Einahmen: 201.376,16 €
Ausgaben: 67.715,00 €
Administration: 0 €

Yes, we have a board of directors and a constitution, but we are not a traditional foundation, rather a committed group of friends. While some people are passionate about golf, we are committed to education, the climate and the environment. We are united by joy and a high standard for what we do. Everyone is on a first-name basis, the whole team works on a voluntary basis and everyone pays their own way. The partners and friends of the foundation support our commitment with time and money, tips and good advice. News about the foundation and team

History

The foundation is our baby. Created with love and care in 1989 by Christiane, Jürgen and Sven. Life stands for giving, promoting and supporting. Especially people who have not been so fortunate. We started small with 20,000 euros a year. We now distribute this amount every week. The money comes from donors and from our basic assets: 25 million euros generate regular interest and rental income. All the money goes directly into the projects. Everyone in the team bears the costs of travelling and administration themselves. We receive support from friends and business partners. The baby has grown up. Many thanks to everyone who has helped.

>> Download statutes of Stiftunglife

1984 First meeting of Jürgen Gessner and Karlheinz Böhm. Transport of medicines to Ethiopia.
1989 Foundation of the ‘Stiftunglife, charitable foundation for life and the environment’ by Jürgen Gessner.
Foundation assets DM 100,000. Start of co-operation with Sven Raap in Celle.
1990 Tree donations as the first projects of Stiftunglife
1993 First contact with the idea of food banks with a donation to the Hamburger food bank.
1995 The foundation becomes operational: Establishment of the Federal Association for Food Banks under the chairmanship of Jürgen Gessner.
Registration of the protected trademark for the panels at the patent office.
1996 First contacts and visit to New York City Harvest and the food banks in America
1997 100 food banks in Germany, first TV and cinema adverts for the food banks. Mercedes, ProSieben, ADAC and Rewe become
nationwide sponsors. Invitation to dinner with the Federal Chancellor and founding of the ‘startsocial’ initiative.
2000 Jürgen Gessner hands over the tasks of the federal association to an elected board.
Einzelne Tafeln erhalten finanzielle Hilfen durch die Stiftunglife
2006 Start of co-operation with Roland Schütz and the Lions in Germany to jointly support the food banks
with refrigerated lorries. Financed one third each by the Tafel, the Lions Club and Stiftunglife
2007 Start of construction for the primary school in Dengore/Ethiopia and support for the Enat Hospital.
2008 Cooperation with the Myanmar Foundation, financing and inauguration of the first school near Bagan.
2009 Min Min for the schools and Khin for the students become the foundation's first permanent employees in Myanmar
2010 The foundation buys an old rice freighter in Myanmar. Conversion and deployment in the delta as Swimming Doctors 1
2012 The foundation gives every donor a guarantee of happiness, first work on the transparent account
2013 Inauguration of the 40th school in Myanmar and takeover of ten Myanmar Foundation schools.
2014 In Germany, handover of the 330th vehicle to the food banks. Support for various refugee projects.
In Myanmar, new construction and launching of Swimming Doctors 2 with Mrs Schadt as godmother.
2015 Construction contract and start of construction for the second new ship, the Swimming Doctors 3.
2016 Volunteer teams take on independent project responsibility for the food banks, schools, students and swimming doctors. To mark the 100th anniversary of the Lions, the Foundation and the Lions bring 15,000 solar lamps to Myanmar.
2017 Termination of the subsidy after 422 vehicles for the food banks due to emissions fraud by German car manufacturers.
2018 Martina Rissmann joins Jürgen Gessner and Sven Raap on the Executive Board of Stiftunglife
Climate and environment: Construction of the first solar water systems south of Bagan
2019 More climate and environment: one million square metres of flower mix for bees and butterflies + 10,000 tree plantings
2020 Even more climate and environment with bees and trees, water and solar projects in Myanmar
33 good deeds in Corona spring for those who need help
2022 The foundation organises and finances aid deliveries to Ukraine and help for Ukrainian refugees for 250,000 euros. Despite difficult circumstances, the projects in Myanmar are receiving long-term support.
2024 New website and division of the foundation into green and red projects. Introduction of active donation tracking (like a parcel) to the finish line with proof and signature.
Principles

The following principles form the basis of our actions

  1. We support people in need who are prepared to get involved themselves.
  2. For all selected projects, we spend external and our own funds according to the same standards.
  3. By cooperating with other foundations, associations and clubs, we utilise local knowledge and create synergies.
  4. We know most of the donors personally, as well as many of the recipients.
  5. We guarantee our donors that 100% of their money goes to the projects, sometimes even 200%.
  6. Every donor can allocate the use of their donation of 300 euros or more to a specific project.
  7. You can track the use of every donation in our transparent account.
  8. Unser Team arbeitet in Deutschland ehrenamtlich. Alle tragen ihre Kosten selber (erhalten dafür auf Wunsch eine Spendenbescheinigung)
  9. Employees abroad are remunerated according to the customary local level.
  10. If a donor is not satisfied with the use of their donation, they get their money back.
  11. For all donations up to 300 euros, proof of payment is recognised by the tax office as proof of donation.
  12. We send a tax-recognised donation receipt for all donations of 300 euros or more.
  13. We don't want to grow. A hundred good friends and a million a year are just right for us.
  14. We will provide any donor with our complete annual financial statements on request.
  15. We plant and care for a tree for every donor.
Happiness & Seal

A donation seal is a seal of quality for charitable organisations. The best-known donation seal is awarded by the German Central Institute for Social Issues. Applying for the seal costs 1000 euros. In addition, there is an annual basic fee and a share of the annual donation income. We have decided not to apply for a donation seal. Because of the costs and because there is a different understanding of transparency. We also define the terms ‘economical and cost-effective’ differently to the DZI. Our administrative costs are less than 10 per cent. Because everyone in our German team works on a voluntary basis and bears their own costs, there are no administrative costs.

A guarantee has a lot to do with trust. Especially when it comes to something as important as happiness. You can read on Wikipedia that a guarantee is usually excluded if the cause of the defect lies with the customer. Our donors benefit from an extended guarantee, a happiness guarantee. This also applies if we have done everything well and correctly, but the donor still does not feel well. This guarantee means that our donors are only really committed when they can see how we have used their money. If he's happy with it, we'll give him a donation receipt. If not, we return their money. This guarantee applies to every donation up to 100,000 euros and is privately guaranteed by the two founders of the foundation.

Annual financial statements & notice of exemption
Info & protocols

There is no internal and external in Stiftunglife. All minutes and information should be fully available to friends and helpers. Therefore, we store all documents that are created in our lean administration here in chronological order.