Stiftung Demokratie Saarland

What Stiftung Demokratie Saarland does

Stiftung Demokratie Saarland is a nonprofit political adult education foundation headquartered at Europaallee 18 in Saarbrücken, Germany, founded on January 1, 1995 by the Demokratische Gesellschaft Saarland e.V. (DGS). The foundation operates as a state-recognized provider of civic education for the Saarland region, delivering free seminars, workshops, lectures, readings, and exhibitions on democracy, Saarland history, European affairs, social issues, and resistance to right-wing extremism. Its core offerings include in-person seminars (some also delivered off-site to non-commercial organizations via the Gruppenseminare program), a 19-volume publication series (Schriftenreihe 'Politik, Geschichte & Gesellschaft') priced at €19–€68, traveling exhibitions, and — opened in July 2025 — a public reference library. Digital channels include a YouTube livestream archive, weekly email newsletter, podcasts, Facebook, and Instagram.

The foundation holds DIN EN ISO 9001:2015 certification (a first for political adult education in Saarland) and has been an officially recognized Bildungsträger by the Bundeszentrale für politische Bildung (bpb) since August 2002, which underpins its primary funding model. Revenue derives from institutional grants provided by the bpb, the Bundesministerium für Familie, and three Saarland state ministries, supplemented by modest revenue from publication sales through Buchhandlung St. Johann. There is no participant fee for any individual or group seminar, and the business model is structurally that of a publicly funded, mission-driven nonprofit rather than a commercial enterprise.

The organization operates with a lean team of 5 staff under Managing Director Bernd Rauls (in role since 1995) and Dr. Verena Paul (geschäftsführende Studienleiterin since 2024), supported by a board (Vorstand) and a network of 20+ cooperation partners including other political foundations, the Universität des Saarlandes, trade unions, and civic associations. There are no parent/subsidiary corporate structures, no external investment or PE/VC involvement, no disclosed revenue figures, and no technology product or AI components — the foundation's value proposition rests entirely on human expertise, institutional credibility, and public funding relationships.

Name

Stiftung Demokratie Saarland

Legal name

Stiftung Demokratie Saarland

Website

https://stiftung-demokratie-saarland.de

Company type

Private

Founded year

1995

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Stiftung Demokratie Saarland is a nonprofit political adult education foundation in Saarbrücken, Germany, founded 1995, providing free civic education seminars, lectures, exhibitions, and publications on democracy and Saarland history, funded primarily by federal and state government grants.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Political Adult Education

NAICS

Educational Services (611), Religious, Grantmaking, Civic, Professional, and Similar Organizations (813), Social Advocacy Organizations (8133)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200)

akta.pro primary industry

Civic, Citizenship & Community Engagement Education (EDAAAEAI)

akta.pro secondary industry

Education Grantmaking Foundations (BPAGAKAK)

Keywords

• Political adult education
• Civic education programs
• Democracy education
• Historical education
• Public lecture series

Headquarters

HQ city

Saarbrücken

HQ country

Germany

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure, Others

Revenue model

1. Free Educational Programs: The foundation offers all seminars, workshops, and lectures free of charge to participants, funded through institutional grants and public funding from German federal and state government bodies.
2. Publication Sales: The foundation publishes books in its 'Politik, Geschichte & Gesellschaft' series and other individual publications, sold through bookstores and directly, generating modest revenue from book sales.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

Stiftung Demokratie Saarland is a political adult education foundation offering free seminars, lectures, workshops, and readings on democracy, history, European affairs, and social issues. It supplements its educational programming with a scholarly publication series ('Politik, Geschichte & Gesellschaft'), a public reference library (opened July 2025), loanable traveling exhibitions, educational excursions, podcasts, and a video archive. All individual programs are offered free of charge to the general public, with group seminars available to non-commercial organizations.

Product overview

Stiftung Demokratie Saarland is a political adult education foundation offering a comprehensive portfolio of educational services centered on democracy strengthening. The core offerings include in-person seminars and lectures (Vorträge) covering political, historical, and cultural topics, supplemented by a publications program (Schriftenreihe) publishing scholarly works on politics, history, and society focused on the Saarland region. The foundation also provides traveling exhibitions, a public library with materials on democracy and history, and digital services including podcasts, video archives, and a weekly newsletter. Group seminars for organizations and educational excursions round out the educational portfolio.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Politische Akademie der SDS: The political academy division of Stiftung Demokratie Saarland.

Products and services

• Seminare (Seminars)
• Gruppenseminare (Group Seminars)
• Vorträge und Lesungen (Lectures and Readings)
• Schriftenreihe: Politik, Geschichte & Gesellschaft (Publication Series)
• Dialog-Reihe (Dialogue Series)
• Ausleihbare Ausstellungen (Loanable Exhibitions)
• Bibliothek (Library)
• Exkursionen (Excursions)

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

16 partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Bundeszentrale für politische Bildung (bpb)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe bpb is the primary federal funding and recognition body for political education in Germany. It formally recognized Stiftung Demokratie Saarland as an authorized education provider (Bildungsträger) since August 2002, enabling regular funding and affirming the foundation's quality standards. The bpb also appears as a logo partner on the foundation's website.
• Europa-Union SaarlandcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerA joint event on 'Erweiterung und Vertiefung der EU' (Extension and Deepening of the EU) was organized in cooperation with Europa-Union Saarland. The partnership involves co-hosting events related to European integration and democracy.
• Evangelische Akademie im Saarland e.V.coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerA joint event on 'Zeiten der Einsamkeit' (Times of Loneliness) was organized in cooperation with Evangelische Akademie im Saarland e.V., combining academic and civic perspectives on social issues.
• Heinrich-Böll-Stiftung SaarcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerJoint reading events in the 'BÖLL & HOFSTÄTTER in der Stiftung Demokratie Saarland' series are co-organized with Heinrich-Böll-Stiftung Saar. This is an ongoing partnership for the foundation's reading series.
• Adolf-Bender-Zentrum e.V.minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerJoint exhibition on Dr. Friedrich Schlomo Rülf, Rabbiner, Lehrer, Brückenbauer was organized with Adolf-Bender-Zentrum, St. Wendel, focusing on the history of Jewish communities in Saarland.
• Synagogengemeinde SaarcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerA joint event on 'Die Rolle der Frau im Judentum' was co-hosted with Synagogengemeinde Saar, combining historical and contemporary perspectives on Jewish life and gender.
• Käte Hamburger Kolleg CURE (Universität des Saarlandes)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerA joint lecture on 'Polizistinnen zwischen Nationalsozialismus und Demokratie' was organized with CURE (Käte Hamburger Kolleg für kulturelle Praktiken der Reparation), the research center at Saarland University, combining academic research with civic education.
• Frauenbüro der Landeshauptstadt SaarbrückenminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerJoint event on 'Die Vorkämpferinnen' (The Forerunners) about the early women's movement was co-hosted with the Women's Office of Saarbrücken.
• FrauenGenderBibliothek SaarminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCooperation partner for the event on the early women's movement, bringing together library and education resources.
• hist4demminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCooperation partner for the event series on women's rights and feminist history.
• Friedrich-Ebert-StiftungminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerListed among the foundation's cooperation partners, reflecting shared goals in political education and democratic engagement.
• Landesschülervertretung (LSV) SaarcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerJoint seminar program 'Schüler:innen-Schule-Mitbestimmung' is co-organized with the Landesschülervertretung, providing training for student representatives on democratic school governance.
• Landeselterninitiative für Bildung e.V.minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCooperation partner for the student participation seminar, supporting democratic education in schools.
• Bildungscampus SaarlandminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerListed as a cooperation partner for educational programs in the Saarland region.
• Arbeitskammer des SaarlandesminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerListed as a cooperation partner, contributing to educational programs on democracy and civic engagement.
• Stiftung Bundespräsident-Theodor-Heuss-HauscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe foundation hosts the traveling exhibition '100 Köpfe der Demokratie' (100 Heads of Democracy), designed by Stiftung Bundespräsident-Theodor-Heuss-Haus, featuring illustrations by Simon Schwartz. The foundation also hosts Dr. Jan Ruhkopf from this foundation for the exhibition introduction.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves8 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Bundeszentrale für politische Bildung (bpb): The federal German agency for civic and political education, which funds, certifies, and oversees Bildungsträger like the subject foundation. It operates at a national scale and is the principal counterpart funder/regulator for the subject company's programming.

Direct peers

• Hanns-Seidel-Stiftung: Bavarian-rooted political foundation with nationwide civic education programming. Comparable mission in political adult education and the same bpb-aligned funding framework.
• Rosa-Luxemburg-Stiftung: German political foundation delivering political education programs, events, and publications. Closely comparable mission, delivery model (seminars, lectures, publications), and funding model (public grants).
• Heinrich-Böll-Stiftung: German political foundation affiliated with the Greens running civic education programs, lectures, and reading series. Its regional Saar branch (Heinrich-Böll-Stiftung Saar) co-hosts ongoing reading series with the subject foundation.
• Evangelische Akademie im Saarland: Regional adult civic education provider in the same Saarland geography. The subject foundation explicitly co-hosts events with it (e.g., 'Zeiten der Einsamkeit'), making it the closest regional peer.
• Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung: One of Germany's major political party-affiliated foundations delivering civic and political education. The subject foundation lists it as a cooperation partner and traces a historical lineage through Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung-Saarland e.V.
• Villa Lessing – Liberale Stiftung: Liberal political foundation in Saarbrücken sharing co-membership in the Gesellschaft für staatsbürgerliche Bildung Saar mbH with the subject foundation's parent DGS. Operates civic education programming in the same region.
• Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung: Major German political foundation offering civic education, seminars, and publications nationwide. Operates a comparable civic-education model at much greater scale and is a structural parallel to the subject foundation.
• Europa-Union Saarland: Regional civic association focused on European integration, with which the subject foundation co-hosts events (e.g., 'Erweiterung und Vertiefung der EU'). Overlaps directly in subject matter and target audience.

Regional players

• Arbeit und Leben Saarland: DGB/VHS-affiliated adult civic and political education provider in Saarland. Competes for the same regional adult civic education mandate and bpb-aligned funding stream.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UCrt0mIH59BOMeubd4zP4Vug
• Facebookfacebook.com/StiftungDemokratieSaarland
• Instagraminstagram.com/stiftungdemokratiesaarland
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/stiftung-demokratie-saarland

Compliance3 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about Stiftung Demokratie Saarland