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Charities in Germany

GiveRadar tracks 682,337 registered associations in Germany, built from the Vereinsregister the Amtsgerichte (local courts) keep under German civil law. This is Germany's general association register, not a curated charity list: our total already exceeds the more than 628,000 eingetragene Vereine ZiviZ counts nationwide, so these rows include sports clubs, choirs and allotment societies alongside genuine charities. Registration proves legal existence, not charitable purpose.

682,326
Registered associations
61.3%
Register number on file
Community Development
Largest cause area
1 per 122
Residents per organization
Matt Timmermans Reviewed by Matt Timmermans Founder of GiveRadar · Checked August 18, 2026
Where this data comes from  ·  How current it is
The directory

All organizations in Germany

Filters

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682,326 charities

Page 1 of 34,117

65

Deutsches Rotes Kreuz e.V.

Berlin, Berlin · Social Services ·

68

WASH United gGmbH

Berlin, Berlin · Education ·

65

Aspen Institute Deutschland e.V.

Berlin, Berlin · Science & Technology ·

65

Bundesverband Osteopathie e.V. - BVO

Bad Alexandersbad, Bavaria · Health ·

65

Charta der Vielfalt e.V.

Berlin, Berlin · Education ·

65

Dachverband Gemeindepsychiatrie e.V.

Cologne, North Rhine-Westphalia · Health ·

65

Europa-Union Deutschland e.V.

Berlin, Berlin · International ·

65

Förderverein Frieden e.V.

Bonn, North Rhine-Westphalia · International ·

65

Freiburger Kreis e.V.

Frechen, Baden-Württemberg · Health ·

65

Gesellschaft gegen Gewichtsdiskriminierung e.V.

Berlin, Berlin · Education ·

65

Karo e.V.

Plauen, Saxony · Social Services ·

65

Umbaja e.V.

Hanover, Lower Saxony · International ·

65

"Was hab' ich?" gemeinnützige GmbH

Dresden, Saxony · Health ·

62

ACE Auto Club Europa e.V.

Berlin, Berlin · Community Development ·

62

Aktion Sühnezeichen Friedensdienste e.V.

Berlin, Berlin · International ·

62

AllerWeltHaus Hagen e. V.

Hagen, North Rhine-Westphalia · Environment ·

62

ARVC-Selbsthilfe e.V.

Unterschleißheim, Bavaria · Health ·

62

AW AlgorithmWatch gGmbH

Berlin, Berlin · International ·

62

Bundesdeutscher Arbeitskreis für Umweltbewusstes Management (B.A.U.M.) e.V.

Hamburg, Hamburg · Health ·

62

Bundesforum Männer - Interessenverband für Jungen, Männer und Väter e.V.

Berlin, Berlin · Advocacy & Civil Rights ·

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The register at a glance

How many organizations does GiveRadar track in Germany?

GiveRadar tracks 682,337 organizations in Germany, listed on the Vereinsregister, the country's association register kept by local courts. 418,108 of them (61.3%) carry a registration number, and the average integrity assessment across German rows is 34.1 out of 100.

Whole-register totals
682,326 Registered associations
0.1% Hold DZI Spenden-Siegel 397 of them, granted by Deutsches Zentralinstitut fuer soziale Fragen
1 per 122 Residents per organization Against a population of 83,491,249 (World Bank, 2025)
34.1/100 Average integrity assessment A measure of disclosure, not impact or effectiveness

GiveRadar holds a website for 21,365 German organizations (3.1%), an email for 18,691 (2.7%) and a registration number for 418,108 (61.3%), because a Vereinsregister entry publishes that an association exists, not how to reach it or how it spends money. A court checks the statute and the board on file, not a website, a contact address or annual accounts, so the register itself was never built to hold what a donor looks for. The average integrity assessment for German rows, 34.1 out of 100, is a direct read of that gap in published detail, not a judgment on any single organization.

By category

What causes do German organizations support?

Community development is the largest cause category among German organizations GiveRadar tracks, with 333,723 organizations, followed by education at 91,396, social services at 57,991, arts and culture at 55,916, health at 33,744, international at 29,261 and youth development at 20,117. These categories come from the limited detail the Vereinsregister captures at registration, not from a mission statement or a verified activity record.

01 Community Development 333,723 49% 02 Education 91,395 13% 03 Social Services 57,987 8% 04 Arts & Culture 55,916 8% 05 Health 33,743 5% 06 International 29,259 4% 07 Youth Development 20,117 3% 08 Environment 16,304 2% 09 Religion 12,168 2% 10 Disaster Relief 12,132 2% 11 Science & Technology 9,746 1% 12 Animal Welfare 8,776 1% 13 Advocacy & Civil Rights 1,060 <1%
Accreditations

What does the DZI Spenden-Siegel mean for a German organization?

GiveRadar flags 399 German organizations as holding the DZI Spenden-Siegel, the fundraising quality mark awarded by the Deutsches Zentralinstitut fuer soziale Fragen. The DZI itself reports roughly 230 current holders, so our flag is broader than the seal's present roll and some of these entries may record a seal that has since lapsed.

An independently assessed seal covering finances, governance and advertising. It is applied for and paid for, and about 30% of first applications fail. GiveRadar flags 399 holders against the roughly 230 the DZI reports currently, a gap we are re-checking.

Holding the seal costs money and is not guaranteed: the DZI charges an annual review fee of a 500 euros base charge plus 0.04% of an organization's yearly donation income, and around 30% of first applications are turned down. The seal is a voluntary, paid quality check, not a government determination, and it answers a different question from Gemeinnuetzigkeit: gemeinnuetzig status is a tax classification granted by the Finanzamt, while the DZI Spenden-Siegel is DZI's own judgment of how an organization is run.

397 DZI Spenden-Siegel 0.1% of every charity on this page holds it. Issued by Deutsches Zentralinstitut fuer soziale Fragen
Location of nonprofits in Germany

Where in Germany are its organizations based?

GiveRadar can place 389,465 German organizations (57.1%) in a city and 386,832 (56.7%) in a Bundesland, based on the address recorded at registration. Nordrhein-Westfalen holds the most at 79,998, followed by Bayern at 59,720, Baden-Wuerttemberg at 59,658, Niedersachsen at 33,919, Hessen at 27,656, Rheinland-Pfalz at 22,030, Berlin at 19,952 and Sachsen at 16,807.

Organization density
Each state shaded by registered associations. Boundaries: Natural Earth.

Top cities

Berlin is the largest city on GiveRadar's German register with 19,787 organizations, followed by Hamburg at 11,455, Munich at 8,922, Cologne at 6,432, Stuttgart at 3,940, Frankfurt at 3,641, Bonn at 3,176 and Essen at 3,108. These counts follow the address on file with each Amtsgericht and are not adjusted for the size of the local population.

01 Berlin 19,784 organizations 02 Hamburg 11,453 organizations 03 Munich 8,922 organizations 04 Cologne 6,432 organizations 05 Stuttgart 3,940 organizations 06 Frankfurt 3,641 organizations 07 Bonn 3,175 organizations 08 Essen 3,107 organizations 09 Düsseldorf 3,093 organizations 10 Hanover 2,764 organizations

Organizations by Bundesland

North Rhine-Westphalia 79,997 20.7% Bavaria 59,720 15.4% Baden-Württemberg 59,657 15.4% Lower Saxony 33,919 8.8% Hesse 27,654 7.1% Rhineland-Palatinate 22,030 5.7% Berlin 19,950 5.2% Saxony 16,807 4.3% Schleswig-Holstein 12,208 3.2% Brandenburg 11,593 3% Hamburg 10,766 2.8% Thuringia 9,116 2.4% Saxony-Anhalt 8,580 2.2% Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania 6,848 1.8%

GiveRadar can place a majority of German organizations by city or Bundesland because the Vereinsregister records each association's Sitz, its legal seat, under Section 55 of the BGB. Where no city or Land is on file, the organization still counts in the totals above; it simply does not appear in the tables below.

Data sources

Where does GiveRadar's German data come from?

GiveRadar's 682,337 German organizations come from the Vereinsregister, the association register that each Amtsgericht (local court) keeps under Sections 55 and 79 of the Buergerliches Gesetzbuch (BGB), Germany's civil code. There is no single national Vereinsregister: each Land's courts keep their own, jointly searchable through the common register portal for company and association filings. An entry records that an association filed a statute and a board with its court; it says nothing about tax status, finances or conduct.

Vereinsregister, kept by the Amtsgerichte handelsregister.de ↗
Legal existence, statute and board for every eingetragener Verein, under BGB 55 and 79
682,326 records 100% coverage
Zuwendungsempfaengerregister, BZSt bzst.de ↗
The federal register of organizations entitled to issue donation receipts, opened in 2024 and still being populated
DZI Spenden-Siegel dzi.de ↗
Which organizations hold the independently assessed donation seal
397 records 0.1% coverage
One GiveRadar profile
682,326
Share of profiles carrying each field
Financial return 1%
Expense breakdown 0%
Website 3.1%
Contact email 2.7%
Freshness

How current is GiveRadar's Germany data?

August 5, 2026 Register last refreshed The most recent full pass over the German Vereinsregister source data. Any profile with its own newer edit carries that later date instead.
August 18, 2026 This page last reviewed When the figures, wording and sources on this page were last checked against the register.

GiveRadar refreshes German register data in periodic bulk passes rather than a continuous feed, and no German source we checked publishes an update cadence of its own for Vereinsregister data. A very recent registration, an address change or a dissolution may not appear yet, and a profile edited directly by its owner shows that later date instead of the bulk-pass date.

Learn more with our country guide

Giving in Germany

How the charity sector is regulated, what kinds of nonprofits operate, and how to evaluate them before you give.

Charities and nonprofits in Germany

Germany has one of Europe's largest and most diverse nonprofit sectors, covering welfare federations, foundations (Stiftungen), associations (Vereine), social enterprises (gGmbH), and international humanitarian agencies. Charitable status, Gemeinnuetzigkeit, is granted separately by local tax offices rather than by any national charity regulator.

Whether you are searching for a comprehensive list of German charities, a Stiftung database, or a DZI Spendensiegel directory, GiveRadar brings together each organization's register entry, DZI seal status where it holds one, news coverage, and an independent integrity score. Read about how GiveRadar works before you give.

How charities are registered in Germany

Germany does not have a single national charity regulator. Charitable status is granted by the local tax office (Finanzamt) under sections 51 to 68 of the German Fiscal Code (Abgabenordnung) (gesetze-im-internet.de), which defines the purposes considered gemeinnuetzig. Since 2024 the Bundeszentralamt fuer Steuern (bzst.de) publishes a federal register of organizations entitled to issue donation receipts, though it warns that it is still being populated.

Associations register in the local Vereinsregister (handelsregister.de) at the district court (Amtsgericht); foundations are supervised by state foundation authorities (Stiftungsaufsicht); social enterprises register as gGmbH in the commercial register. The Deutsches Zentralinstitut fuer soziale Fragen issues the DZI Spendensiegel to fundraising organizations that meet its standards on management, governance and use of donations. The Bundesverband Deutscher Stiftungen and VENRO provide additional governance benchmarks.

Major causes and well-known German charities

The German nonprofit landscape is shaped by six major welfare federations and a dense network of specialized agencies:

  • Welfare federations (Spitzenverbande der freien Wohlfahrtspflege): Caritas, Diakonie Deutschland, Deutsches Rotes Kreuz, AWO, Paritatischer Wohlfahrtsverband, and Zentralwohlfahrtsstelle der Juden in Deutschland (ZWST).
  • International humanitarian and development: Welthungerhilfe, Brot fur die Welt, Misereor, SOS-Kinderdorfer weltweit, action medeor, and Aerzte ohne Grenzen Deutschland.
  • Health and medical research: Deutsche Krebshilfe, Deutsche Stiftung Patientenschutz, German Doctors, and university medical foundations.
  • Environment and conservation: NABU (Naturschutzbund Deutschland), BUND (Bund fur Umwelt und Naturschutz Deutschland), WWF Deutschland, and Greenpeace Deutschland.
  • Children and youth: Plan International Deutschland, Kindernothilfe, Save the Children Deutschland, and Terre des Hommes.
  • Foundations and grantmakers: Robert Bosch Stiftung, Bertelsmann Stiftung, Korber-Stiftung, and thousands of family and corporate Stiftungen.
  • Religion and culture: church-affiliated agencies, cultural foundations, and education trusts.

Compare two organizations side by side with our charity comparison tool, or browse best international charities in Germany and best health charities in Germany to narrow by cause.

How to evaluate a German charity before donating

Because Germany has no central charity regulator publishing standardized financials, the DZI seal and audited reports do most of the donor-protection work. Things to check before giving to any German charity:

  • DZI Spendensiegel: the strongest signal of transparency for fundraising charities in Germany. The DZI publishes the full A-Z list of certified organizations.
  • Gemeinnutzig status: only recognized organizations can issue donation receipts (Spendenquittung) for income-tax deduction.
  • Annual reports and audited accounts: larger Stiftungen and Vereine publish them on their websites; many follow the German Council of Foundations transparency principles.
  • VENRO membership: overseas aid charities that meet the VENRO code of conduct display the badge.
  • Registration and disclosure record: use our free charity checker tool to pull an organization's registration status and disclosure record together on one page.

Each German charity profile on GiveRadar combines registration, financials, governance, and third-party signals into a single 0-100 integrity score. Read our integrity score methodology for the full weighting.

German charity explorer: browse, filter, compare

This page works as a German charity explorer: every German organization we hold data on, ranked and filterable by cause area, federal state (Bundesland), DZI seal status, presence of a website, and size. Use the filters on the left to narrow by category (health, international aid, social welfare, environment, religion, education, advocacy, and more), and the search bar to find a specific organization by name.

GiveRadar refreshes its German records in periodic bulk passes and enriches them with contact details, websites and news coverage where they can be found. To compare German giving against other markets, browse all countries or jump straight to environmental charities globally.

Donating to charities in Germany

Most German charities accept donations directly through their websites and issue a Spendenquittung (or, for gifts under EUR 300, a simplified receipt) that German taxpayers can claim against income tax. International donors typically give through cross-border platforms or via the Transnational Giving Europe network. GiveRadar links to each charity's official donation channel where available and flags fundraising pages that look unverified. For a structured donor walkthrough, read our donor due-diligence guide.

FAQ

Common questions

What is an e.V. in Germany?

An eingetragener Verein, written e.V., is a membership association that gains legal personality by being entered in the Vereinsregister at its local Amtsgericht under BGB 55. The entry records its statute and board and proves the association exists. It says nothing about charitable purpose.

Are the organizations on GiveRadar's German page vetted charities?

No, GiveRadar's German organizations are not vetted charities: the Vereinsregister holds every association a court placed on file, not a curated list. GiveRadar tracks 682,337 of them, more than the 628,000 eingetragene Vereine ZiviZ counts nationwide, so clubs and choirs sit beside charities.

What is Gemeinnuetzigkeit and who grants it?

Gemeinnuetzigkeit is Germany's public-benefit tax status, granted by the Finanzamt under Section 52 of the Abgabenordnung, which lists 27 qualifying purposes. Proof is a Freistellungsbescheid, kept privately by the organization. A Vereinsregister entry, issued by a court, never tests for this status.

How can I check whether a German organization is gemeinnuetzig?

Check the Zuwendungsempfaengerregister at zer.bzst.de, the Bundeszentralamt fuer Steuern's register of organizations entitled to issue tax receipts, live since early 2024. It is still being populated as Land tax offices transmit data, so a missing organization may simply not be listed yet.

Are donations to German organizations tax-deductible?

Donations to a gemeinnuetzig German organization are deductible up to 20% of your Gesamtbetrag der Einkuenfte, or alternatively 4 per mille of turnover plus wages, under Section 10b of the Einkommensteuergesetz. Gifts up to 300 euros need only a bank record, not a formal receipt, under Section 50 of the EStDV.

What is the DZI Spenden-Siegel?

The DZI Spenden-Siegel is a paid, voluntary quality mark the Deutsches Zentralinstitut fuer soziale Fragen awards for transparency and economical use of funds, and about 30% of first applicants fail. GiveRadar flags 399 German holders; the DZI reports roughly 230 currently, so treat our flag as broad.

How many registered associations does Germany have?

Germany has more than 628,000 eingetragene Vereine, per the ZiviZ-Survey 2023, built from local courts' Vereinsregister data. GiveRadar tracks 682,337 German organizations, already above that total, which shows this register holds essentially the whole Vereinsregister, not a filtered charity list.

What does GiveRadar hold for German organizations, and what is missing?

GiveRadar holds a name, seat and legal status for German organizations, plus a registration number for 418,108 (61.3%). It holds a website for only 3.1%, an email for 2.7% and revenue for 1%, because a Vereinsregister entry never required those, and GiveRadar holds no Gemeinnuetzigkeit status for Germany.

For Germany nonprofits

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