“Diakoniekirche” funding area
Diaconal churches make it possible to create central offerings for the participation and inclusion of people on the margins of society.
Funding line
The idea of the diaconal church starts first and foremost with the building. It features a special architectural concept, as the diaconal services are integrated directly into the church: Among other things, social counseling, support for self-help groups, vesper church, lunch tables, medical care or actions for refugees, addicts and homeless people take place here.
In order for the utilization concepts to be realized in the long term, voluntary structures such as sponsoring associations or a network of cooperations need to be established.In order for these social offerings to be realized in the church building, both conversions and special equipment are required. This includes, for example, the installation of a kitchen, the laying of an insensitive floor for serving meals, spatially separated counseling rooms or flexible seating so that the church room can be adapted more easily depending on the use and event.
A central aspect of the Berthold Leibinger Stiftung's "Diakoniekirche" funding line is networking: In cooperation, projects can often be implemented more effectively and achieve sustainable synergy effects. Social projects that are implemented in the redesigned Diakoniekirche should therefore also include church and non-church charitable institutions and services in the planning.
Application documents
Application deadline: December 3, 2023
Please send us your documents by email to:
Who is eligible for funding?
- Church communities in Württemberg
What is the funding intended for?
- Structural conversions as well as the furnishing of existing church buildings (no parish halls) for the purpose of enabling the participation and inclusion of people living on the fringes of society (the homeless, people with addictions, prostitutes, criminals, etc.)
What documents must be submitted with the application?
- Plans (2-4 pages) for the structural conversion and for the use of the church building as a Diakoniekirche (measures, objectives, challenges, target groups, programs, integration into the social and geographical surroundings)
- Cost and financing plan
- Schedule and flowchart
- (Potential) collaboration partners (church welfare organizations and secular non-profit organizations) with whom projects can later be realized at the Diakoniekirche
