Caritasverband für die Erzdiözese Freiburg e.V.

What Caritasverband für die Erzdiözese Freiburg e.V. does

The Caritasverband für die Erzdiözese Freiburg e.V. is the Catholic diocesan umbrella (Dachverband / Spitzenverband) for social welfare institutions in the regions of Baden and Hohenzollern in southwestern Germany, founded in 1903 and headquartered in Freiburg. The organization coordinates 25 local Caritas associations, 8 diocesan specialist associations, and more than 2,000 affiliated service providers (Dienstgebende), and is itself part of the Deutscher Caritasverband e.V., Germany's largest social welfare organization with roughly 620,000 employees and over 24,000 facilities nationwide. Its primary beneficiaries are people in need — including those experiencing poverty, loneliness, migration challenges, disability, family crises, addiction, debt, old-age issues, and refugee displacement — alongside the member organizations that deliver services to them.

The organization's product and service portfolio spans digital and human-delivered channels. Core offerings include the free, anonymous, and secure Online-Beratung platform (covering 19+ social topics such as migration, addiction, debt, family, pregnancy, and U25 suicide prevention, delivered in partnership with Deutscher Caritasverband e.V.); Caritas Bildung, a training portal offering over 200 seminars annually plus vocational education for social-sector professionals; Beratung, Service & Entwicklung consulting for member associations; Personal- & Finanzmanagement including the centralized ZGASt payroll service; a public Online-Jobportal; Freiwilligendienste & youngcaritas volunteer coordination; and Sozialmarketing & Spenden fundraising, which runs the annual Caritas-Sammlung parish collection (€778,072 raised for Erzdiözese Freiburg in 2025 as part of a €1,329,150.92 Baden-Württemberg total) via the BFS-Net.Tool XXL donation engine from Bank für Sozialwirtschaft. The technical stack is a web-based service delivery layer with an online counseling platform and member portal (infothek.caritas-dicv-fr.de), relying on third-party integrations for payments, captcha (Swetrix), mapping (Google Maps), and social analytics (Meta Business Suite).

The business model is a non-commercial, donation-and-membership-funded model with no direct beneficiary pricing: services to end recipients are free, while income is generated via parish collections, church and public subsidies, member dues from the 25 local and 8 specialist associations, project grants (e.g., €400,000+ from Glücksspirale for AI governance in educational assistance), and training fees from Caritas Bildung seminars. The organization is governed by a Vorstand chaired by Birgit Schaer with Henric Peeters and a multi-department leadership team covering child/youth/family services, social economy, inclusion, migration, volunteering, education, finance/IT, and aging-related services.

Name

Caritasverband für die Erzdiözese Freiburg e.V.

Legal name

Caritasverband für die Erzdiözese Freiburg e.V.

Website

https://dicvfreiburg.caritas.de

Company type

Private

Founded year

1900

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

The Caritasverband für die Erzdiözese Freiburg e.V. is the Catholic diocesan umbrella organization coordinating 25 local Caritas associations, 8 specialist associations, and over 2,000 service providers across Baden and Hohenzollern, delivering free social counseling, training, fundraising, and member-support services to people in need in southwestern Germany.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Social Welfare Services

NAICS

Civic and Social Organizations (8134), Religious, Grantmaking, Civic, Professional, and Similar Organizations (813), Social Advocacy Organizations (8133)

SIC

Services-Social Services (8300), Services-Membership Organizations (8600)

akta.pro primary industry

Denominational & Ecclesiastical Governance Bodies (Dioceses, Synods, Conferences) (BPAGAJAB)

akta.pro secondary industry

Public Charities & Grantmaking Intermediaries (BPAGAKAE)

Keywords

• Social welfare services
• Catholic charity organization
• Online counseling
• Social sector training
• Community volunteer coordination

Headquarters

HQ city

Freiburg im Breisgau

HQ country

Germany

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure, Technology or R&D, Others

Revenue model

1. Donations and Collections: The organization conducts annual Caritas collections in parishes. In 2025, the collection raised 1,329,150.92 euros across Baden-Württemberg (778,072 euros for Erzdiözese Freiburg). Donations fund local projects including visitor services for lonely elderly, nature weekends for disadvantaged families, crisis counseling, meals for low-income individuals, and refugee integration support.
2. Consulting and Support Services to Members: The organization provides consulting, service, and development services to its member associations and organizations as its primary function. This includes training (Caritas Bildung with 200+ seminars annually), advisory services, and coordination.
3. Project Funding: The organization receives project-based funding from external sources such as Glücksspirale for specific initiatives like the AI in educational assistance project (400,000+ euros funded).

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

Caritasverband für die Erzdiözese Freiburg e.V. is a Catholic umbrella organization coordinating social welfare services across the Archdiocese of Freiburg. It delivers a portfolio of services including secure online counseling across 19+ social topics, professional training via Caritas Bildung (200+ seminars per year), advisory and consulting for 25 local and 8 specialist member associations, centralized payroll and HR administration, volunteer coordination through Freiwilligendienste and youngcaritas, and annual fundraising campaigns.

Product overview

Caritasverband für die Erzdiözese Freiburg e.V. operates as a Catholic umbrella organization for social institutions in Baden and Hohenzollern, serving as the peak association of voluntary welfare in Baden-Württemberg. The organization provides a portfolio of interconnected digital and service offerings: Online-Beratung (secure online counseling) enables anonymous consultation across 19 support areas; Caritas Bildung delivers over 200 annual training seminars plus vocational education; Sozialmarketing & Spenden facilitates annual fundraising collections exceeding 1.3 million euros; Beratung, Service & Entwicklung provides advisory support to 25 local and 8 specialized member organizations; Personal- & Finanzmanagement offers centralized payroll and organizational development services; and the Online-Jobportal and Freiwilligendienste platforms support recruitment and volunteer coordination. A members-only portal provides working resources and templates. The organization coordinates more than 2,000 service providers in the charitable sector of the Archdiocese of Freiburg.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Caritas Bildung: Education portal offering over 200 seminars per year for professionals and career changers in the social sector, including vocational training at specialized schools.
• youngcaritas
• Caritas-Sammlung
• Online-Beratung

Products and services

• Online-Beratung (Online Counseling Service) Secure online counseling platform enabling individuals to ask questions anonymously about social support topics including family, migration, disability, addiction, debt, pregnancy, hospice, and more. Provided through partnership with Deutscher Caritasverband e.V. and accessible free of charge.
• Caritas Bildung (Education & Training Portal) Continuing education platform offering over 200 seminars annually for professionals and career changers in social services, covering areas including child day care, healthcare, youth welfare, violence protection, participation, and human resources management. Includes vocational training at specialized schools and in-house seminars.
• Sozialmarketing & Spenden (Social Marketing & Donations) Fundraising services including annual Caritas-Sammlung collection campaigns raising over 1.3 million euros annually, online donation tools via BFS-Net.Tool XXL, and NLB-Fonds fundraising programs for supporting social projects.
• Beratung, Service & Entwicklung (Advisory Services) Consulting and support services for member organizations including advisory support for churches, parishes, and member organizations in areas such as early childhood education, youth social work, family services, and professional training.
• Personal- & Finanzmanagement (HR & Financial Management) Human resources and financial management services for member organizations including centralized payroll services (Zentrale Gehaltsabrechnungsstelle - ZGASt) and support for organizational development.
• Online-Jobportal (Online Job Board) Online job board for recruiting professionals and trainees in social services across the diocese, supporting over 2,000 service providers in the charitable sector.
• Freiwilligendienste & youngcaritas (Volunteer Services) Volunteer coordination services promoting civic engagement including youth volunteer programs, community building initiatives, and intergenerational connection projects.
• Mitgliederportal (Member Portal) Internal password-protected member portal providing working aids, templates, and specialized information from specialist departments for member organizations.

Quantifiable outcome

• 2025 Caritas collection raised 1,329,150.92 euros for social causes across Baden-Württemberg
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers4 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration4 records

Feature2 records

Partnerships

Six partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Joint Church and Welfare Organizations in Baden-WürttembergcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 12 June 2026Collaborative initiative by the four major churches and their welfare organizations (Diakonie and Caritas) in Baden and Württemberg, issuing joint position paper on flight, migration, and integration policy ahead of European asylum system reforms.
• Liga der freien Wohlfahrtspflege von Baden-WürttembergcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe organization is a member of the Liga der freien Wohlfahrtspflege (League of Free Welfare Organizations) in Baden-Württemberg, representing and coordinating with other welfare organizations in the state.
• Deutscher Caritasverband e.V.coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCaritasverband für die Erzdiözese Freiburg is a regional branch (Gliederung) of the German Caritas Association (Deutscher Caritasverband) headquartered in Freiburg, the largest social welfare organization in Germany.
• Hochrheinkonferenz Partners (Caritas Vorarlberg, Caritas Schweiz, Caritas Liechtenstein, Caritas Elsass)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerAnnual cross-border conference bringing together Caritas organizations from Vorarlberg, Switzerland, Liechtenstein, Baden-Württemberg, and Alsace to address common challenges in social and nursing care. Focus areas include organizational resilience, staff health, strategic fundraising, and integration of career changers.
• Institut für Kinder- und Jugendhilfe (IKJ) MainzminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerAcademic partner in the AI guidelines project for educational assistance, contributing research expertise alongside FH Bern to develop responsible AI usage guidelines for child and youth welfare services.
• Fachhochschule BernminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerAcademic partner in the AI guidelines project, contributing alongside IKJ Mainz to develop evidence-based, ethically sound AI usage guidelines for educational assistance services.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Diakonie Deutschland: Protestant counterpart welfare association federating 24 member organizations in Germany. Operates in the same social welfare space, sits together with Caritas in the Liga der freien Wohlfahrtspflege, and is a natural strategic partner and competitor for welfare advocacy and member services.
• Malteser Deutschland: Catholic aid service operating in social welfare, emergency response, and care services. Comparable faith-based positioning and member of the same Liga der freien Wohlfahrtspflege, with significant overlap in service offerings and target populations.
• Deutscher Caritasverband e.V. National parent organization and the largest social welfare group in Germany (620,000 employees, 24,000+ facilities). Provides the national framework, brand, and shared services (including the online counseling platform) that all diocesan Caritas associations, including Freiburg, operate within.
• AWO Bundesverband e.V. Major cross-denominational welfare association in Germany, also a Spitzenverband and Liga member. Provides similar coordination, training, and advocacy services to local associations and competes for the same pool of public-sector contracts and skilled workers.
• Deutsches Rotes Kreuz (DRK): German Red Cross national society, providing social welfare services under a humanitarian mandate. Overlaps with Caritas in areas like refugee support, elderly care, and family services, and competes for public welfare contracts.
• Paritätischer Wohlfahrtsverband: Umbrella for non-confessional independent welfare organizations in Germany, with comparable member service, consulting, and policy advocacy functions. Another Spitzenverband sharing the same public-funding and donor pools.

Direct peers

• Diözesan-Caritasverband München und Freising: Diocesan Caritas umbrella for the Munich-Freising archdiocese, providing identical advisory, training, and coordination services to local Caritas associations and facilities. Comparable scale and scope.
• Diözesan-Caritasverband Köln: Another diocesan Caritas association in Germany performing the same umbrella coordination, consulting, and member-services role for member organizations in the Cologne archdiocese. Direct parallel to the Freiburg model.

Regional players

• Caritasverband für die Diözese Rottenburg-Stuttgart: Diocesan Caritas association for the neighboring Diocese of Rottenburg-Stuttgart in Baden-Württemberg. Runs parallel annual collection (€551K in 2025) and identical member coordination functions; shares the same state geography and Liga membership.
• Caritas Vorarlberg: Austrian counterpart participating in the Hochrheinkonferenz cross-border cooperation. Provides social welfare coordination in Vorarlberg, a bordering region, with comparable structure and service portfolio, but operating in a different national regulatory environment.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/@caritas-baden
• Facebookfacebook.com/caritas.baden
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/caritasverband-f%C3%BCr-die-erzdi%C3%B6zese-freiburg-e.v.
• Instagraminstagram.com/caritas_in_baden

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles8 records

Subsidiaries1 record

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 Caritasverband für die Erzdiözese Freiburg e.V.