They grant scholarships to schoolchildren from immigrant families, finance the expansion of art museums, promote research projects in the sciences, support nature conservation and maintain housing for people who need long-term care: foundations are assuming an increasingly important role in society – and are currently experiencing a boom. In Germany there are now more foundations than ever before with their numbers reaching a new record in 2008. The Association of German Foundations counted 16,406 foundations capable of holding rights under German civil law, a figure which represents an increase of 6% compared with the previous year.
“The foundation sector remains a growth area,” says Hans Fleisch, secretary-general of the Association of German Foundations. In 2008 his association registered a total of 1,020 new foundations – distributed through all 16 German “Länder.” “Germany is on the way to becoming a land of benefactors,” says Wilhelm Krull, chairman of the Association of German Foundations and secretary general of the Volkswagen Foundation (see interview). Krull sees a clear trend: “The social wealth within society, which has accumulated over many years, is increasingly manifesting itself in foundations.” University of Heidelberg sociologist Professor Helmut K. Anheier also sees a new vibrancy in the time-honoured institution of the foundation. “Foundations are increasingly proving their worth as modern instruments for civic involvement in times of lean government and the increasing partial privatization of formerly public services.” This is backed up by other facts. For example, more foundations have been set up in the last nine years than during the first five decades of the Federal Republic’s existence. In fact, more than 70% of the foundations that exist today in Germany were established after the fall of the Wall in 1989.
Germany has thus moved to the forefront of Europe’s foundation-friendly countries – also as a result of an improved political framework. The 2007 legislation to strengthen citizens’ involvement has not only led to an increase in the number of new foundations, but also to an increase in the capital flowing into existing foundations. The Association of German Foundations estimates that the assets of all foundations add up to 100 billion euros. In 2008 they spent roughly 15 billion euros – above all, in the social, educational, scientific and cultural fields.
The extensive range of goals is matched by the diversity of subjects foundations cover. The foundation system in Germany has received new impetus from community foundations, which enable everyone to be a benefactor. A total of 32 of these new community trusts meant this type of foundation showed the strongest growth in 2008. With more than 200 community foundations, Germany has moved near the top of the world ranking and now holds second place after the USA. “We want to make a commitment, free of ideology, politics and religious denomination, we want to implement or sustain good projects in our town to keep it livable and appealing today and tomorrow.” That is how many of the 6,500 sponsors of German community foundations describe the motivation of the new generation of benefactors: they no longer see themselves as just financial backers, but want to make their own contribution and influence social trends.
