Every tenth Foundation in Germany is dedicated to sport; that makes 2,000 of a total of approximately 20,800 unincorporated foundations under civil law. That was one result of the Stiftungs Report “Strong in giving: Foundations in Sport”. More than half of the sport-promoting foundations were set up during the last ten years.
Of the sport related foundations most are based in the administrative districts of Stuttgart (134), Darmstadt (120) and Schleswig-Holstein (107). Nearly 4 percent of the sport-promoting foundations have capital of more than 10 million Euros. Compared to other foundations, sport-related foundations have an above average involvement in promotional activity (65.9 percent / otherwise: 61.3 percent) and rarely are exclusively responsible for the operative implementation of their own projects (5.4 percent / otherwise: 18.2 percent).
“Foundations really have an effect in sport – at the top as well as in mass sport. They support hopeful Olympic talents or assist trainers who work voluntarily. Other foundations use sport as a lever to encourage greater equality or health, for example, with boxing camps for girls or sports courses for refugees. As important founder group in recent years, above all, athletes, federations and clubs have been prominent”, said Prof. Dr. Hans Fleisch, Secretary-General of the Association of German Foundations. The Foundation expert, however, warns: “The fact that foundations in sport, according to our observations, primarily focus on children and youth focus must, within the context of demographic change, be reconsidered”.
This article was republished with permission from the original publisher, Sport Intern.