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 July 3, 2025

Nonprofit Organizations in Germany

The largest Nonprofit Organizations by donations
The largest Nonprofit Organizations by revenue
The largest foundations by foundation capital
The largest nonprofit organizations by employees
The largest associations and federations by members
The largest nonprofit organizations by volunteers

The data for these lists is based on the free database Wikidata and is largely taken from the organizations' annual reports or public lists, e.g., from the German Fundraising Association. By clicking on the edit icon of the organization, you can verify the source or add your own data.

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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.

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Industry^(Beta)

#	Organisation	Donations	Year
1	CBM International	391,909,000 € 91.0%	2023
2	Ärzte ohne Grenzen	253,981,238 € 97.5%	2023
3	SOS-Kinderdorf e.V.	191,714,203 € 45.2%	2023
4	UNICEF Germany	177,562,175 € 95.3%	2023
5	SOS-Kinderdörfer weltweit	176,966,000 € 87.5%	2023
6	Plan International Deutschland	168,741,907 € 66.9%	2024
7	Aktion Deutschland Hilft	161,379,165 € 96.8%	2023
8	Johanniter-Unfall-Hilfe	132,927,953 € 6.8%	2022
9	German Cancer Aid	127,936,525 € 81.1%	2023
10	Malteser Hilfsdienst e.V.	120,035,010 € 21.3%	2023
11	Workers' Samaritan Foundation Germany	94,729,025 € 70.7%	2023
12	Welthungerhilfe	87,713,463 € 24.5%	2023
13	Greenpeace Deutschland	84,300,000 € 92.1%	2023
14	Brot für die Welt	81,493,878 € 24.6%	2023
15	Deutscher Caritasverband	77,726,967 € 31.8%	2023
16	World Vision Deutschland	70,355,216 € 36.3%	2023
17	Bethel Foundation	69,436,144 € 4.9%	2023
18	WWF Deutschland	64,638,994 € 51.7%	2023
19	Misereor	64,610,104 € 24.2%	2023
20	German Red Cross	61,985,000 € 29.4%	2023
21	German Sea Rescue Society (DGzRS)	61,600,800 € 90.9%	2023
22	Naturschutzbund Deutschland	61,597,532 € 68.9%	2023
23	UNO-Flüchtlingshilfe	57,647,276 € 88.8%	2023
24	VIER PFOTEN – Stiftung für Tierschutz	53,737,221 € 99.4%	2023
25	Kindernothilfe	53,643,494 € 77.3%	2023
26	Germanwatch	53,151,881 € > 100 %	2023
27	Das Kindermissionswerk ‚Die Sternsinger’	50,975,769 € 79.8%	2022
28	Diakonie Katastrophenhilfe	49,593,695 € 52.1%	2023
29	gut.org	45,485,121 € 98.2%	2023
30	Deutsche Stiftung Denkmalschutz	44,853,067 € 64.4%	2022
31	Stiftung RTL - Wir helfen Kindern	43,516,605 € 99.9%	2022
32	German Life Saving Association	35,548,000 € 83.1%	2023
33	Bischöfliche Aktion Adveniat	34,951,438 € 81.2%	2023
34	Islamic Relief Deutschland	33,190,229 € 97.9%	2023
35	Bund für Umwelt und Naturschutz Deutschland	31,900,000 € 75.0%	2023
36	Save the Children Germany	31,239,912 € 33.3%	2022
37	Sternstunden	30,509,059 € 94.7%	2022
38	Deutsche Kinderkrebsstiftung	29,901,928 € 85.1%	2023
39	CARE Deutschland	29,717,009 € 37.4%	2022
40	Ein Herz für Kinder	29,404,461 € 88.7%	2023
41	Amnesty International Germany	28,541,000 € 97.6%	2023
42	International Pontifical Mission Society	27,091,239 € 54.4%	2023
43	German War Graves Commission	26,759,000 € 49.3%	2023
44	Wikimedia Deutschland	21,176,935 € 81.9%	2023
45	Deutscher Tierschutzbund	20,461,879 € 81.5%	2023
46	Weißer Ring	19,950,327 € > 100 %	2022
47	Help – Hilfe zur Selbsthilfe	19,897,164 € 29.0%	2023
48	Die Arche – Christliches Kinder- und Jugendwerk	19,357,616 € 92.2%	2023
49	terre des hommes Deutschland	19,347,856 € 33.6%	2023
50	Samaritan's Purse e.V. - Die barmherzigen Samariter	19,274,743 € 97.0%	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.

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Industry^(Beta)

#	Organisation	Revenue	Year
1	Max Planck Society	2,563,800,000 €	2021
2	Johanniter-Unfall-Hilfe	1,953,158,585 €	2022
3	Alexianer GmbH	1,828,891,718 €	2022
4	Agaplesion	1,766,882,000 €	2022
5	Bavarian Red Cross	1,470,000,000 €	2020
6	Bethel Foundation	1,410,000,000 €	2020
7	SRH Holding	1,223,127,231 €	2022
8	BBT-Gruppe	1,168,767,000 €	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	558,955,711 €	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.

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Industry^(Beta)

#	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.

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Industry^(Beta)

#	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	St. Franziskus-Stiftung Münster	13,815	2020
17	SRH Holding	13,783	2022
18	BBT-Gruppe	13,503	2022
19	University of Göttingen	12,469	2017
20	Gemeinnützige Gesellschaft der Franziskanerinnen zu Olpe	12,337	2022
21	Marienhaus	11,445	2022
22	Barmherzige Brüder gemeinnützige Träger GmbH	11,273	2022
23	Marienhaus Stiftung	11,077	2020
24	Christliches Jugenddorfwerk Deutschlands	10,919	2023
25	Kath. St. Paulus	10,451	2021
26	Kath. St. Paulus Gesellschaft	10,430	2022
27	Elisabeth Vinzenz Verbund	10,238	2022
28	Caritas Association of the Archdiocese of Munich and Freising	9,979	2021
29	Josefs-Gesellschaft	9,640	2021
30	Johannesstift Diakonie	9,613	2022
31	Malteser Deutschland gGmbH	9,304	2022
32	München Klinik	8,500
33	Evangelische Heimstiftung	8,248	2022
34	Stiftung Liebenau	7,822	2020
35	Domowina	7,300
36	Immanuel Albertinen Diakonie	7,155	2022
37	Niels-Stensen-Kliniken	6,992	2022
38	Stiftung kreuznacher diakonie	6,910	2020
39	Evangelisches Johanneswerk	6,871	2022
40	Katharina Kasper Holding	6,220	2019
41	Evangelischer Verbund Ruhr	6,080	2022
42	Stiftung der Cellitinnen zur hl. Maria	6,071	2022
43	Marienhaus Kliniken	6,038	2022
44	St. Augustinus-Kliniken	5,975	2022
45	Klinikum Westmünsterland	5,927	2022
46	Contilia	5,873	2022
47	Caritas Trägergesellschaft Saarbrücken	5,766	2022
48	Norddeutsche Gesellschaft für Diakonie	5,628	2020
49	ProDiako	5,500
50	Rummelsberger Diakonie	5,413	2022

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.

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Industry^(Beta)

#	Organisation	Members	Year
1	German Olympic Sports Confederation	27,874,195	2023
2	ADAC	21,424,663	2023
3	German Football Association	7,169,327	2020
4	Bayerischer Landes-Sportverband	4,458,933	2020
5	Landessportverband Baden-Württemberg	3,986,516	2020
6	Bund Deutscher Karneval	2,600,000	2019
7	German Youth Hostel Association	2,434,871	2019
8	IG Metall	2,214,662	2020
9	Landessportbund Hessen	2,134,686	2020
10	Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Cologne	1,942,733	2019
11	Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Freiburg	1,874,400	2021
12	Roman Catholic Diocese of Rottenburg-Stuttgart	1,863,380	2020
13	Roman Catholic Diocese of Münster	1,853,185	2019
14	Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Munich and Freising	1,740,300	2019
15	Workers' Samaritan Foundation Germany	1,545,657	2023
16	Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Paderborn	1,491,856	2019
17	Automobilclub von Deutschland	1,398,423	2021
18	Landessportbund Rheinland-Pfalz	1,397,200	2020
19	German Tennis Federation	1,366,137	2020
20	Roman Catholic Diocese of Trier	1,341,880	2020
21	German Civil Service Federation	1,300,000	2018
22	Roman Catholic Diocese of Augsburg	1,296,200	2020
23	Johanniter-Unfall-Hilfe	1,244,117	2022
24	Roman Catholic Diocese of Regensburg	1,158,230	2020
25	Roman Catholic Diocese of Aachen	1,021,500	2020
26	Bundesarbeitsgemeinschaft Selbsthilfe	1,000,000	2019
27	Naturschutzbund Deutschland	940,000	2024
28	Haus & Grund Deutschland	902,500	2021
29	Turkish-Islamic Union for Religious Affairs	800,000	2018
30	German Athletics Association	798,819	2020
31	Roman Catholic Diocese of Essen	778,470	2021
32	Roman Catholic Diocese of Würzburg	773,140	2020
33	Landessportverband Schleswig-Holstein	769,648	2020
34	German Handball Association	754,958	2020
35	Bavarian Red Cross	741,521	2023
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	Roman Catholic Diocese of Mainz	597,767	2024
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.

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Industry^(Beta)

#	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	Lern-Fair	12,000	2021
16	Association of German Engineers	12,000	2022
17	International Pontifical Mission Society	10,000	2021
18	Caritas Association of the Archdiocese of Munich and Freising	10,000	2020
19	Samaritan's Purse e.V. - Die barmherzigen Samariter	9,384	2021
20	UNICEF Germany	8,000	2021
21	TelefonSeelsorge	7,700	2024
22	Greenpeace Deutschland	7,000	2020
23	Bund Naturschutz in Bayern	6,400	2018
24	NETZ Bangladesch	6,000	2018
25	ArbeiterKind.de	6,000	2018
26	Gemeinschaft Sant´Egidio	5,000	2020
27	Deutsche Multiple Sklerose Gesellschaft	4,700	2019
28	CVJM-Landesverband Bayern	3,650	2019
29	German Red Cross Oldenburg	2,726	2023
30	Evangelische Heimstiftung	2,700	2020
31	Weißer Ring	2,700	2022
32	Stiftung Liebenau	2,654	2018
33	German Tenants Association	2,500	2018
34	Balu und Du	2,004	2019
35	Berliner Stadtmission	1,800	2019
36	terre des hommes Deutschland	1,630	2021
37	German Sea Rescue Society (DGzRS)	1,450	2023
38	Die Heilsarmee in Deutschland	1,378	2013
39	SOS-Kinderdorf e.V.	1,308	2023
40	Rummelsberger Diakonie	1,300	2017
41	DIAKONEO	1,300	2019
42	Stiftung Deutsche Schlaganfall-Hilfe	1,253	2020
43	nestwärme e. V.	1,200	2022
44	eva Evangelische Gesellschaft Stuttgart	1,200	2018
45	Plan International Deutschland	1,200	2023
46	Deutscher Kinderhospizverein	1,169	2019
47	humedica	1,079	2019
48	Diakonie Stetten	1,000	2018
49	Action Medeor	1,000	2009
50	Kindernothilfe	1,000	2023