The Berlin “project bcause” wants to turn the foundation system inside out in Germany. Too much bureaucracy, statutes that are too rigid and costs that are too high mean that foundations are missing billions. The founders will present their concept at the DLD digital conference.
It’s pretty expensive if you want to do something good in Germany – for example by contributing your own assets to a foundation. Felix Oldenburg knows what he is talking about, he was at the head of the Association of German Foundations for four years and knows both the bureaucratic and financial hurdles that have to be overcome in order to donate large sums of money to a good cause.
According to Oldenburg, the whole foundation system is so complicated and expensive that around 30 billion euros less money has gone into foundations in recent years than would have been expected based on private wealth development. He calculates: legal fees, costs for tax consultants, annual financial statements plus staff who find and look after the projects that you want to support – all of this only pays off when you have assets of several tens of millions of euros.
DLD Munich is Hubert Burda Media’s digital conference. It will take place on May 20th to 22nd – for the first time since Corona again as a big event on site. DLD Munich’s motto is “Reality rules?!”. The keynote speeches and panels touch on all the important topics of the digital revolution. Virtual participation is free, only registration is required. All further information as well as the detailed program can be found here.
There are a lot of people who want to get involved with smaller sums or who “are at full gallop in professional life”, as Felix Oldenburg says. “They simply can’t be expected to put up with such an effort.” This is where “project bcause” comes in. The Berlin startup wants to prove that everything a foundation can do can also be done “at dramatically lower costs” – with the startup team doing all the work.
In the long term, “project bcause” wants to enable everyone to “become a philanthropist and impact investor,” as startup founder Felix Oldenburg told FOCUS Online. Oldenburg comrade-in-arms Lukas Bosch draws a comparison with stock trading: “In principle, we are trying to make investing in a foundation as easy as it is to run a stock portfolio today.” Investors put their money in there and can decide very flexibly in which one form they want to get involved – from traditional donations to loan projects and investments. “All this with just a few clicks.”
Add to that what Bosch calls “a social experience.” People who want to invest their assets are usually not even aware of the opportunities that are available to them. “Project bcause” can bring these people together with those who have been involved in foundations for a long time – and thus promote an exchange.
In the last few months, the founders and their startup-experienced team have built the platform, tested it extensively with a closed user group and adapted their product where necessary. The beta phase of the project is scheduled to start on May 21 – at the push of a button on the DLD.
