The Schöpflin Foundation was established in 2001 by Hans Schöpflin and his siblings Albert Schöpflin and Heidi Junghanss. The President of the Schöpflin Foundation, supported by the Board, is responsible for pursuing the foundation's purpose. The foundation's operational facilities in Lörrach include the Villa Schöpflin addiction prevention center, the Werkraum Schöpflin cultural and event venue and the Schöpflin School. The foundation also runs the socio-cultural encounter project FABRIC. In Berlin, the Schöpflin Foundation has established Publix, a House for Journalism and Public Debate. In addition to its facilities, the Schöpflin Foundation is a grant-maker at the national level.
Hans Schöpflin, who worked in the USA for 40 years as a highly successful entrepreneur, has been President of the Schöpflin Foundation since its establishment. At the end of 2024, Hans Schöpflin stepped down from the the position as President and concentrates now on the role as Chair of the Foundation's Board.
Tim Göbel became Executive Director of the Schöpflin Foundation in 2016, President since 2025. He studied economics and was then a founder member of the team that set up the private Zeppelin University in Friedrichshafen, serving as its Vice President from 2008 through 2016. Tim Göbel is a member of the supervisory board at Finanzwende e. V. and a member of the advisory board at ProjectTogether.
The Schöpflin Foundation supports people and organizations that advocate for a more just and sustainable world and experiment with new ideas to find solutions to the major social challenges of our time. The goal of our philanthropic engagement is to secure a better future for the young and future generations.
In an in-depth interview published in 2019 in Stiftungswelt, the magazine of the Bundesverband Deutscher Stiftungen (Association of German Foundations), Hans Schöpflin and Tim Göbel explain the role that strengthening a vibrant democracy in particular plays for our Board and for us as a foundation.
The Schöpflin Foundation’s Board advises, supports and monitors the President as he or she pursues the Foundation’s stated mission. Chair of the Board is Hans Schöpflin. The Board is made up of representatives from the Foundation’s founding family together with external personalities who contribute their expertise for the benefit of the Foundation. From 2021, one position on the Board will always be held by a representative from the group of current or former Schöpflin Foundation grantees.
By including a representative from the group of current or former Schöpflin Foundation grantees on the Board, the Foundation is following the so-called “participatory giving" model, which means grant recipients (grantees) have a stronger involvement in the entire funding process as well as in the actual funding decisions. The aim is to do away with the traditional power structures and achieve more equality between foundations and grantees.
The person appointed to this role is of course not involved in any decisions relevant to any funding of their own organization. He or she also identifies any potential conflicts of interest in relation to all funding decisions to be made and works with the other members of the Board to mitigate any such conflicts. Currently, Laura-Kristine Krause, founding President of More in Common Germany, holds this position. In accordance with the Foundation’s statutes, all new Board members hold the post for an initial period of three years.
Ingo Michelsen, Dr. Felicitas von Peter, Hans Schöpflin, Laura-Kristine Krause, Dr. Lisl Schöpflin, Jasmine Strautmann, Dr. Axel Seemann, Dr. Nikola Braun (from the left) in the photo missing: Marion Dammann
Board Members
Dr. Nikola Braun
Marion Dammann
Gudrun Heute-Bluhm
Laura-Kristine Krause
Ingo Michelsen
Dr. Felicitas von Peter
Hans Schöpflin (Chair of the Board)
Lisl Schöpflin, PhD (Deputy Chair of the Board)
Dr. Axel Seemann
Jasmine Strautmann
Honorary Members
Honorary members of the Board are Hans Schöpflin's siblings Heidi Junghanss and Albert Schöpflin, who founded the Schöpflin Foundation together with their brother in 2001.
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