Schöpflin Foundation

The Schöpflin Foundation (Schöpflin Stiftung) is a non-profit foundation under German civil law (Stiftung des bürgerlichen Rechts) headquartered in Lörrach, in the state of Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It was founded in 2001 by the siblings Hans Schöpflin, Albert Schöpflin and Heidi Junghanss, the children of the Lörrach entrepreneur and honorary citizen Hans Schöpflin. The family fortune traces back to the Schöpflin mail-order business, which their grandfather Wilhelm Schöpflin began in 1907 as a general store and which their father built into the Großversandhaus Schöpflin before it was taken over by Quelle in 1964. Hans Schöpflin later earned money as a venture-capital investor, and after the drug-related death of his son Axel in 1995 he first established the Panta Rhea Foundation in California in 1998 before returning to Lörrach and founding the Schöpflin Stiftung with his siblings in 2001. The foundation is both operational and grant-making. It works in the fields of prevention, education, journalism, business and democracy, and describes its mission as critical awareness-raising, a lively democracy and a diverse society, with a focus on young and future generations. It is non-partisan and has an annual budget of around 21 million euros, with roughly one hundred employees working across its own institutions and its funding activities. In Lörrach the foundation runs several of its own facilities: the Villa Schöpflin, founded in 2002 as a centre for drug and alcohol prevention that now also addresses gambling and digital media; the Werkraum Schöpflin, opened in 2011 as a cultural and debate venue; the FABRIC socio-cultural participation space, developed from a 2017 urban-development project; and the Schöpflin Schule, a state-approved, mixed-age all-day primary school with an artistic-cultural profile that opened in Lörrach-Brombach in the 2021/22 school year. In Berlin-Neukölln the foundation created the Publix and Spore Haus ensemble for journalism and the public sphere, which opened in September 2024 and received several architecture prizes. As a grant-maker, the Schöpflin Foundation supported around 40 projects and initiatives in 2024 across its funding areas, with grants ranging from 1,500 to 250,000 euros per year. Its funding areas include Business and Democracy, and it has supported organisations such as AlgorithmWatch, Correctiv, HateAid, Mehr Demokratie, the Bürgerrat Demokratie, Bürgerbewegung Finanzwende and foodwatch. It also supports the Media Forward Fund, which since 2024 has funded public-interest media in the DACH region. The foundation is led by managing director Tim Göbel, who has headed it since April 2016 and shared leadership with founder Hans Schöpflin until the end of 2024; Schöpflin has chaired the foundation's advisory board since 2025.

The Schöpflin Foundation's history is rooted in the Schöpflin family business in Lörrach. Wilhelm Schöpflin began the family enterprise in 1907 as a general store; his son Hans Schöpflin built it into the Großversandhaus Schöpflin, a large mail-order house, which was taken over by Quelle in 1964. Hans Schöpflin's son, also named Hans Schöpflin, earned money as a venture-capital investor from the 1980s onward. After the drug-related death of his son Axel in 1995, Hans Schöpflin founded the Panta Rhea Foundation in California in 1998, in what was then his adopted home. He returned to Lörrach in 2001 and, together with his siblings Albert Schöpflin and Heidi Junghanss, founded the Schöpflin Stiftung as a non-profit foundation under German civil law. The foundation developed its own campus on the site of the family home. In 2002 the Villa Schöpflin was established there as a centre for drug and alcohol prevention; in 2004 the Kinder- und Gärtnerhaus Schöpflin followed; and in 2011 the Werkraum Schöpflin was inaugurated as a cultural and debate venue. In 2017 the foundation launched the project 'Fabric' ('Fabric – Planung als Plattform'), a creative-participatory urban-development process devised by the Hamburg conceptual artist Christoph Schäfer, intended to create a new park and an initial building on a vacant site opposite the Villa Schöpflin. For the 2021/22 school year the foundation opened the Schöpflin Schule, a state-approved, mixed-age all-day primary school with an artistic-cultural profile in Lörrach-Brombach, run by the foundation itself. Beyond Lörrach, the foundation became active nationwide as a grant-maker. In Berlin-Neukölln it built the Publix and Spore Haus ensemble 'for journalism and the public sphere', which opened in September 2024. The roughly 4,000-square-metre, multi-storey complex houses organisations and editorial offices, co-working spaces, residential and meeting rooms, a café and event areas, and aims to provide media professionals and civil society with a framework for education, exchange and debate on topics such as polarisation, digital opinion-forming and freedom of information. The ensemble received the BDA-Preis Berlin in 2024 and, in 2025, the DAM Preis für Architektur in Deutschland and the Nike architecture prize. In this context the magazine Berlin Review received funding. In terms of governance, Tim Göbel, co-founder and former vice-president of Zeppelin University, has led the foundation as managing director since April 2016. Until the end of 2024 he shared the leadership with founder Hans Schöpflin, who was then chairman of the board; since 2025 Schöpflin has chaired the foundation's advisory board. Long-standing advisory-board members Albert Schöpflin and Heidi Junghanss became honorary members and passed their mandates to one of their daughters each in 2021. The former mayor of Lörrach, Gudrun Heute-Bluhm, was also a long-standing board member. The advisory board currently includes Marion Dammann, Ingo Michelsen, Felicitas von Peter, Axel Seemann and Hans Schöpflin's daughter Lisl Schöpflin as deputy chair. Since 2021 one board position has always been held by a representative from the circle of current or former funding partners. As a grant-maker, the foundation supported around 40 projects and initiatives in 2024 across three main funding areas plus journalism funding, with grants between 1,500 and 250,000 euros per year. Its funding areas as of 2025 include Business and Democracy, which supports initiatives that contribute to the further development of democracy or help curb corporate power vis-à-vis civil society. Well-known funded projects include AlgorithmWatch, Correctiv, HateAid, Mehr Demokratie, the Bürgerrat Demokratie, Bürgerbewegung Finanzwende, foodwatch and Lobbycontrol. The foundation also supports the Media Forward Fund, which since 2024 has funded public-interest media in the DACH region; its founding managing director is Martin Kotynek.

• 2025

  Hans Schöpflin becomes chair of the foundation's advisory board.

• 2024

  The Publix and Spore Haus ensemble for journalism and the public sphere opens in Berlin-Neukölln in September.

• 2024

  The foundation supports around 40 projects and initiatives.

• 2021

  The Schöpflin Schule opens in Lörrach-Brombach for the 2021/22 school year.

• 2017

  The 'Fabric' urban-development project is launched.

• 2016

  Tim Göbel becomes managing director of the foundation in April.

• 2011

  The Werkraum Schöpflin is inaugurated.

• 2004

  The Kinder- und Gärtnerhaus Schöpflin is established.

• 2002

  Villa Schöpflin is established as a centre for drug and alcohol prevention.

• 2001

  The Schöpflin Stiftung is founded in Lörrach by Hans Schöpflin, Albert Schöpflin and Heidi Junghanss.

• 1998

  Hans Schöpflin founds the Panta Rhea Foundation in California.

• 1995

  Death of Hans Schöpflin's son Axel.

• 1964

  The Großversandhaus Schöpflin mail-order business is taken over by Quelle.

• 1907

  Wilhelm Schöpflin begins the family business as a general store.

Non-partisan, non-profit foundation that is both operational and grant-making, focused on critical awareness, democracy, education, prevention and journalism in Germany and Europe.

• Villa Schöpflin

  Centre for drug and alcohol prevention, later also addressing gambling and digital media.

• Werkraum Schöpflin

  Cultural and debate venue offering theatre, concerts, readings, debates and exhibitions.

• FABRIC

  Socio-cultural participation space developed from the 2017 urban-development project.

• Schöpflin Schule

  State-approved, mixed-age all-day primary school with an artistic-cultural profile.

• Publix and Spore Haus

  Berlin-Neukölln ensemble for journalism and the public sphere, opened September 2024.

• Nido – Montessori Kinderhaus Lörrach

  Montessori children's house for ages one to three, financially supported by the foundation.

1. 1Startseiteschoepflin-stiftung.de
2. 2Über uns - Schöpflin Stiftungschoepflin-stiftung.de
3. 3Team - Schöpflin Stiftungschoepflin-stiftung.de
4. 4Jobs - Schöpflin Stiftungschoepflin-stiftung.de
5. 5Schöpflin Foundationwikidata.org
6. 6Schöpflin Stiftungde.wikipedia.org