Demonstrating Endowment Assets During the Existence of a Foundation

According to the Act on Foundations, when establishing a foundation, it is necessary to have a foundation endowment of at least EUR 6,638.

For the establishment of a foundation, a declaration by the foundation’s administrator about the payment of the financial contribution and its handover to the administrator is sufficient. A bank account balance confirmation is not required for registration of the foundation with the ministry. However, the foundation endowment should remain at this amount throughout the entire existence of the foundation. If the annual report, which must be submitted every year, shows that the foundation’s endowment has dropped below this value, the ministry usually sends a written notice, requesting a bank account statement showing at least EUR 6,638.

If this requirement is not met, the foundation may be dissolved. This follows from Section 15 of the Act on Foundations, which states that the court, upon proposal by the ministry, will dissolve the foundation and order its liquidation if the endowment is reduced.

According to Section 3 of the Act on Foundations: “The foundation endowment is the property of the foundation recorded in the register. When the foundation is established, it is formed by contributions from individual founders. The value of each founder’s contribution must be at least EUR 663. The total endowment must be at least EUR 6,638, and only cash and real estate may be included in this basic value. Any amount exceeding EUR 6,638 may also consist of movable assets, securities, and other property rights and assets that can be valued in monetary terms. The value of the foundation endowment may not be reduced.”