DONATION PROCESS

For an enquiry, we required an official recognition of the non-profit status from the responsible financial authorities, the statutes, progress reports, a revenue and expense statement or annual report, documentation about the receipt of donations and their purposeful utilisation as well as minutes from board meetings. However, if every donor were to request this information from a non-profit organisation, donations would be associated with an additional financial strain due to increased organisational costs, making the cost/benefit factor presumably less attractive for smaller donation amounts. This is frequently a reason for donor and donation recipient to forgo the donation.

We offer an easy, legally compliant and very comfortable solution:

Private persons and companies make an earmarked donation (for a specific organisation) to the DSZ – International Giving Foundation. After verification of the non-profit status, we support the foreign corporation according to your wishes.

Foreign corporation can submit an application to register with us. We verify whether the charitable purpose of the project aligns with the goals of our statutes.

As our motto is “Donations worldwide”, we fulfil all purposes of the general tax code in accordance with our statutes. We support the promotion of science and research, the promotion of religion, the promotion of public health and public healthcare, the promotion of youth and senior support, the promotion of art and culture, the promotion of preservation order, the promotion of environmental protection and landscape conservation in accordance with the Federal Environmental Protection Law and the Environmental Protection Laws of the states, environmental, coastal and flooding protection, the promotion of search services for missing persons, the promotion of rescue in case of life danger, the promotion of international disposition, of tolerance in all areas of culture and the concept of international understanding, the promotion of animal protection, the promotion of joint development work, the promotion of consumer advice and consumer protection, the promotion of equality of women and men, the promotion of the protection of marriage and family and the promotion of civil efforts in support of non-profit, charitable and church-related purposes.

Possible bank fees, for example in case of transfers outside of Europe, will be deducted directly from the donation amount. Please keep this in mind when calculating the amount of your donation. We would be happy to answer any questions.

The non-profit status of every receiving organisation is verified on the occasion of the first donation request. This status is valid for three years after which another review is required.

The greatest benefit is the issuance of a German donation receipt which you would otherwise not receive for a donation to an organisation abroad. As the trustee foundation of the German Foundation Centre in the Donors’ Association for German Science, we offer utmost transparency and a stable framework to all parties involved. The DSZ has been in existence for more than 55 years and currently administers more than 660 foundations with assets of approx. three billion Euro. Furthermore, when it comes to advising and administering foundations, we voluntarily follow the principles for good foundation management of the German Foundation Centre as well as the principles of good foundation practice of the Federal Association of German Foundations.