Foundation

Helping beyond the horizon

Kindernothilfe is a charitable organisation which has been working to implement the rights of children for more than 50 years. This can only be done with people committed to help. More and more people wish to give long-term help which goes beyond giving donations. They want the wealth they have accumulated or part of it to prepare the ground for reliable long-term help and create something which will remain for prosperity.

Picture: Pascal Rest

For this reason Kindernothilfe started the Kindernothilfe Foundation in 1999. The chairman of the foundation committee is Dr. Norbert Blüm, a former cabinet minister. The great advantages of a foundation are its security and permanence. In setting up a foundation, the foundation's goal is fixed "forever". Year after year, the yields from the foundation capital flow directly into Kindernothilfe projects and help to improve the situation of children in very poor countries.

A lasting guarantee for children's future
The so-called "everlasting character" of the foundation guarantees the preservation of the original assets. Starting a foundation also means dedicating funds on a permanent basis to a particular cause. The foundation is obliged to maintain the funds given in an undiminished form. It is only the interest that these funds yield which is used. The annual disembursement of interest and compound interest helps to guarantee the continued work of Kindernothilfe.

Foundations can be set up by individuals and legal entities, such as companies, associations and clubs.

What is the difference between donations and foundations?
Donations flow directly into the work of the projects and must be used within a short period of time. Setting up a foundation on the other hand is suitable for those who want to use their funds to give help on a permanent basis and which will reach out beyond their own lifetime. The wishes of the founder live on in his/her foundation.

Different foundation forms
The founder allocates part of his/her funds to the foundation capital. The Kindernothilfe Foundation invests the foundation capital profitably and the yields are used for the charitable causes stated.

There are many ways of setting up a foundation with Kindernothilfe: a co-foundation for example, or as an endowment to an issue-focussed foundation, or setting up a fiduciary foundation under the umbrella of Kindernothilfe foundation. The same possibilities are available if you include the Kindernothilfe foundation in your testament.