Look out for the circular blue and white sign, shaped almost like a giant postage stamp with its serrated edges, featuring the word life right in the center. That is the mark of Stiftunglife, a foundation that started back in 1989 with a simple but massive idea. Real estate entrepreneur Jürgen Gessner and his partner Sven Raap kicked things off with one hundred thousand Marks, and today, that foundation holds around twenty one million Euros. Not a bad trajectory, right?
But here is the really wild part. They have exactly zero employees. Everyone working here volunteers, and they even pay for their own travel and administrative costs. Every single cent donated goes into a transparent account, where anyone can see exactly what comes in and what goes out.
In Germany, they are famous for their work with the Tafeln, which are local food banks that distribute groceries to those in need. Back in the nineties, Gessner essentially helped organize this entire national food bank network. Over fourteen years, Stiftunglife helped buy four hundred twenty two refrigerated vans to transport that food, putting twenty million Euros into the project. They actually stopped the van program in 2017 after the diesel emissions scandal broke, because they refused to contribute to that kind of air pollution.
But their reach does not stop at the German border. Half of their money is spent internationally. My favorite project is in Myanmar, where they run the Swimming Doctors. It is literally a floating medical practice that travels through the river delta, bringing healthcare to isolated villages. They have also built schools in Ethiopia and supplied emergency goods to Ukraine. And since you can view their completely transparent operations online, they are essentially open twenty four hours a day.
It is pretty inspiring what people can build when they just decide to help. Whenever you are ready, let's keep moving to the next stop.
