered charitable association (eingetragener Verein, Vereinsregister Nr. 14680) founded in 1994 in Munich by Gabriele Quandt and Dr. Florian Langenscheidt. The organization operates four core programs targeting child poverty and youth civic engagement in Germany: ENTDECKER delivers daily meals and discovery activities through approximately 80 partner facilities in nearly 70 cities (5.7 million meals served cumulatively); JUGEND HILFT funds children and adolescents aged 6–21 to launch their own social, ecological, or political projects with grants of up to €2,500, an annual competition, and a Berlin engagement camp; KINDERBEIRÄTE convenes children's advisory boards that independently allocate funding for child welfare projects; and GENERATION GERMANY runs a democracy education program studied via a 4,000-respondent youth survey. Supplementary offerings include the Entdeckerstipendium (an annual exchange-year scholarship delivered with YFU), the CHILDREN Kinderkonzert at Munich's Prinzregententheater, the JOIN+HELP annual fundraising gala (€415,000 raised in 2024, an event record), and the Münchner Kammerorsteller partnership.
The underlying technology stack is intentionally lean and typical of German mid-sized nonprofits: Twingle GmbH powers the donation form on children.de with SEPA, PayPal, and credit card processing on German servers; CleverReach delivers three segmented newsletters (general, youth, educators) under GDPR double opt-in; Matomo provides in-form analytics; and the website itself runs on Squarespace. No public API, SDK, or developer-facing platform exists. Distribution is hybrid — direct via the donation portal and JOIN+HELP gala, and indirect via 80 partner facilities that act as on-the-ground delivery points for children in disadvantaged urban neighborhoods.
The business model is entirely donation-financed (spendenfinanziert). Revenue derives from individual online and bank-transfer donations, the annual JOIN+HELP gala targeting corporate and high-net-worth donors, recurring foundation grants (Commerzbank-Stiftung, KORFF STIFTUNG, Dr. Jürgen Rembold Stiftung, Kurt und Maria Dohle Stiftung, Zukunftsstiftung Ehrenamt Bayern), and corporate sponsorships (Bankhaus Donner & Reuschel as main sponsor, Messe Frankfurt, DAHLER Finest Real Estate, BioLotta/Hartkorn, +KNAUSS). Bankhaus Donner & Reuschel serves as both banking institution and main gala sponsor, with executives on the Kuratorium. The organization has no parent company, no subsidiaries, and no venture capital or private equity exposure. Governance is provided by a Vorstand chaired by Raphael Langenscheidt, Managing Directors Cornelius Nohl and Dr. Anna Rachlitz, a CHILDREN Stiftung led by Ulrike de Vries, and a Kuratorium including Caroline Link, Uta Pippig, and senior figures from Donner & Reuschel.
Children for a better World e.V. firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Children for a better World e.V.
- Legal name
- Children for a better World e.V.
- Website
- https://children.de
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 1994
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Short description
- Children for a better World e.V. is a Munich-based, donation-funded nonprofit founded in 1994 that runs child poverty relief, youth project funding, children's advisory boards, and democracy education programs across Germany through 80 partner facilities.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Children for a better World e.V. industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Child Welfare & Youth Services
- NAICS
- Child and Youth Services (62411), Other Individual and Family Services (624190), Grantmaking and Giving Services (81321), Community Food Services (624210)
- SIC
- Services-Social Services (8300), Services-Educational Services (8200)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Child Protection & Child Rights (BPAGABAG)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- School Feeding & Child Nutrition Programs (BPADAJAD), Youth Mental Health, Counseling & Wellbeing (Education-Linked) Nonprofits (BPAGADAK)
Keywords
Where Children for a better World e.V. is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Munich
- HQ country
- Germany
- HQ region
- Europe
Offices1 record
Markets served
Children for a better World e.V. business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2C
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others
Distribution channels5 records
Marketing channels7 records
Children for a better World e.V. product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Children for a better World e.V. (CHILDREN) is a donation-funded charitable organization operating four integrated programs across Germany: ENTDECKER delivers daily nutritious meals and discovery activities to children in poverty through ~90 partner facilities in ~70 cities; JUGEND HILFT provides grants of up to €2,500 to children and youth aged 6–21 for self-initiated social, ecological, or political projects, accompanied by an annual competition and Berlin engagement camp; KINDERBEIRÄTE are children's advisory boards where young people independently decide on the allocation of project funding; and GENERATION GERMANY delivers democracy education programs to youth.
Product overview
Children for a better World e.V. (CHILDREN) operates as a portfolio of four interconnected programs addressing child poverty, youth civic engagement, children's democratic participation, and youth democracy education across Germany. The core programs are: CHILDREN ENTDECKER (poverty alleviation via daily meals and discovery activities through ~90 partner facilities in ~70 cities), CHILDREN JUGEND HILFT (a national funding and competition program for youth-led social, ecological, and political projects, with annual grants, mentorship, and a Berlin engagement camp), CHILDREN KINDERBEIRÄTE (children's advisory boards that independently allocate project funding), and GENERATION GERMANY (democracy education and encounter for young people, including an annual festival). Supplementary offerings include the CHILDREN Entdeckerstipendium (a full scholarship for a school year abroad via YFU), the CHILDREN Mittagstisch meal program, the CHILDREN JUGEND HILFT Wettbewerb (annual competition), the Engagement-Camp in Berlin, the Kompaktseminar (annual training weekend), the Mentor*innen-Ausbildung (mentor training), the JOIN+HELP Gala (annual flagship fundraising dinner with auctions), and the CHILDREN Kinderkonzert (annual classical concert for disadvantaged children). The organization is entirely donation-financed and operates from its Munich headquarters.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- CHILDREN ENTDECKER A poverty-alleviation program targeting children aged 6–18 in disadvantaged urban neighborhoods ('Brennpunkt-Stadtteile') across Germany. Works with approximately 90 partner facilities in nearly 70 cities to provide daily hot meals (CHILDREN Mittagstisch) and discovery activities that support the healthy development of children growing up in poverty.
- CHILDREN JUGEND HILFT A national funding and competition program for children and adolescents aged 6–21 who initiate their own social, ecological, or political projects. Offers grants of up to €2,500, an annual competition, mentorship, a compact seminar, and an annual multi-day engagement camp in Berlin for winning project teams.
- CHILDREN KINDERBEIRÄTE
Quantifiable outcome
- 34,000 children in poverty sustainably strengthened
- +6 more outcomes
Companies that use Children for a better World e.V.
Customer profileSegments5 records
Ideal customer profiles4 records
Children for a better World e.V. technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Integration3 records
Feature6 records
Children for a better World e.V. partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Seven partnerships are on record, tiered core, major and minor.
- YFU (Youth For Understanding)coreCHILDREN partners with YFU to deliver the Entdeckerstipendium (Explorer Scholarship), enabling disadvantaged youth aged 15-18 to undertake a free full-year exchange abroad. YFU handles program delivery, placement, and pre/post seminars while CHILDREN funds and selects scholarship recipients. Five scholarships are awarded annually.
- Messe Frankfurt GmbHmajorPartners with CHILDREN to support the KiZ Gallus children's and youth facility located adjacent to the Messe Frankfurt exhibition grounds. Messe Frankfurt ensures that children and youth at KiZ Gallus receive a daily warm lunch, providing funding for meal programs at this location.
- Oliver WymanminorStrategy consulting firm Oliver Wyman supported CHILDREN with a Pro-Bono consulting project. Partner Jens Torchalla is quoted expressing enthusiasm for CHILDREN's work on child poverty and equal opportunities.
- JFF – Institut für Medienpädagogik in Forschung und PraxismajorCollaborates with CHILDREN on the JUGEND HILFT Camp to deliver a Kinder-medienworkshop (children's media workshop) where young participants produce their own image films and learn media literacy skills.
- +KNAUSSmajorJan Knauss (Vorstand and Geschäftsführer of +KNAUSS) supports CHILDREN both privately and professionally to raise awareness for CHILDREN's programs and extraordinary engagement. +KNAUSS is a communications/PR agency.
- Twingle GmbHcoreProvides the technical donation platform (Spendenformular) used on CHILDREN's website for processing online donations. Donations are processed on servers in Germany under a data processing agreement.
- CleverReachcoreNewsletter platform used by CHILDREN to distribute three targeted newsletters (general, youth, educator) to supporters and program participants.
Scale indicators17 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights6 records
Children for a better World e.V. competitors and assessment
Company assessmentBroad incumbents
- Welthungerhilfe: Major German nonprofit focused on hunger and nutrition, including school feeding programs internationally. Comparable to CHILDREN's Mittagstisch nutrition component, but at much larger international scale.
- Aktion Mensch: Large German social-purpose organization funding inclusion, education, and youth participation across disability and welfare causes. Comparable at the participation/civic-engagement level to CHILDREN's KINDERBEIRÄTE and GENERATION GERMANY programs.
- UNICEF Germany: German committee of a global child-rights organization running domestic education and child-welfare programs alongside fundraising. Comparable to CHILDREN as a donation-funded child welfare NGO, but with broader international scope and scale.
Direct peers
- Save the Children Deutschland: German arm of a major international child-rights organization running domestic programs (education, poverty alleviation, child protection) alongside advocacy. Comparable to CHILDREN as a donation-financed child welfare nonprofit active in Germany.
- Kindernothilfe: German nonprofit focused on child sponsorship and self-help project funding, with both domestic and international programs. Comparable to CHILDREN's JUGEND HILFT model of funding child/youth-led projects and its donation-financed structure.
- Sterntaler (Sterntaler Kinderhilfswerk): Smaller German children's aid foundation providing direct support to disadvantaged families and children with health/social needs. Comparable to CHILDREN as a donation-financed child welfare nonprofit in Germany.
- SOS Kinderdörfer (SOS Children's Villages Germany): One of Germany's largest child-welfare nonprofits, operating residential care, education, and family-strengthening programs for children in difficult circumstances. Directly comparable to CHILDREN's mission of supporting disadvantaged children in Germany.
- Deutsche Kinderhilfe: German children's rights nonprofit focused on child welfare advocacy, education access, and family support, donation-funded. Comparable to CHILDREN's child-rights and welfare mandate within Germany.
- Die Arche (Arche Kinderstiftung): German Christian children's aid foundation providing meals, after-school care, and family support in disadvantaged neighborhoods. Directly comparable to CHILDREN's Mittagstisch/ENTDECKER model of daily meals plus enrichment in Brennpunkt-Stadtteile.
Others
- Bertelsmann Stiftung (Children & Youth Programs): Large German foundation funding education, civic participation, and youth engagement initiatives including participatory research. Comparable as a funder and program-design peer for CHILDREN's civic-education and participation programs.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat5 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
Children for a better World e.V. social profiles
Digital presenceChildren for a better World e.V. financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Children for a better World e.V. leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles9 records
Children for a better World e.V. funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Children for a better World e.V. 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 Children for a better World e.V.
What does Children for a better World e.V. do?
Children for a better World e.V. (CHILDREN) is a donation-funded charitable organization operating four integrated programs across Germany: ENTDECKER delivers daily nutritious meals and discovery activities to children in poverty through ~90 partner facilities in ~70 cities; JUGEND HILFT provides grants of up to €2,500 to children and youth aged 6–21 for self-initiated social, ecological, or political projects, accompanied by an annual competition and Berlin engagement camp; KINDERBEIRÄTE are children's advisory boards where young people independently decide on the allocation of project funding; and GENERATION GERMANY delivers democracy education programs to youth.
Is Children for a better World e.V. a public or private company?
Children for a better World e.V. is a private company. It is classified as nonprofit foundation owned and is currently operating.
When was Children for a better World e.V. founded?
Children for a better World e.V. was founded in 1994. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is Children for a better World e.V. based?
Children for a better World e.V. is headquartered in Munich, Germany, in the Europe region.
Who are Children for a better World e.V.'s main competitors?
Broad incumbents on record are Welthungerhilfe, Aktion Mensch and UNICEF Germany. Direct peers are Save the Children Deutschland, Kindernothilfe, Sterntaler (Sterntaler Kinderhilfswerk), SOS Kinderdörfer (SOS Children's Villages Germany), Deutsche Kinderhilfe and Die Arche (Arche Kinderstiftung). Bertelsmann Stiftung (Children & Youth Programs) is listed as an others.
Does Children for a better World e.V. have an API?
No public API is recorded for Children for a better World e.V..
What industry is Children for a better World e.V. in?
Children for a better World e.V.'s product category is Child Welfare & Youth Services. Its primary akta.pro industry code is BPAGABAG, Child Protection & Child Rights, with a secondary code of BPADAJAD, School Feeding & Child Nutrition Programs. Its NAICS code is 62411 and its SIC code is 8300.