coach@school e.V.

What coach@school e.V. does

coach@school e.V. is a Hamburg-based registered nonprofit association (eingetragener Verein) founded in January 2016 that develops and distributes multilingual literacy programs for children aged approximately 5-10 in German elementary schools, kindergartens, and their families. Its core offering is the Bücherkoffer (book suitcase) program: physical cases containing curated children's books in 12 languages - including Turkish, Arabic, and Russian - that children take home multiple times per year to share reading experiences with their families, supported by accompanying parental and educator materials. The portfolio has expanded to three programs: the original Bücherkoffer (grades 1-2), the Mathe-Lesekoffer launched 2023 for grades 3-4 combining math and reading promotion, and the Bücherkoffer@Kita product rolled out nationwide in 2025 for early-childhood settings. Underpinning these is a 2025-launched online learning platform that aggregates self-learning modules, live sessions, tutorials, and program materials for educators.

The organization is active in 15 of 16 German federal states via direct school and Kita partnerships, regional Standort (location) managers, municipal integration centers, and formal cooperation agreements with state education authorities (notably Senator für Kinder und Bildung Bremen and Senatsverwaltung Berlin). It was originally founded by four women (Kerstin Wiskemann, Claudia Schink, Bettina Henze, Stefanie Hagemüller) and is currently led by Managing Director Sigrid Scherer and 1st Chairwoman Kristy Koth following a year-end 2025 leadership transition; internationally renowned children's author Cornelia Funke serves as patron (Schirmherrin).

The business model is donation- and grant-funded: programs are provided to educational institutions and families at no charge, with revenue sourced from individual donations, corporate sponsorships, foundation grants (Auridis Stiftung, Crespo Foundation, SOS-Kinderdörfer weltweit, Deutsche Postcode Lotterie, and RAG-Stiftung each individually exceeding 10% of total annual revenue per disclosed donors), and public-sector/EU funding including AMIF (European Asylum, Migration and Integration Fund) multi-year grants. The organization employs 20 paid staff, 4 freelancers, and 4 volunteers (28 total as of end-2025) at its Hamburg headquarters, and reports cumulative reach of 130,000+ children and families, 988 educational institutions, and 5,000+ educators trained since founding.

Name

coach@school e.V.

Legal name

coach@school e.V.

Website

https://coachatschool.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2016

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

German nonprofit association operating multilingual book-suitcase literacy programs in 12 languages across 15 federal states, serving multilingual children ages 5-10 in elementary schools, Kitas, and families through foundation, EU, and individual donation funding.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Multilingual Literacy Education Programs

NAICS

All Other Schools and Instruction (61169), Educational Services (61)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200), Books: Publishing Or Publishing & Printing (2731)

akta.pro primary industry

Literature & Book Clubs / Guided Reading Groups (EDAMAJAG)

akta.pro secondary industries

Children’s Subscription & Book Club Publishing (MPAJAFAO), Early Readers & Chapter Books Publishing (MPAJAFAB)

Keywords

• Multilingual reading promotion
• Early childhood literacy
• Nonprofit education programs
• Family literacy engagement
• Multilingual book programs

Headquarters

HQ city

Hamburg

HQ country

Germany

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Supply Chain

Revenue model

1. Foundation Donations: Major foundation funding from Auridis Stiftung gGmbH, Crespo Foundation, and other institutional donors who provide significant annual contributions exceeding 10% of total annual revenue.
2. Corporate Donations: Corporate donations and sponsorships from companies and organizations supporting educational equality.
3. Individual Donations: Private individual donations via bank transfer, PayPal, or Betterplace.org platform. Tax-deductible donations with donation receipts available.
4. EU/Government Funding: European AMIF (Asylum, Migration and Integration Fund) provides multi-year funding for programs in specific regions (Rhineland-Palatinate, Berlin, Bremen, Schleswig-Holstein). Government cooperation funding from Senator für Kinder und Bildung Bremen.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels10 records

Core offering

coach@school e.V. operates multilingual Bücherkoffer (book case) programs that supply physical cases of children's books in 12 languages to elementary schools, Kitas (daycares), and families across Germany. Children take the cases home multiple times per year to discover stories in their family languages, promoting reading joy, multilingual literacy, and connection between schools, families, and home languages. Programs and accompanying educator training are delivered free of charge to participating institutions and funded through donations and public grants.

Product overview

coach@school e.V. operates three core multilingual reading promotion programs as a unified educational initiative: the Bücherkoffer Program for primary school grades 1-2, the Mathe-Lesekoffer Program for grades 3-4, and the Bücherkoffer@Kita Program for kindergartens. The organization also provides an Online Learning Platform for educators and qualification programs for pedagogical staff. All programs distribute physical cases containing multilingual children's books in 12 languages, with children taking books home to share reading with families. Active in 15 German states, reaching approximately 130,000 children since founding in 2016.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Bücherkoffer Programm: The core multilingual book case literacy program for primary schools (grades 1-2), providing children with multilingual books to take home and share with their families, supporting reading joy in heritage languages while facilitating German language learning.
• Mathe-Lesekoffer Programm
• Bücherkoffer@Kita

Products and services

• Bücherkoffer Program Multilingual reading promotion program for primary school students (grades 1-2) providing physical book cases containing children's books in 12 different languages. Children take the cases home multiple times per year to discover stories in their family languages.
• Mathe-Lesekoffer Program Combined math and reading promotion program for primary school students in grades 3-4, promoting both mathematical abilities and reading skills based on the premise that mathematics and reading are closely connected.
• Bücherkoffer@Kita Program Multilingual reading promotion program adapted for kindergartens with high proportions of multilingual children in areas with low social indices. Provides modular material sets for early childhood educators.
• Online Learning Platform Digital learning platform providing self-learning modules, live sessions, tutorials, checklists, materials, and explanations for all program components, enabling teachers and program coordinators to implement programs with flexible, self-paced learning.
• Qualifizierungen für Fachkräfte (Educator Training) Accompanying qualification programs and information events that help pedagogical and teaching staff integrate multilingualism into daily learning routines, strengthening multilingual parents and improving connections between educational institutions and families.

Quantifiable outcome

• 130,000+ children and families reached since founding
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers5 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Partnerships

Seven partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Senator für Kinder und Bildung (Bremen)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 October 2024Formal cooperation agreement with the Bremen Senate Department for Children and Education. The program has been active in Bremen and Bremerhaven since school year 2024/25, with 22 schools participating. The partnership aims to reach up to 14,000 children with multilingual reading promotion.
• didacta VerbandcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerEducation partnership announced March 2026 between coach@school e.V. and didacta Verband, the leading education industry association in Germany.
• Bücherhallen HamburgminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerSince 2020, Bücherkoffer exhibited in 21 Hamburg public libraries with 12 multilingual books available for borrowing.
• Kommunales Integrationszentrum BielefeldcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerMunicipal integration center supporting Bücherkoffer implementation in Bielefeld. Program Director Christoph Hein praised the program's effective approach to reading joy, parental involvement, and multilingualism.
• Chancenreich e.V.coreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorFrankfurt-based association implementing the Frankfurter Bücherkoffer together with the city of Frankfurt and additional partners.
• Cornelia FunkecoreOthersInternationally renowned children's and young adult author serving as patron (Schirmherrin) since May 2020. Her novels have been translated into 37 languages. She supports the goal of expanding the program nationwide.
• Universität PaderbornminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerUniversity that conducted comprehensive evaluation of Bücherkoffer Program in 2019, providing scientific validation of program effectiveness.

Scale indicators11 records

Recent moves9 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Emerging players

• Mehrsprachige Erziehung in Deutschland e.V. Smaller specialist nonprofit focused on multilingual education in Germany. Overlaps with coach@school's core thesis (valuing heritage languages in education) but operates at a narrower scale and advocacy/policy focus rather than physical book distribution.
• Stiftung Kinder forschen: German foundation promoting early childhood education (STEM focus) at Kitas and Grundschulen, with a similar nationwide partnership model and the same target institutions (Kitas, primary schools). Comparable as an emerging player reaching the same institutional buyers, though with a STEM rather than literacy focus.

Others

• Carlsen Verlag: Major German children's book publisher whose multilingual and early-reader titles feed into the Bücherkoffer content library. Adjacent, ecosystem-relevant peer in the supply chain for the multilingual children's book content the program depends on.
• Oetinger Verlag: Long-established Hamburg-based children's and young-adult book publisher. Adjacent ecosystem participant supplying age-appropriate German and translated children's literature relevant to the Bücherkoffer concept.

Direct peers

• Stiftung Lesen: Germany's leading national foundation dedicated to promoting reading and literacy; operates nationwide programs, runs the Deutscher Lesepreis (for which coach@school was nominated in 2024), and serves the same educator and policy audiences. The closest direct comparator on mission and target group.
• Chancenreich e.V. Frankfurt-based nonprofit implementing the Frankfurter Bücherkoffer together with the city of Frankfurt. Operates in the same educational-equality space for children from migration backgrounds, with a similar partnership-driven distribution model.

Broad incumbents

• SOS-Kinderdörfer weltweit: Large German child-welfare nonprofit and a major financial partner (>10% of revenue) for coach@school's Bremen program. Comparable as a broad incumbent in education-equity and child-welfare funding, though with a much wider programmatic mandate.
• didacta Verband: Germany's leading education-industry association and trade-show organizer. Announced a strategic partnership with coach@school in March 2026, positioning it as a broad incumbent in the same ecosystem for educator training and EdTech distribution.
• Auridis Stiftung gGmbH: Foundation focused on equal educational opportunities for children, and a major anchor funder (>10% of revenue) for coach@school's NRW program. Comparable as a broader incumbent funder/operator in the same educational-equity field.

Regional players

• Bücherhallen Hamburg: Hamburg public library system, which since 2020 has hosted Bücherkoffer exhibitions across 21 branches with 12 multilingual titles. Regional public-sector peer addressing a similar multilingual reading audience through a different (library-based) delivery model.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UChZcL1V6udlsMa8KtPrZ15Q
• Facebookfacebook.com/coachatschool-eV-1695641544019797
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/coach-at-school
• Instagraminstagram.com/coachatschool/?hl=de

Compliance2 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles11 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

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

Frequently asked questions about coach@school e.V.