The largest Charities and Nonprofit Organizations in Germany

What are the largest associations, federations and foundations in Germany? Based on Wikidata, here is the list of the largest organizations by donations, revenue, foundation capital, employees, members and volunteers.

Last updated on April 14, 2025

Nonprofit Organizations in Germany

The data for these lists is based on the free database Wikidata and is largely taken from the organizations' annual reports or public lists such as the DZI, the Bundestag's lobby list, etc. By clicking on the edit icon of the organization, the source can be verified or own data can be added.

The Largest Nonprofit Organizations by Donations

Which organization receives the most donations. This largely follows the DZI's definition of collection income. It usually consists of the sum of monetary donations, in-kind donations, bequests, endowments and fines. In-kind donations are only considered if tax donation receipts were issued for them. Membership fees are considered if the funds serve a charitable purpose.


# Organisation Donations Year
1 CBM International 391.909.000 € 2023
2 Ärzte ohne Grenzen 253.981.238 € 2023
3 SOS-Kinderdorf e.V. 191.714.203 € 2023
4 UNICEF Germany 177.562.175 € 2023
5 SOS-Kinderdörfer weltweit 176.966.000 € 2023
6 Aktion Deutschland Hilft 161.379.165 € 2023
7 Plan International Deutschland 160.829.832 € 2022
8 Johanniter-Unfall-Hilfe 132.927.953 € 2022
9 German Cancer Aid 127.936.525 € 2023
10 Malteser Hilfsdienst e.V. 120.035.010 € 2023
11 Workers' Samaritan Foundation Germany 94.729.025 € 2023
12 Welthungerhilfe 87.713.463 € 2023
13 Greenpeace Deutschland 84.300.000 € 2023
14 Brot für die Welt 81.493.878 € 2023
15 Deutscher Caritasverband 77.726.967 € 2023
16 World Vision Deutschland 70.355.216 € 2023
17 Bethel Foundation 69.436.144 € 2023
18 WWF Deutschland 64.638.994 € 2023
19 Misereor 64.610.104 € 2023
20 German Red Cross 61.985.000 € 2023
21 German Sea Rescue Society (DGzRS) 61.600.800 € 2023
22 Naturschutzbund Deutschland 61.597.532 € 2023
23 UNO-Flüchtlingshilfe 57.647.276 € 2023
24 VIER PFOTEN – Stiftung für Tierschutz 53.737.221 € 2023
25 Kindernothilfe 53.643.494 € 2023
26 Das Kindermissionswerk ‚Die Sternsinger’ 50.975.769 € 2022
27 Diakonie Katastrophenhilfe 49.593.695 € 2023
28 gut.org 45.485.121 € 2023
29 Deutsche Stiftung Denkmalschutz 44.853.067 € 2022
30 Stiftung RTL - Wir helfen Kindern 43.516.605 € 2022
31 German Life Saving Association 35.548.000 € 2023
32 Bischöfliche Aktion Adveniat 34.951.438 € 2023
33 Islamic Relief Deutschland 33.190.229 € 2023
34 Bund für Umwelt und Naturschutz Deutschland 31.900.000 € 2023
35 Save the Children Germany 31.239.912 € 2022
36 Sternstunden 30.509.059 € 2022
37 Deutsche Kinderkrebsstiftung 29.901.928 € 2023
38 CARE Deutschland 29.717.009 € 2022
39 Ein Herz für Kinder 29.404.461 € 2023
40 Amnesty International Germany 28.541.000 € 2023
41 International Pontifical Mission Society 27.091.239 € 2023
42 German War Graves Commission 26.759.000 € 2023
43 Wikimedia Deutschland 21.176.935 € 2023
44 Deutscher Tierschutzbund 20.461.879 € 2023
45 Weißer Ring 19.950.327 € 2022
46 Help – Hilfe zur Selbsthilfe 19.897.164 € 2023
47 Die Arche – Christliches Kinder- und Jugendwerk 19.357.616 € 2023
48 terre des hommes Deutschland 19.347.856 € 2023
49 Samaritan's Purse e.V. - Die barmherzigen Samariter 19.274.743 € 2022
50 Humedica 18.612.004 € 2022

In this overview, Christoffel-Blindenmission is unique as its 2023 profit and loss statement shows over 300 million euros in in-kind donations. Bread for the World and Diakonie Katastrophenhilfe are not independent organizations but are treated as such in reporting by the Protestant Agency for Diakonie and Development and also have independent DZI seals.

The Largest Nonprofit Organizations by Revenue

A list of all associations, foundations, non-profit LLCs, non-profit corporations and other charitable organizations by annual revenue.


# Organisation Revenue Year
1 Max Planck Society 2.563.800.000 € 2021
2 Alexianer GmbH 1.828.891.718 € 2022
3 Agaplesion 1.766.882.000 € 2022
4 Bavarian Red Cross 1.470.000.000 € 2020
5 Bethel Foundation 1.410.000.000 € 2020
6 SRH Holding 1.223.127.231 € 2022
7 BBT-Gruppe 1.168.767.000 € 2022
8 Johanniter-Unfall-Hilfe 1.044.816.411 € 2022
9 Gemeinnützige Gesellschaft der Franziskanerinnen zu Olpe 1.040.740.479 € 2022
10 St. Franziskus-Stiftung Münster 1.040.600.000 € 2020
11 Volkswagen Foundation 980.964.000 € 2023
12 Elisabeth Vinzenz Verbund 969.625.292 € 2022
13 Marienhaus 916.566.524 € 2022
14 Marienhaus Stiftung 908.800.000 € 2020
15 Kath. St. Paulus Gesellschaft 886.008.161 € 2022
16 Barmherzige Brüder gemeinnützige Träger GmbH 782.059.107 € 2022
17 Christliches Jugenddorfwerk Deutschlands 743.990.577 € 2022
18 Johannesstift Diakonie 736.627.452 € 2022
19 Josefs-Gesellschaft 656.147.397 € 2021
20 Immanuel Albertinen Diakonie 648.405.537 € 2022
21 Malteser Deutschland gGmbH 610.309.450 € 2022
22 München Klinik 600.000.000 € 2005
23 Aktion Mensch 585.495.000 € 2022
24 Malteser Hilfsdienst e.V. 563.642.705 € 2023
25 Marienhaus Kliniken 561.200.284 € 2022
26 Caritas Association of the Archdiocese of Munich and Freising 558.955.710 € 2021
27 Contilia 553.439.051 € 2022
28 St. Elisabeth Gruppe 548.110.844 € 2022
29 Stiftung der Cellitinnen zur hl. Maria 538.658.249 € 2022
30 Kath. St. Paulus 524.093.453 € 2021
31 Niels-Stensen-Kliniken 511.204.529 € 2022
32 Evangelische Heimstiftung 498.697.700 € 2022
33 RAG-Stiftung 461.300.000 € 2023
34 Stiftung kreuznacher diakonie 451.500.000 € 2020
35 CBM International 430.794.000 € 2023
36 SOS-Kinderdorf e.V. 424.116.321 € 2023
37 Catholic Clinic Bochum 422.521.768 € 2022
38 Stiftung Liebenau 416.000.000 € 2020
39 Caritasverband für das Erzbistum Berlin 412.000.000 € 2020
40 Augustinum 408.126.606 € 2022
41 Evangelische Diakonissenanstalt Speyer-Mannheim-Bad Dürkheim 407.000.000 € 2020
42 Norddeutsche Gesellschaft für Diakonie 401.500.000 € 2020
43 Prussian Cultural Heritage Foundation 400.904.092 € 2022
44 Caritas Trägergesellschaft Saarbrücken 398.776.841 € 2022
45 St. Augustinus-Kliniken 396.715.437 € 2022
46 Evangelisches Johanneswerk 378.973.787 € 2022
47 Evangelischer Verbund Ruhr 374.867.177 € 2022
48 Klinikum Westmünsterland 372.442.528 € 2022
49 Diakovere 366.194.025 € 2022
50 Arbeiter-Samariter-Bund Baden-Württemberg 365.200.000 € 2020

Revenue is not easy to determine in some association and holding structures, therefore it is based on annual reports. Some Bavarian organizations such as the Bavarian Red Cross are association-like but are public law corporations.

The Largest Foundations by Foundation Capital

The largest foundations by their untouchable foundation capital. Since many foundations do not publish their foundation capital, this list is unfortunately only partially complete.


# Organisation Foundation Capital Year
1 Else Kröner-Fresenius-Foundation 6.200.000.000 € 2018
2 Robert Bosch Stiftung 5.095.770.171 € 2023
3 Klaus Tschira Foundation 4.091.000.000 € 2018
4 Dietmar Hopp Stiftung 3.000.000.000 € 2019
5 German Federal Environmental Foundation 2.281.125.000 € 2018
6 Elbe Habitat Foundation 2.152.686.960 € 2024
7 Zeppelin Foundation 1.451.743.470 € 2022
8 Joachim Herz Stiftung 1.350.000.000 € 2017
9 Volkswagen Foundation 1.324.707.000 € 2023
10 Alfried Krupp von Bohlen und Halbach Foundation 1.200.000.000 € 2021
11 ZEIT-Stiftung Bucerius 810.700.000 € 2022
12 Carl-Zeiss-Stiftung 800.000.000 € 2022
13 Max Planck Foundation 650.000.000 € 2022
14 Bertelsmann Stiftung 619.710.300 € 2023
15 St. Korbinian-Stiftung 607.331.682 € 2019
16 St. Antonius-Stiftung 561.760.897 € 2019
17 Bischof-Arbeo-Stiftung 506.066.273 € 2019
18 Karl Schlecht Stiftung 496.000.000 € 2023
19 Fritz Thyssen Foundation 467.011.513 € 2017
20 Bavarian Research Foundation 434.200.000 € 2010
21 Pfarrpfründestiftung der Erzdiözese Freiburg 407.817.301 € 2018
22 Stiftung Polytechnische Gesellschaft 393.430.000 € 2018
23 Brost-Stiftung 373.794.800 € 2019
24 Foundation "Remembrance, Responsibility and Future" 357.904.317 € 2019
25 Körber Foundation 345.000.000 € 2023
26 Schleswig-Holstein Museums Foundation 322.920.000 € 2019
27 Dr. Jürgen and Irmgard Ulderup Foundation 320.000.000 € 2018
28 Siemens Stiftung 300.000.000 € 2018
29 Evangelische Stiftung Pflege Schönau 291.128.980 € 2019
30 Mahle-Stiftung 285.634.789 € 2018
31 Pfälzer Katholischen Kirchenschaffnei in Heidelberg 274.398.015 € 2018
32 Kölner Gymnasial- und Stiftungsfonds 266.000.000 € 2019
33 Stiftung Naturschutz Schleswig-Holstein 244.125.000 € 2018
34 SRH Holding 243.200.000 € 2018
35 UNICEF-Stiftung 183.510.000 € 2018
36 Fürst Donnersmarck-Stiftung 180.000.000 € 2023
37 Stiftung Warentest 175.000.000 € 2018
38 Stiftung Saarländischer Kulturbesitz 169.326.000 € 2019
39 Hertie Foundation 163.152.000 € 2018
40 Deutsche Bank Stiftung 150.012.000 € 2019
41 Deutsche Telekom Stiftung 150.000.000 € 2019
42 Wilhelm Sander Stiftung 140.915.000 € 2018
43 Karg-Stiftung 139.000.000 € 2022
44 Software AG - Stiftung 138.200.000 € 2018
45 Daimler and Benz Foundation 125.000.000 € 2020
46 Rut- und Klaus-Bahlsen-Stiftung 120.000.000 € 2022
47 Stiftung Mercator 116.088.047 € 2018
48 Deutsche Wildtier Stiftung 111.075.698 € 2019
49 Stiftung zur Erforschung der Vaskulären Demenz 100.000.000 € 2020
50 Allianz Foundation 100.000.000 € 2022

Pure corporate foundations are not listed. The RAG Foundation is not charitable. Only the foundation capital is listed; this can differ significantly from equity capital in some cases, if foundations have invested freely available funds or, like the Liebenau Foundation, do not provide information about their foundation capital. An overview by equity capital can be found at the Association of German Foundations. Additionally, a query by balance sheet total can be helpful on Wikidata.

The Largest Nonprofit Organizations by Employees

Associations, foundations and other charitable organizations by number of employees.


# Organisation Employees Year
1 Diakonisches Werk 599.282 2018
2 Arbeiterwohlfahrt 230.873 2018
3 Helmholtz Association of German Research Centres 42.178 2020
4 Workers' Samaritan Foundation Germany 41.000 2021
5 Bavarian Red Cross 33.024 2023
6 Johanniter-Unfall-Hilfe 30.661 2022
7 Fraunhofer Society 30.350 2022
8 Alexianer GmbH 28.181 2022
9 Rheinischer Sparkassen- und Giroverband 27.507 2018
10 German Red Cross Lower Saxony 26.925 2023
11 Max Planck Society 23.950 2021
12 Sparkassen- und Giroverband Hessen-Thüringen 21.094 2018
13 Bethel Foundation 20.448 2020
14 Malteser Hilfsdienst e.V. 20.288 2022
15 Agaplesion 19.799 2022
16 Volkssolidarität 19.700 2021
17 St. Franziskus-Stiftung Münster 13.815 2020
18 SRH Holding 13.783 2022
19 BBT-Gruppe 13.503 2022
20 University of Göttingen 12.469 2017
21 Gemeinnützige Gesellschaft der Franziskanerinnen zu Olpe 12.337 2022
22 Marienhaus 11.445 2022
23 Barmherzige Brüder gemeinnützige Träger GmbH 11.273 2022
24 Marienhaus Stiftung 11.077 2020
25 Christliches Jugenddorfwerk Deutschlands 10.919 2023
26 Kath. St. Paulus 10.451 2021
27 Kath. St. Paulus Gesellschaft 10.430 2022
28 Elisabeth Vinzenz Verbund 10.238 2022
29 Caritas Association of the Archdiocese of Munich and Freising 9.979 2021
30 Josefs-Gesellschaft 9.640 2021
31 Johannesstift Diakonie 9.613 2022
32 Malteser Deutschland gGmbH 9.304 2022
33 München Klinik 8.500
34 Evangelische Heimstiftung 8.248 2022
35 Stiftung Liebenau 7.822 2020
36 Domowina 7.300
37 Immanuel Albertinen Diakonie 7.155 2022
38 Niels-Stensen-Kliniken 6.992 2022
39 Stiftung kreuznacher diakonie 6.910 2020
40 Evangelisches Johanneswerk 6.871 2022
41 Katharina Kasper Holding 6.220 2019
42 Evangelischer Verbund Ruhr 6.080 2022
43 Stiftung der Cellitinnen zur hl. Maria 6.071 2022
44 Marienhaus Kliniken 6.038 2022
45 St. Augustinus-Kliniken 5.975 2022
46 Klinikum Westmünsterland 5.927 2022
47 Contilia 5.873 2022
48 Caritas Trägergesellschaft Saarbrücken 5.766 2022
49 Norddeutsche Gesellschaft für Diakonie 5.628 2020
50 ProDiako 5.500

Some federal organizations report here the number of people employed at the federal association, while others count all federally employed persons together.

The Largest Associations and Federations by Members

Associations by number of their statutory members. For federal associations, this usually results in multiple counting, as the sum of all members of the federal structures is usually given.


# Organisation Members Year
1 ADAC 21.424.663 2023
2 German Football Association 7.169.327 2020
3 Bayerischer Landes-Sportverband 4.458.933 2020
4 Landessportverband Baden-Württemberg 3.986.516 2020
5 Bund Deutscher Karneval 2.600.000 2019
6 German Youth Hostel Association 2.434.871 2019
7 IG Metall 2.214.662 2020
8 Landessportbund Hessen 2.134.686 2020
9 Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Cologne 1.942.733 2019
10 Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Freiburg 1.874.400 2021
11 Roman Catholic Diocese of Rottenburg-Stuttgart 1.863.380 2020
12 Roman Catholic Diocese of Münster 1.853.185 2019
13 Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Munich and Freising 1.740.300 2019
14 Workers' Samaritan Foundation Germany 1.545.657 2023
15 Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Paderborn 1.491.856 2019
16 Automobilclub von Deutschland 1.398.423 2021
17 Landessportbund Rheinland-Pfalz 1.397.200 2020
18 German Tennis Federation 1.366.137 2020
19 Roman Catholic Diocese of Trier 1.341.880 2020
20 German Civil Service Federation 1.300.000 2018
21 Roman Catholic Diocese of Augsburg 1.296.200 2020
22 Johanniter-Unfall-Hilfe 1.244.117 2022
23 Roman Catholic Diocese of Regensburg 1.158.230 2020
24 Roman Catholic Diocese of Aachen 1.021.500 2020
25 Bundesarbeitsgemeinschaft Selbsthilfe 1.000.000 2019
26 Naturschutzbund Deutschland 940.000 2024
27 Haus & Grund Deutschland 902.500 2021
28 Turkish-Islamic Union for Religious Affairs 800.000 2018
29 German Athletics Association 798.819 2020
30 Roman Catholic Diocese of Essen 778.470 2021
31 Roman Catholic Diocese of Würzburg 773.140 2020
32 Landessportverband Schleswig-Holstein 769.648 2020
33 German Handball Association 754.958 2020
34 Bavarian Red Cross 741.521 2023
35 Roman Catholic Diocese of Mainz 718.715 2019
36 Landessportbund Sachsen 676.126 2020
37 Landessportbund Berlin 662.076 2021
38 Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Bamberg 656.799 2020
39 Kraftfahrer-Schutz 650.000 2019
40 Lohnsteuerhilfe Bayern 650.000 2019
41 German Golf Association 642.677 2020
42 Greenpeace Deutschland 637.821 2022
43 ACE Auto Club Europa 628.933 2020
44 Roman Catholic Diocese of Limburg 624.975 2019
45 German Life Saving Association 607.310 2023
46 Roman Catholic Diocese of Hildesheim 601.330 2019
47 Sozialverband Deutschland 600.000 2022
48 German Swimming Federation 586.658 2020
49 Roman Catholic Diocese of Osnabrück 552.990 2019
50 Deutscher Tischtennis-Bund 540.965 2020

Some associations like ADAC are not charitable. Not all associations are registered associations. Trade unions are often organized as non-legal associations, others are non-registered associations or historical law associations. The Bavarian Red Cross is an association-like public law corporation.

The Largest Nonprofit Organizations by Volunteers

Charitable organizations by number of their volunteers.


# Organisation Volunteers Year
1 Diakonisches Werk 700.000 2018
2 German Red Cross 452.840 2023
3 Das Kindermissionswerk ‚Die Sternsinger’ 390.000 2018
4 Bavarian Red Cross 218.970 2023
5 Arbeiterwohlfahrt 73.753 2018
6 Naturschutzbund Deutschland 70.000 2023
7 Malteser Hilfsdienst e.V. 58.700 2023
8 Johanniter-Unfall-Hilfe 46.147 2021
9 German Life Saving Association 45.000 2018
10 Bund für Umwelt und Naturschutz Deutschland 30.000 2019
11 German Alpine Club 29.233 2020
12 German Red Cross Lower Saxony 25.292 2023
13 Workers' Samaritan Foundation Germany 20.000 2018
14 Der Kinderschutzbund 15.000 2019
15 Volkssolidarität 13.000 2021
16 Lern-Fair 12.000 2021
17 Association of German Engineers 12.000 2022
18 International Pontifical Mission Society 10.000 2021
19 Caritas Association of the Archdiocese of Munich and Freising 10.000 2020
20 Samaritan's Purse e.V. - Die barmherzigen Samariter 9.384 2021
21 UNICEF Germany 8.000 2021
22 TelefonSeelsorge 7.700 2024
23 Greenpeace Deutschland 7.000 2020
24 Bund Naturschutz in Bayern 6.400 2018
25 NETZ Bangladesch 6.000 2018
26 ArbeiterKind.de 6.000 2018
27 Gemeinschaft Sant´Egidio 5.000 2020
28 Deutsche Multiple Sklerose Gesellschaft 4.700 2019
29 CVJM-Landesverband Bayern 3.650 2019
30 German Red Cross Oldenburg 2.726 2023
31 Evangelische Heimstiftung 2.700 2020
32 Weißer Ring 2.700 2022
33 Stiftung Liebenau 2.654 2018
34 German Tenants Association 2.500 2018
35 Balu und Du 2.004 2019
36 Berliner Stadtmission 1.800 2019
37 terre des hommes Deutschland 1.630 2021
38 German Sea Rescue Society (DGzRS) 1.450 2023
39 Plan International Deutschland 1.400 2021
40 Die Heilsarmee in Deutschland 1.378 2013
41 SOS-Kinderdorf e.V. 1.308 2023
42 Rummelsberger Diakonie 1.300 2017
43 DIAKONEO 1.300 2019
44 Stiftung Deutsche Schlaganfall-Hilfe 1.253 2020
45 nestwärme e. V. 1.200 2022
46 eva Evangelische Gesellschaft Stuttgart 1.200 2018
47 Deutscher Kinderhospizverein 1.169 2019
48 Humedica 1.079 2019
49 Diakonie Stetten 1.000 2018
50 Action Medeor 1.000 2009