Small seeds - big impact
01 Jun 2026
Ilona Jehn from Fulda University of Applied Sciences (centre) accepted the award and the prize money of 5,000 euros together with representatives of the other four award-winning universities at the network meeting at the University of Stattgart.
FULDA/STUTTGART. The "Krautfunding" communication campaign by Fulda University of Applied Sciences has been honoured in the nationwide "Deutschlandstipendium Stories" competition organised by the Stifterverband für die Deutsche Wissenschaft. At the annual nationwide network meeting Forum Deutschlandstipendium at the University of Stuttgart, Ilona Jehn from Fulda University of Applied Sciences accepted the award and the prize money of 5,000 euros.
Alongside four other universities, Fulda University of Applied Sciences was honoured for its innovative approach to attracting new sponsors for the Deutschlandstipendium and combining regional ties with creative communication. The campaign is based on an unusual but deliberately low-threshold concept: herb seed packets symbolise growth, development and the funding of young talent. The campaign was supplemented by flyers, personal talks at regional courses and a crowdfunding campaign via the "Partner der Region" platform. This created an easy way for citizens, enterprises and supporters from the region to get directly involved with students at Fulda University of Applied Sciences.
"With 'Krautfunding', we wanted to show that even small contributions can have a big impact together," explains Sabrina Dörr, who, together with Ilona Jehn and Christina Diel, is in charge of the Deutschlandstipendium programme at Fulda University of Applied Sciences. Dörr adds: "The award confirms that creative and personal approaches can motivate people to take responsibility for education and talent development."
The impact of the campaign is already very tangible. "The crowdfunding has funded an additional Deutschlandstipendium scholarship. At the same time, the campaign increased the visibility of the Deutschlandstipendium in the region and brought new supporters into contact with Fulda University of Applied Sciences," emphasises Dörr.
The competition jury particularly highlighted the successful combination of analogue and digital communication measures. The possibility of implementing the concept at other universities was also positively assessed.
Fulda University of Applied Sciences will continue to develop the campaign and present it at the Hessentag in Fulda, among other events. There, "Krautfunding" will be presented as an example of how regional networks, creative ideas and social commitment can jointly contribute to the funding of young talent.
By further expanding the network of committed sponsors, Fulda University of Applied Sciences aims to enable additional scholarships in the long term and further strengthen the regional anchoring of the Deutschlandstipendium.
INFO ABOUT THE DEUTSCHLANDSTIPENDIUM:
The Deutschlandstipendium has been available since the summer semester of 2011 - 300 euros per month, half of which is funded by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research and the other half by private donors. It is a recognition for very good social services: benefits in school and university studies as well as for special social commitment. Social, personal and family circumstances are also taken into account in the annual selection process. In these 15 years, the scholarship has undergone a positive development: Nationwide, over 33,000 students at around 300 universities are currently supported with a Deutschlandstipendium. The Deutschlandstipendium has been offered at Fulda University of Applied Sciences for 14 years and a total of 335 scholarships have already been awarded thanks to 45 sponsors.