Zombie-Stiftungen: Wenn die Stiftung selbst zum Förderprojekt wird

A foundation founder discovered the true cost of running a philanthropic organization after initially paying only a third of the hourly rates quoted by a reputed law firm. The founder, who had established the foundation two and a half years ago, now realized the expenses incurred by a charitable trust. With €4 million invested in bonds, dividend-paying funds, and certificates, the annual costs amounted to nearly €4,900.

This included expenses for bookkeeping, financial record-keeping, accounting documentation, transparency registers, a stock market identifier, and 118 hours of the founder's personal time. These hours were allocated to tasks such as investment management (50 hours), accounting (18 hours), oversight of the foundation, tax filings, and protocols (25 hours), and issuing donation receipts (5 hours).

The remaining 20 hours were dedicated to determining the beneficiaries of the funds. The founder expressed concern over the costs, but they seemed typical for managing such an organization. Despite the potential returns from cautious investments, up to half of the profits could be consumed by management fees, bank charges, and product fees, depending on the cost of the funds, with the founder's time factored at €50 per hour.