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SOCIETY
TOPIC
COMMITTED CIVIL SOCIETY
Around 23 million Germans are involved in
expenditure are the Volkswagen Founda-
voluntary work in their spare time, thus
tion, Robert Bosch Stiftung, Bertelsmann
assuming responsibility for society. This
Stiftung, Hans Böckler Foundation and
commitment is often long term – on average
WWF Deutschland.
volunteers have been active for ten years.
Civic commitment is estimated at 4.6 bil-
Community foundations are strongly on the
lion hours worked annually. Together with
rise, foundations in which several citizens and
charities, churches, cooperatives, aid or-
firms act as joint funders to support local or
ganisations, non-profit organisations and
regional projects. The first foundations of this
private initiatives, the members of the
kind were established in 1996 – in mid-2015
580,000 associations form the backbone of
there were as many as 275 community founda-
the “third sector”. Civil society refers to the
tions recognised by the Association of Ger-
section of society that is not shaped by
man Foundations. Civil commitment has
government or party politics, but gets in-
slightly increased in recent years, but is shift-
volved in social and political issues volun-
ing more strongly away from the larger asso-
tarily and publicly.
ciations and towards small, self-organised
groups and alternating projects. Currently
Foundations in particular have become
there are numerous people in Germany in-
increasingly significant. With more than
volved on a voluntary basis in local initiatives
20,000 incorporated foundations under civil
supporting refugees.
law, the classic legal form of a foundation,
Germany has one of the highest numbers of
Involvement in parties, trade unions, and
foundations in Europe. Since the turn of the
non-governmental organisations
millennium some 12,500 civil-law foundations have been established; more than half
Socio-political involvement in parties, trade
of all foundations of this kind in existence
unions and NGOs enables people to help shape
today. On a national average, there are 26
things on a strategic and political level. Here
foundations for every 100,000 inhabitants.
volunteering opens a door to intensive demo-
Taken together, all foundations have assets
cratic participation. The major established
amounting to approximately 70 billion
organisations however are finding it increas-
euros. They spend around 17 billion on
ingly difficult to get volunteers on board.
charitable causes, traditionally social issues
(28.8 percent), education, science and cul-
There is particular potential for volunteer
ture. The five largest foundations in terms of
work in the 14 to 24-year age bracket. The