Become a founding donor

Do you want to make a long-term and sustainable commitment to the environment and human rights? Then this is the right place.

Are you interested in the Urgewald Foundation and would like to find out whether becoming a donor suits your personal situation? Perhaps you are looking for a meaningful use for an inheritance or other special assets – money that you do not need for your livelihood? Would you like to use your money to contribute to the preservation of our planet? We would be delighted if we could motivate you to support Urgewald.

There are many ways to donate

The Urgewald Foundation is a combination of a perpetual endowment and a consumption foundation. It consists of a capital stock, which must be preserved, and consumable assets.

There are many ways to become a donor. You can donate immediately or through a testament, all at once or in several batches. You can opt for the non-consumable part of our Foundation and let your donation work in perpetuity. Or you can donate to the expendable assets where your contribution can have an immediate effect.

Here is an overview of the most common options:

Find out more about our Foundation

You can find more information in the Urgewald Foundation brochure (German). We would be happy to send it to you digitally or by post. To request either, please contact Andrea Soth: andrea@urgewald.org

Which donation option suits you is a personal decision, with different tax ramifications. Make sure to seek expert advice and assess your individual situation.

Preventing the climate crisis instead of paying taxes

As a donor, you benefit from tax savings. Contributions to the Foundation's consumption fund are treated as a donation for income tax purposes. The general deduction for donations is limited to 20% of the total amount of income or four per thousand of the total turnover and wages and salaries paid. If you have already exhausted this maximum amount, any amounts in excess of this are carried forward to subsequent years.

Donations to the Urgewald Foundation's perpetual fund can be claimed as special expenses upon application by the donor in the year of the donation and in the following nine years up to a total amount of one million euros – distributed as desired. This special deduction is possible in addition to the general donation deduction. In the case of married couples, each spouse is entitled to the special deduction individually.