Sustained promotion of cultural offerings for children and teens is one of the priorities in Gruner + Jahr's social activities. G+J is deeply committed to the cultural diversity of Hamburg.
Together with Hamburg's "BürgerStiftung" (Civic Foundation), the publishing house has promoted literacy in Hamburg's socially disadvantaged districts since early 2005. Projects include the "Leseclub" (Reading Club) at the "Kölibri" community center in St. Pauli district, the "LeseZeit" (Reading Time) project and the mobile literacy promotion project "Lesen in Altona" (reading in Altona, a district of Hamburg).
Apart from this, G+J is also a partner to "Seiteneinsteiger," Hamburg's reading festival for children and teens that is celebrated each year since 2005. In January 2007 G+J joined the City of Hamburg Culture Authority in launching "Buchstart" (Bookstart), a long-term project to promote reading in the early childhood years. "Buchstart" involves collaborating with a large number of local partners in public authorities, associations and initiatives. The project's key distributors are Hamburg's paediatricians, who hand out the "Buchstart" bags with picture books, tips on reading and ideas to encourage parents to read out to their children when children complete their U6 health examination. This way, 95 percent of all 12 month olds in Hamburg are being supplied -well over 18,000 children each year.

In addition to activities on the business level, numerous cultural and social initiatives and projects are hosted by individual G+J titles. These commitments usually stem from long-standing associations, and are initiated and seen through by the editorial teams. Here, too, there is a clear focus on projects for children and teenagers, or the promotion of new talent.
G+J employees in Hamburg also feel responsible for the socially disadvantaged people in their city. Since 1978, they have organized an annual Christmas bazaar and donated its considerable proceeds to charity institutions in Hamburg.

Being an international publishing house with products that contribute to opinion-making and public discussions, Gruner + Jahr realizes that it has a social responsibility that goes beyond entrepreneurial goals. This includes the promotion of cultural affairs as an essential element of Gruner + Jahr’s self-conception.
In view of the importance of photography for G+J magazines, G+J places great emphasis on sponsoring reportage photography and supporting new photographic talent. Gruner + Jahr headquarters on Hamburg`s harbour is not only an office building, but a meeting place as well. Since G+J moved in 20 years ago, it has regularly hosted exhibitions in the foyer. The German premiere of the World Press Photo exhibition has been a fixture of Hamburg’s cultural scene for the past 15 years. In 2009, the works of up-and-coming photographers were also shown in the “G+J Photo Awards” exhibition, as were artists portraits commemorating the 30th anniversary of the ART magazine.