GLS Treuhand e.V.

Name

GLS Treuhand e.V.

Legal name

GLS Treuhand e.V.

Website

https://gls-treuhand.de

Company type

Private

Founded year

1961

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Charitable Foundation Management

NAICS

Grantmaking Foundations (813211), Grantmaking and Giving Services (81321), Other Grantmaking and Giving Services (813219)

SIC

Services-Membership Organizations (8600), Services-Social Services (8300), Investment Advice (6282)

akta.pro primary industry

Private Foundations (BPAGAKAA)

akta.pro secondary industries

Public Charities & Grantmaking Intermediaries (BPAGAKAE), Philanthropic & Charitable Trust Services (FSAAANAI), Charitable Giving & Philanthropic Trust Advisory (FSAEAKAH), Environmental & Climate Grantmaking Foundations (BPAGAKAM)

Keywords

• Charitable trust services
• Foundation management
• Philanthropy advisory
• Social-ecological investing
• Grantmaking services

Headquarters

HQ city

Bochum

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, Technology or R&D, Others

Revenue model

1. Private donations and endowments: Individuals who wish to engage philanthropically (through stiften, schenken, vererben) contribute funds to GLS Treuhand, which then channels them to charitable projects. This is the primary revenue source.
2. Corporate donations: Companies donate to the organization, which are then deployed for charitable project support.
3. Returns from GLS TREUGEA investment vehicle: The organization generates returns from its own social-ecological investment vehicle TREUGEA, which deploys foundation and association assets into mission-aligned enterprises.
4. Membership fees: The approximately 300 member organizations pay membership fees that contribute to the operational funding of GLS Treuhand e.V.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

GLS Treuhand e.V. is a charitable trust association that mediates between people who wish to donate, endow, or bequeath wealth and civil society initiatives that need financing. It manages multiple foundations and foundation funds (including a Dachstiftung for individual donors and several thematic Zukunftsstiftungen covering education, agriculture, civil society, energy, and development), deploys roughly 18-26.5 million EUR annually to 800-1,040 projects, and operates the GLS TREUGEA pooled social-ecological investment vehicle for foundation assets.

Product overview

GLS Treuhand e.V. is a charitable trust association that operates as a foundation management organization and philanthropy facilitator, not a technology product company. Its core offering is a multi-foundation structure comprising the main association, a roof foundation (Dachstiftung für individuelles Schenken) for individual giving, and multiple thematic foundations including Zukunftsstiftung Bildung (education), Zukunftsstiftung Landwirtschaft (agriculture), Zukunftsstiftung Mensch und Gesellschaft (civil society), GLS Bank Stiftung, Stiftung Neue Energie (energy), and GLS Zukunftsstiftung Entwicklung (development). The organization also operates GLS TREUGEA as its pooled social-ecological investment vehicle and offers a grantmaking program (Förderbereich). GLS Group entities GLS Crowd (crowdfunding) and GLS Investments (impact investing) complement the foundation ecosystem. The organization facilitates philanthropy through gifting, endowments, and bequests, connecting donors with civil society projects.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• GLS Treuhand e.V. (Core Trust Association)
• Dachstiftung für individuelles Schenken
• GLS TREUGEA
• Zukunftsstiftung Bildung (Future Foundation Education)
• Zukunftsstiftung Landwirtschaft (Future Foundation Agriculture)
• Zukunftsstiftung Mensch und Gesellschaft (Future Foundation People and Society)
• GLS Bank Stiftung (GLS Bank Foundation)
• Stiftung Neue Energie (Foundation New Energy)
• GLS Zukunftsstiftung Entwicklung (GLS Future Foundation Development)
• Förderbereich (Grant/Funding Program)

Quantifiable outcome

• Approximately 800–1,040 civil society projects funded annually; ~18–26.5 Mio. EUR distributed in grants and support annually; 178 foundation funds managed under the Dachstiftung structure as of end-2025; 144.9 Mio. EUR in total trust assets.

Named customers2 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

Feature1 record

Partnerships

Five partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• GLS Bank (Gemeinschaftsbank eG)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe GLS Bank (first social-ecological universal bank in the world) is a sister organization to GLS Treuhand, sharing the foundational ethos of 'Geld als soziales Gestaltungsmittel' (money as a social design tool). Both organizations emerged from the same anthroposophical community in Bochum — GLS Treuhand initiated the bank in the early 1970s. They are legally and economically independent entities; GLS Treuhand receives no financial transfers from GLS Bank, but they collaborate on events (e.g., Geldgipfel), shared values, and the broader GLS Gruppe mission.
• GLS InvestmentsminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerGLS Investments is part of the broader GLS Gruppe ecosystem. It offers investment products aligned with the social-ecological mission shared by GLS Treuhand.
• GLS CrowdminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerGLS Crowd is a crowdfunding platform within the GLS Gruppe, providing alternative financing mechanisms for social-ecological projects. It complements GLS Treuhand's grant-making and trust management with crowdfunding access.
• BioBoden GenossenschaftminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerA cooperative focused on organic land ownership and preservation for organic/biodynamic agriculture. Part of the GLS Gruppe 'Kosmos.' Shares the social-ecological mission and operates in the sustainable food/agriculture space aligned with GLS Treuhand's Zukunftsstiftung Landwirtschaft.
• Mehr Demokratie e.V.coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerA nonprofit organization and member of GLS Treuhand e.V. advocating for expanded democratic participation (citizens' councils, direct democracy). Claudine Nierth, speaker of GLS Treuhand's Aufsichtsrat, is the federal spokesperson for Mehr Demokratie e.V. The organization is a key partner in GLS Treuhand's civil society action area (Aktionsbereich Zivilgesellschaft), particularly in the focus area of democracy development.

Scale indicators8 records

Recent moves8 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Bundesverband Deutscher Stiftungen: The umbrella association of German foundations, representing over 28,000 member foundations. While not a grantmaking intermediary itself, it is the most relevant institutional peer because it shapes the German philanthropic ecosystem in which GLS Treuhand operates and confers the Sonderpreis award that has recognized GLS Treuhand-affiliated projects.
• Bertelsmann Stiftung: One of Germany's largest private operating foundations (founded by the Bertelsmann media family), active in education, democracy, and civil society — the same thematic focus areas as GLS Treuhand. Operates at substantially greater scale but shares the German private-foundation landscape.
• VolkswagenStiftung: Major German private foundation funding science, technology, and civil society. Comparable to GLS Treuhand as a large-scale grantmaking foundation in Germany, though with a corporate-foundation origin and broader thematic scope.
• Stiftung Mercator: Major German private foundation active in education, climate, democracy, and culture. Highly comparable to GLS Treuhand's thematic breadth (Zukunftsstiftung Bildung, Mensch und Gesellschaft) and its role in civil society funding, though at much larger scale.
• Robert Bosch Stiftung: One of Germany's largest corporate-affiliated foundations, active in education, health, democracy, and international relations. Overlaps with GLS Treuhand's education, civil society, and democracy focus areas.
• Software AG Foundation (SAGST): German private foundation funding education, environment, and social innovation. Comparable to GLS Treuhand in operating a private grantmaking foundation with thematic specialization, though without the multi-foundation intermediary structure.

Direct peers

• Phineo gAG: A non-profit social impact analytics and advisory organization serving German foundations, donors, and nonprofits. Phineo overlaps with GLS Treuhand in the nonprofit advisory and impact-curation layer, and both serve as intermediaries between donors and civil society projects.
• Active Philanthropy: A Berlin-based philanthropic advisory organization offering donor advisory and foundation management services in the values-driven philanthropy space. Direct competitor in the German donor-advised and philanthropic advisory market segment where GLS Treuhand operates.

Emerging players

• Purpose Stiftung: A German values-aligned philanthropic foundation focused on impact-oriented capital deployment. Shares GLS Treuhand's social-ecological mission orientation and represents a younger, more focused competitor in the impact-investing-philanthropy space.

Regional players

• Stiftung Bürger für Leipzig: A regional community foundation in Leipzig. Comparable to GLS Treuhand as a community-foundation model but operating at a much smaller, regional scale and focused on local Saxony-area civic projects.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubevimeo.com/user48716984
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/gls-treuhand-e.v./about
• Instagraminstagram.com/gls.treuhand

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles11 records

Subsidiaries6 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 GLS Treuhand e.V.