About Us

Social change needs dialogue and understanding. With its operational projects, in its networks and together with cooperation partners, the Körber Foundation addresses current challenges in three fields of action: innovation, international understanding and living civil society. Its work currently focuses on three topics: “New Life in Exile”, “Digital Literacy” and “The Value of Europe”.

Established in 1959 by the entrepreneur and initiator Kurt A. Körber, the Körber Foundation is nationally and internationally active today with its own projects, cooperations and events. Around EUR 18 million/year is available for the Foundation’s non-profit work. About 90 staff work at the Hamburg and Berlin locations.

The Körber Foundation is a company shareholder foundation and is sole shareholder of Körber AG, which is part of the Foundation’s assets. This comprises a total of more than EUR 560 million. Körber AG is the holding company of an international technology group employing around 12,000 staff worldwide. From its shareholding, the Foundation receives an annual dividend which it uses exclusively for non-profit purposes.

Flyer »Körber-Stiftung, A Profile«

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The Founder

Kurt A. Körber was an important and to an even greater degree successful entrepreneur. He was a publicly active philanthropist with a highly idealistic commitment to the community. continue

Guiding principles

Improving society - we are confident this will succeed only through dialogue and understanding. To this end, we have given ourselves Guiding principles. continue

Committees

The Körber Foundation is dedicated exclusively to serving the public interest. In accordance with its charter, the Foundation's fields of action are international dialogue, science and research, education, cultural projects and the care of the elderly and the sick. continue

Voluntary Agreement

Those who work for the common good should tell the community what the organisation does, where its funds come from, how they are used and who the decision-makers are. In accordance with the voluntary agreement signed by us which was drafted by the "Initiative Transparente Zivilgesellschaft" (initiative for a transparent civil society), we at the Körber Foundation would also like to provide the public with information in the ten points listed below. continue

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