Stiftung Eben Ezer

What Stiftung Eben Ezer does

Stiftung Eben-Ezer is a German religious charitable foundation (kirchliche Stiftung privaten Rechts) founded in 1862 by Simon August Topehlen, headquartered in Lemgo, North Rhine-Westphalia, and operating as one of five independent foundations within the v. Bodelschwinghschen Stiftungen Bethel group. It delivers a comprehensive portfolio of social-welfare, healthcare, educational, and vocational services for people with intellectual, physical, and multiple disabilities, as well as mental-health conditions and special needs, across the Lippe district in East Westphalia. Its service ecosystem covers the full lifespan — from early childhood through senior care — including 34 Kindertageseinrichtungen und Familienzentren, special and vocational schools (Topehlen-Schule, Ostschule, Berufskolleg), residential housing for adults and children (Wohnangebote, Besondere Wohnform, Ambulant Betreutes Wohnen, Wohnen in Gastfamilien, Begleitete Elternschaft), day-structure programs at 8 locations, Institutsambulanz and Therapiepraxen, Fachdienste für Kinder/Jugendliche/Familien, MVZ Kinder- und Jugendpsychiatrie, and eeWerk vocational workshops. The foundation also operates inclusive social enterprises — Café Vielfalt, Boutique, Secondhand Laden, Liemer Lilie — and inclusive sports (Integrative Sportgemeinschaft), church programs, and volunteer (Ehrenamt) engagement.

The foundation's core technology is a social-care service-delivery platform backed by an online donation infrastructure (FundraisingBox integration) and Digital Gedenkbücher (digital memorial books documenting the history of Eben-Ezer, including biographies of those affected by historical euthanasia and forced-sterilization policies). It is supervised by the Landeskirchenamt Ev. Kirche von Westfalen and holds charitable tax-exempt status under Freistellungsbescheid of Finanzamt Bielefeld-Außenstadt. BFSG/BFSGV accessibility compliance and DSG-EKD data-protection governance are maintained across web properties.

The business model is multi-stream and non-commercial in its primary channel. The principal revenue source is reimbursement from German statutory social insurance systems (gesetzliche Sozialversicherung) for care, support, therapy, and educational services delivered to beneficiaries. This is supplemented by donations (individual, corporate, church contributions), testamentary/bequest income, and institutional support from foundations, schools, and fine-money allocators. A small commercial layer (Café Vielfalt, Boutique, Secondhand Laden, Liemer Lilie) generates supplementary mission-aligned revenue. Services are accessed via social-service referrals, self-referral, and institutional partnerships; end beneficiaries are not charged directly. Marketing and awareness run through the foundation's website, magazine Forum, church-network partnerships, the Schichtwechsel workplace-exchange program (with national partners including Hertha BSC and Borussia Dortmund), press coverage (Lippische Landes-Zeitung, WDR Lokalzeit OWL), email newsletters, and volunteer programs. Two Managing Directors, Falko Heise and Maike Krüger, lead the foundation; the parent Bethel's board is chaired by Pastor Dr. Bartolt Haase.

Name

Stiftung Eben Ezer

Legal name

Stiftung Eben-Ezer

Website

https://eben-ezer.de

Company type

Private

Founded year

1862

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1,001–5,000 employees

Short description

Stiftung Eben-Ezer is a German religious charitable foundation founded in 1862 that provides integrated disability, mental-health, educational, and vocational services across the lifespan for people with special needs in the Lippe district of North Rhine-Westphalia, as part of the v. Bodelschwinghschen Stiftungen Bethel group.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Disability and Social Care Services

NAICS

Individual and Family Services (6241), Other Individual and Family Services (624190), Social Assistance (624)

SIC

Services-Social Services (8300), Services-Health Services (8000)

akta.pro primary industry

Community Mental Health Centers (CMHCs) & Public Behavioral Health Providers (HLAFACAI)

akta.pro secondary industries

Mental Health & Crisis Support Services (BPAGAEAH), Family & Community Support Services (Case Management, Referrals) (EDAJAIAK), Mental Health Counseling & Therapy Services (K–12) (EDAJALAG)

Keywords

• Disability care services
• Residential support services
• Special education services
• Vocational workshop services
• Social welfare services

Headquarters

HQ city

Lemgo

HQ country

Germany

HQ region

Europe

Offices7 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Others

Revenue model

1. Social Insurance / Government Funding: Funding from social security systems (gesetzliche Sozialversicherung) for care and support services provided to people with disabilities, mental health conditions, and special needs.
2. Donations and Charitable Contributions: Individual donations, corporate donations, church contributions, and institutional funding to support projects and ongoing operations.
3. Institutional Support: Support from institutions including church communities, companies, foundations, schools, and fine money allocators for social projects.
4. Bequests and Testamentary Donations: Inheritance and legacy donations from individuals who include the foundation in their wills.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

Stiftung Eben-Ezer provides comprehensive social care, support, education, and healthcare services for people with intellectual, physical, and multiple disabilities, mental health conditions, and special needs in the Lippe district of North Rhine-Westphalia. The foundation operates residential housing, outpatient supported living, day-structure programs, therapy practices, special schools, daycare centers, vocational workshops (eeWerk), child/adolescent psychiatry, inclusive sports, art workshops, and animal-assisted therapy. Services are funded through German statutory social insurance reimbursements, donations, bequests, and institutional contributions under the umbrella of v. Bodelschwinghschen Stiftungen Bethel.

Product overview

Stiftung Eben-Ezer is a social welfare organization providing comprehensive services for people with disabilities, operating as a multi-service platform. The offering includes residential housing (Wohnangebote für Erwachsene, Kinder und Jugendliche, Besondere Wohnform, Ambulant Betreutes Wohnen, Wohnen in Gastfamilien), day structure programs (Tagesstrukturierende Maßnahmen), healthcare services (Institutsambulanz, Therapiepraxen, Fachdienste, MVZ Kinder- und Jugendpsychiatrie), educational services (Topehlen-Schule, Ostschule, Berufskolleg, Schulbegleitungen, Kita Stemmen), vocational services (eeWerk with Schichtwechsel program), and community services (Kirche, Ehrenamt, Kunstwerkstatt, Tierprojekt ANIMAL, Boutique, Secondhand Laden). The organization also operates charitable retail enterprises (Café Vielfalt, Liemer Lilie) and fundraising operations, all unified under the Bethel foundation's mission of 'Diakonie für ein Leben in Vielfalt' (diaconal care for a life in diversity).

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Residential Housing for Adults with Disabilities (Wohnangebote für Erwachsene)

Quantifiable outcome

• 34 Kindertageseinrichtungen und Familienzentren serving families in Lippe region
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers5 records

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature1 record

Partnerships

Seven partnerships are on record, tiered minor and core.

• Schichtwechsel Partner CompaniesminorGTM or Marketing Partner · 24 September 2026Companies in Lemgo and throughout Germany participating in the annual Schichtwechsel action day, exchanging workplaces with Eben-Ezer workshop employees to promote inclusion. Partners include Hertha BSC, Borussia Dortmund, Kramp & Kramp, Stolcomfort, and local companies.
• v. Bodelschwinghsche Stiftungen BethelcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerStiftung Eben-Ezer is one of five foundations in the Bethel group (including Stiftung Bethel, Stiftung Sarepta, Stiftung Nazareth, and Hoffnungstaler Stiftung Lobetal), sharing a common board of directors and coordinated mission for Diakonie services.
• Landeskirchenamt Ev. Kirche von WestfalencoreOthersState church authority serves as the supervisory body (Stiftungsaufsichtsbehörde) for the foundation, as Eben-Ezer is a church foundation under private law.
• Kirchengemeinde VarenholzminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerChurch congregation partnership for joint religious services, Kindergottesdienste, and community events. Kita Stemmen collaborates with the church for religious education and pastoral activities.
• Die StereotypenminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerImprovisation theater group from Bielefeld that performed at the 2026 leadership conference (Führungskräftetagung) at Kurhaus Bad Salzuflen, providing entertainment and interactive sessions.
• Deutscher Spendenrat e.V.minorOthersAssociation of German donation organizations that Eben-Ezer/Bethel is a founding member of, adhering to transparency and ethics principles.
• Polizei LemgominorOthersLocal police station partnering with eeWerk for educational visits as part of workplace orientation programs for people with disabilities.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Hephata: Diakonie-affiliated social services provider in Mönchengladbach region offering residential, workshop, school, and therapy services for people with disabilities. Closely matches Eben-Ezer's integrated lifespan service model under one foundation.
• Evangelische Stiftung Volmarstein: Protestant foundation in NRW providing disability care, vocational workshops, schools, and residential services — highly comparable in service mix (Wohnen, Werkstatt, Schule) and faith-based governance model.
• Josefsheim Bigge: Catholic social services foundation in Sauerland providing residential, workshop, and therapy services for people with disabilities. Comparable faith-based multi-site model in NRW.
• Stiftung ICP München: Munich-based foundation operating integrated disability services including residential, school, therapy, and vocational programs. Comparable integrated multi-service disability foundation model, though regional to Bavaria.
• Stiftung Liebenau: Catholic-affiliated foundation in Baden-Württemberg providing residential care, schools, and vocational workshops for people with intellectual disabilities. Comparable integrated multi-site disability services model.

Regional players

• Evangelisches Johanneswerk: Diakonie-affiliated provider in eastern Westphalia offering disability services, youth welfare, and senior care. Geographic neighbor to Eben-Ezer's Lippe operations with comparable service portfolio.

Broad incumbents

• Diakonie Deutschland: National umbrella organization of Protestant welfare services — same Diakonie tradition as Eben-Ezer — representing more than 30,000 facilities across social care, disability, and youth services. Sets the sector certification (Gütesiegel Familienorientierung).
• Caritas Deutschland: National Catholic welfare confederation operating thousands of disability, care, and youth welfare facilities across Germany. Comparable in scale, service breadth, and nonprofit funding model, though faith-affiliation is Catholic rather than Protestant.
• Lebenshilfe: National federation of local Lebenshilfe associations providing disability services, education, and family support across Germany. Overlaps with Eben-Ezer in Kita, school, residential, and workshop services.
• v. Bodelschwinghsche Stiftungen Bethel: Parent organization and one of Germany's largest Diakonie providers, operating across disability, mental health, youth welfare, and senior care. Direct comparable as a multi-site religious social services foundation with national scope, shared board oversight of Eben-Ezer.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks7 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/stiftung-eben-ezer

Compliance4 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles6 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about Stiftung Eben Ezer