Walter de Gruyter Foundation
The Walter de Gruyter Foundation is a nonprofit organization that promotes research and scholarship with a focus on the humanities. It is named after Walter de Gruyter (1862–1923), an inquisitive and open-minded publisher, who was committed to disseminating new knowledge.
About the De Gruyter Foundation
The De Gruyter Foundation consists of its board of trustees – comprising the foundation’s principals along with De Gruyter’s advisory board members Georg-Martin Cram, Christoph Seils, and Rüdiger Gebauer – and its executive board, led by Petra Schmitt. The majority of the foundation's endowment comes from a 10% share in the Walter de Gruyter company.
According to its charter, the mission of the foundation is to promote research and scholarship. Specifically, this includes:
- funding research in the humanities;
- providing scholarships for promising young associates in academic publishing;
- awarding prizes for outstanding academic achievement in the humanities; and
- donating books to academic libraries abroad.
The foundation funds five to ten projects each year, with grants ranging from 1,000 to 10,000 euros. The board of trustees meets twice a year to make funding decisions. In most cases, grants are given on a one-off basis. The foundation does not fund personnel costs, printing costs, and jubilees. There is no legal right to funding from the foundation.
How to apply for a grant
Grant applications should be addressed to the foundation’s executive board and contain the following information:
- Name and address of the applicant
- A short summary of the project (no more than two pages)
- Information on total costs along with other donor funding
- Letters of recommendation (if applicable)
Please send your grant application to stiftung@degruyter.com.
For any questions, please contact:
Petra Schmitt
De Gruyter Foundation
Genthiner Straße 13
10785 Berlin
Germany
Email: stiftung@degruyter.com
Past funded projects
Between 2006 and 2018, the Walter de Gruyter Foundation funded some 130 projects, including:
- The Walter de Gruyter Prize of the Berlin-Brandenburg Academy of the Sciences and Humanities (biennially)
- The media prizes of the German Mathematical Society (biennially)
- The De Gruyter European Librarianship Study Grant for the American Library Association (annually)
- Walter de Gruyter Seminar of the Mommsen Society (annually)
- From 2011 to 2016, Angelika Königseder received a grant to study the Walter de Gruyter company during the National Socialist era. Her work appeared in 2016 with Mohr Siebeck Verlag under the title Walter de Gruyter – Ein Wissenschaftsverlag im Nationalsozialismus.
Some successful grant applicants and their projects
- 2007 - Frank Lichtenberk, “A Grammar of Toqabaqita”
- 2008 - Michael Borgolte, “Day of the Middle Ages”
- 2009 - Detlef Bluhm, expert digitalization conference
- 2010 - Hermann Spiekermann, preparation of lemma lists for theology
- 2010 - Barbara Schneider-Kempf, Berlin State Library, Schleiermacher’s manuscripts
- 2011 - Wolfgang Zwickel, University of Mainz, digitalization of a large collection of images based on the Bible
- 2011 - Gregor Kalivoda, preliminary study on the systematic foundations of rhetoric as a modern communication science
- 2012 - Günter Holtus, University of Göttingen, a funded staff position for the project “Romance Bibliography”
- 2013 - Germany Society for Linguistics (DGfS), 14 travel grants for its annual conference in March
- 2016 - Monika Wolting, book donations for the University of Wrocław
- 2016 - Johannes Hein, grant for the ConSOLE XXV conference, printing of posters and abstracts
- 2018 - HU Berlin, Germany scholarship
- 2018 - Hanin Hannouch, research project for colonial photography
History of the De Gruyter Foundation
Walter de Gruyter was a lover of books, an enthusiastic supporter of new ideas, and a socially engaged benefactor. Born in Duisburg to a coal wholesaler, he moved to Berlin and in 1897, began to build a scholarly publishing house.
By the time he died, in 1923, Walter de Gruyter had created one of the largest and most modern publishing houses in Europe, bringing together multiple publishers under one roof. All along, he was guided by the belief that a publishing house had to be strong to be “fruitful for scholarship”.
In 2006, three granddaughters of Walter de Gruyter co-founded the Walter de Gruyter Foundation to continue his legacy. That same year, the Walter de Gruyter Foundation joined the publishing firm’s small circle of principals.
