The Largest Non-Profit Organisations of Germany

Non-Profit Organisations Germany

• The largest non-profit organisations by donations
• The largest non-profit organisations by revenue
• The largest foundations by foundation capital
• The largest non-profit organisations by employees
• The largest associations and federations by members
• The largest non-profit organisations by volunteers

The largest non-profit organisations by donations

Which organisation 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.

The total donations decreased in 2024 compared to 2023 by  -0,96%, based on 58 organizations with values in both years. In the previous year 2023 it was  -7.7% with 165 organizations.

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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 organisations but are treated as such in reporting by the Protestant Agency for Diakonie and Development and also have independent DZI seals.

The largest non-profit organisations by revenue

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

The total revenue decreased in 2024 compared to 2023 by  -1,17%, based on 61 organizations with values in both years. In the previous year 2023 it was  -3.6% with 187 organizations.

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Revenue is not easy to determine in some association and holding structures, therefore it is based on annual reports.

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 Since many foundations do not publish their foundation capital, this list is unfortunately only partially complete.

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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 non-profit organisations by employees

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

The total employees increased in 2023 compared to 2022 by  2,78%, based on 109 organizations with values in both years. In the previous year 2022 it was  1.5% with 361 organizations.

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Some federal organisations 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.

The total members increased in 2025 compared to 2024 by  5,27%, based on 61 organizations with values in both years. In the previous year 2024 it was  -2.4% with 127 organizations.

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Some associations like ADAC are not charitable. Not all associations are registered associations. Trade unions are often organised 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 non-profit organisations by volunteers

Charitable organisations by number of their volunteers.

The total volunteers increased in 2021 compared to 2020 by  0,87%, based on 103 organizations with values in both years. In the previous year 2020 it was  -2.5% with 85 organizations.

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