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Cooperation between research and practiceNew platform makes it easier to access services from Hamburg foundations.
1 October 2025, by Newsroom editorial office
Photo: Hamburg/Canva Foundation Office
The cooperation project provides an important advance into the thus far barely researched foundation sector in Hamburg.
On 1 October, a new platform went online that provides more transparency and guidance through Hamburg’s diverse foundation landscape. For the first time, users can quickly and intuitively search through the funding opportunities and programs offered by more than 200 foundations. The database is based on research results from projects at the University of Hamburg Business School.
With more than 1,500 foundations, Hamburg is considered the German capital of foundations. Together, Hamburg foundations have total assets of more than €13 billion. “The huge variety of different foundations, topics, and programs has made it difficult to find your way around. Which foundation supports which issues? What scholarships, prizes, further education, or support programs are available? Our new database provides information. We want to create a platform that is accessible to everyone and makes it easier for people and foundations to find each other,” pointed out Rüdiger Ratsch-Heitmann, Managing Director of BürgerStiftung Hamburg.
Knowledge exchange of research results
The BürgerStiftung worked together with the University of Hamburg Business School, the Hamburg Foundation Office, and the Engagement Dock funding consultancy project on the foundation and funding database. Thanks to comprehensive data from various research projects at the University of Hamburg, the portal offers profiles for more than 200 foundations and around 300 different funding programs offered by the registered foundations.
The database contains information on foundations that promote research, mentoring programs for children and young people, and programs for people in need. For the first time, a standardized search mechanism makes it possible to capture this diversity and acts as a guide. This will also significantly benefit target groups who find it more difficult to access support services. The accessible database will also continue to grow and be expanded on an ongoing basis. The project was supported by the Impact Challenge at Universities program run by the Federal Ministry of Research, Technology and Space.
Prof. Dr. Michel Clement, Professor of Marketing and Media at the University of Hamburg Business School, summed it up: “The project is also of particular importance from a scientific perspective, as the foundation sector in Hamburg has hardly been researched to date. Our collaboration with the BürgerStiftung Hamburg has already produced two master’s theses and two bachelor’s theses. The concept of the database is based on this research-based cooperation between students, the professorship, and the BürgerStiftung. It is an exemplary project that could also set a precedent in other federal states.”
Partnership between science and foundations continues to grow
The database project is just one example of the cooperation between BürgerStiftung Hamburg, the Foundation Office and the Business School. The partners jointly developed the interdisciplinary lecture series “Management of Foundations”in the Winter Semester 2023/2024, which took place for the second time in the Summer Semester 2025. At the public lectures, high-caliber speakers from Hamburg foundations and the University of Hamburg imparted practical and research-based knowledge on key topics relating to the management of charitable foundations. These include the legal foundations of the foundation system, impact logic and evaluation, operational versus promotional foundation work, organizational development, marketing, and asset management.
