Name

Stiftung Schönau

Legal name

Stiftung Schönau

Website

https://stiftungschoenau.de

Company type

Private

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Church Foundation Real Estate & Forest Management

NAICS

Grantmaking Foundations (813211), Grantmaking and Giving Services (8132)

SIC

Real Estate Dealers (For Their Own Account) (6532), Operators Of Nonresidential Buildings (6512), Forestry (800)

akta.pro primary industry

Private Foundations (BPAGAKAA)

Keywords

• Hereditary building rights
• Sustainable forestry management
• Residential rental properties
• Agricultural land leasing
• Foundation asset management

Headquarters

HQ city

Heidelberg

HQ country

Germany

HQ region

Europe

Offices5 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Erbbaurecht (Hereditary Building Rights): Over 13,000 hereditary building right contracts granting long-term (typically 99-year) rights to build on foundation land. Annual ground rent payments (Erbbauzins) provide stable recurring revenue with regular rent adjustments. Revenue stream spans around Heidelberg, Mannheim, Karlsruhe, and Freiburg.
2. Vermietung (Residential Rental): Rental income from approximately 900 owned residential and commercial units. Includes new construction projects in sustainable wood building methods. Revenue increased through over 100 new rentals in 2022. Properties include affordable housing segments.
3. Verpachtung (Agricultural Lease): Approximately 6,000 hectares of agricultural land leased through about 8,000 contracts primarily to medium-sized family farms. Includes wine-growing areas with associated vineyard operations. Provides stable lease income supporting foundation purpose.
4. Forstwirtschaft (Forestry): PEFC-certified sustainable forestry operations across 7,600 hectares. Revenue from timber sales (stammholz, industryholz), regional sawmill and wood industry supply, and local firewood sales. Wood from own forests increasingly used for foundation construction projects.
5. Jagderlaubnisscheine (Hunting Permits): Issuance of hunting permits for own hunting districts in southern Odenwald, northern Kraichgau, and central Black Forest regions. Revenue from permit fees and organized driven hunts.
6. Immobilienfonds (Real Estate Funds): Investment returns from real estate funds the foundation has invested in since 2009. Provided significant special revenues contributing to record 2021 results of 54.7 million euros total revenue.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

Stiftung Schönau is a church-affiliated foundation that manages a diversified portfolio of real estate, forest, and agricultural assets for the Evangelische Landeskirche in Baden. Its core offerings include residential rental properties (approximately 900 units), hereditary building rights (over 13,000 contracts), agricultural land leases (approximately 6,000 hectares), and sustainable forestry operations (7,600 hectares of PEFC-certified forest producing timber and hunting permits). All revenues primarily fund church construction and pastoral positions for the Evangelical Church in Baden.

Product overview

Stiftung Schönau operates as a diversified real estate and forest management foundation of the Evangelical Church in Baden. Its core offerings span four interconnected areas: (1) Real estate management including approximately 900 rental apartments and over 13,000 hereditary building right contracts across Baden; (2) Forest management of 7,600 hectares across five forest districts (Stiftungswald), producing PEFC-certified timber and offering hunting permits; (3) Agricultural land leasehold of approximately 6,000 hectares to farming operations; and (4) Church building management and maintenance obligations throughout Baden. The foundation integrates these operations with sustainability-focused construction projects using timber from its own forests, waldpädagogik (forest education) programs via its Waldmobil, and hunting management through the state Wildtierportal. All revenues fund the foundation's purpose of financing church construction and pastoral positions for the Evangelical Church in Baden.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Mietobjekte (Rental Properties) Rental apartments managed by the foundation, primarily in the Baden metropolitan areas of Mannheim, Heidelberg, Karlsruhe, and Freiburg. Properties are offered at social/subsidized rates and include both new construction and renovated existing buildings for individuals and families seeking affordable housing.
• Erbbaurechtsverträge (Hereditary Building Rights) Long-term hereditary building right contracts (typically 99 years) allowing construction on foundation-owned land. The foundation holds over 13,000 Erbbaurechtsverträge in the Rhine-Neckar metropolitan region and Baden, providing recurring ground rent (Erbbauzins) with periodic adjustments.
• Bauplätze (Building Plots) Building plots offered under hereditary building rights (Erbbaurecht) in various locations, allowing buyers to build on foundation-owned land under long-term lease arrangements, with plots in areas such as Sinsheim-Steinsfurt.
• Pachtflächen (Leasehold Agricultural Land) Approximately 6,000 hectares of agricultural land leased through approximately 8,000 contracts to mid-sized family farms and wine-growing operations, providing food production and cultural landscape maintenance for the region.
• Stiftungswald (Foundation Forest) PEFC-certified forest covering approximately 7,600 hectares across five forest districts in Odenwald, Kraichgau, and Black Forest regions. The largest corporate forest owner in Baden-Württemberg, producing timber, providing habitat, recreation, and CO2 storage.
• Rohstoff Holz (Timber Products) Sustainable timber from PEFC-certified forests sold primarily to regional sawmill and wood industry. Includes saw timber, industrial wood, and firewood for local customers. Foundation's own wood is increasingly used for construction projects.
• Jagderlaubnisscheine (Hunting Permits) Hunting permits issued for the foundation's forest areas, covering roe deer and wild boar districts and areas in the Odenwald red deer region. Management is conducted through the state's Wildtierportal with digital registration and kill reporting.
• Waldpädagogik (Forest Education) Educational programs including the Waldmobil (mobile forest classroom) visiting kindergartens, schools, and universities to provide hands-on forest experiences teaching sustainable forest management concepts.
• Kirchenraum-Management (Church Building Management) Management of church construction and maintenance obligations (Baupflichten) for churches in Baden. Finances ecclesiastical building projects and pastoral positions for the Evangelical Church in Baden as the foundation's founding purpose.

Quantifiable outcome

• CO2 savings equivalent to 5 million driven car kilometers from sustainable wood construction projects
• +5 more outcomes

Named customers6 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

Integration7 records

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Nine partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Deutscher Erbbaurechtsverband e.V.coreOthers · 13 June 2022Ingo Strugalla serves as President of the association representing hereditary building rights issuers in Germany. Association advocates for hereditary building rights issuers in public policy and media. Foundation one of the largest hereditary building rights issuers in Germany with over 13,000 contracts.
• pro ki baminorImplementation/ SI/ Consulting Partner · 9 May 2022Project manager for Karlsruhe Waldstadt residential development. Acting as project controller for the 44-apartment building with integrated kindergarten.
• NABU-Stiftung Nationales NaturerbecoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 22 February 2022Joint collaboration on the 'Fairpachten' project providing consultation for sustainable land management. The project encourages tenants to implement biodiversity measures such as flower strips, mixed cultivation, and meadow islands during lease renewals. Foundation forgoes rent increases in exchange for conservation measures.
• IB Baden (Internationaler Bund)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 30 August 2021Cooperation for vocational training of at-risk youth. Foundation provides approximately 5,000 square meters of land at moderate rent, free use of existing buildings, and wildflower seed. In return, IB Baden invests in the property, handles safety obligations, and provides training for 12-15 youth as garden specialists. All graduates of the previous year were successfully placed in employment.
• Europäische StiftungsweingüterminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerEuropean association of foundation vineyards. Foundation contributes to the association's goals of regional identity, quality standards, and wine tradition through its leased vineyard areas. Foundation wines served as special edition at official occasions.
• Weingut ClauerminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorWine producer operating on foundation-owned vineyard land. Wines available for purchase directly from the winery. Foundation receives lease income while supporting regional wine production.
• Weingut Adam MüllerminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorWine producer operating on foundation-owned vineyard land. Wines available for purchase directly from the winery.
• Weingut SeegerminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorWine producer operating on foundation-owned vineyard land. Wines available for purchase directly from the winery.
• Buchert Jacob Partner RechtsanwälteminorOthersOmbudsman service for compliance and whistleblower reports. Provides anonymous reporting channel for legal violations and misconduct.

Scale indicators14 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Broad incumbents

• Landesstiftung Baden-Württemberg: State foundation of Baden-Württemberg, the same federal state where Stiftung Schönau operates. Comparable in scale and mission focus but operates across broader public-benefit areas rather than religious financing.
• Bundesstiftung Umwelt: Germany's largest environmental foundation, comparable in foundation structure and asset base but with environmental mission focus. Provides context for German foundation governance and impact investing approaches.
• Bayerische Staatsforsten: Germany's largest state-owned forestry enterprise, comparable to Stiftung Schönau's forestry operations but on a much larger scale (~800,000 ha). Useful benchmark for forestry PEFC practices and timber economics.

Others

• Deutscher Erbbaurechtsverband: Industry association representing hereditary building rights issuers in Germany, presided over by Stiftung Schönau's Managing Director. Membership includes other Erbbaurecht issuers that are direct functional peers in the foundation's core business.

Direct peers

• Evangelische Landeskirche in Württemberg: Protestant state church in neighboring Württemberg, operating with similar ecclesiastical foundation structure and managing comparable real estate and forestry assets. Closest Protestant counterpart to Stiftung Schönau's parent organization.
• Erzdiözese Freiburg: Roman Catholic archdiocese covering the same Baden region as Stiftung Schönau, managing extensive real estate, agricultural, and forestry assets to fund church operations. Most direct peer given identical geography, mission structure, and asset mix.
• Stiftung Liebenau: Large Catholic-affiliated foundation in Baden-Württemberg managing real estate, healthcare, and social services. Comparable in governance structure (church-affiliated foundation) and asset management approach.
• GGH Heidelberg (Gesellschaft für Grund- und Hausbesitz): Municipal housing company of Heidelberg managing rental housing in the same primary market as Stiftung Schönau. Direct peer for residential rental operations and city-level housing policy.
• Diözese Rottenburg-Stuttgart: Catholic diocese in Württemberg with comparable foundation structure managing real estate, forestry, and agricultural land for ecclesiastical financing. Similar scope of operations to Stiftung Schönau within Baden-Württemberg.

Regional players

• ForstBW (Landesbetrieb Forst Baden-Württemberg): State forestry enterprise of Baden-Württemberg managing public forest in the same region as Stiftung Schönau. Direct regional competitor for forestry operations and timber markets, though the foundation remains the largest corporate forest owner in the state.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks7 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/watch?v=KwqEGC1M6CI
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/stiftung-sch%C3%B6nau

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 Stiftung Schönau