Germany issues renewed calls for law changes to speed up emergency aid delivery

On the anniversary of the German flood disaster (7 July), the German Fundraising Association (DFRV) has been supporting calls for legal reforms to help aid reach those impacted by emergencies and disasters faster.

The anniversary saw renewed calls in the media from frustrated donors as well as people impacted by the 2021 flood who have as yet received little help.

According to DFRV, outdated laws and unnecessary bureaucracy serve to slow down the work of nonprofits during emergency situations when it is most urgently needed. The association previously issued a call for regulatory changes earlier this year at the start of the Ukraine war.

Larissa Probst, Managing Director of the German Fundraising Association (DFRV) commented:

“Organisations and their many committed people provide help quickly and professionally. However, you can only pay out the aid as quickly as allowed by the Treasury legal framework.”

To resolve this, DFRV is calling for:

1. The tax code to be amended to enable emergency and disaster aid work to be recognised as nonprofit and eligible for support, whether or not it is organised by a registered charity.
2. Modernisation of nonprofit law to reduce bureaucracy & increase support for the sector
3. Greater cooperation between organisations responding to a crisis as well as more transparency and consultation with state sponsors and insurance companies

DFRV Chairman Martin Georgi said:

“Federal Minister of Finance Christian Lindner has to ask himself whether, as a liberal who stands for more personal initiative and private commitment, he would like to further slow down this commitment like his inactive predecessors, or whether he would like to use a modernisation of the non-profit law to exploit the full potential of the desire to open up civil society. In view of the climate catastrophe and turbulent times, we will be even more dependent on fast and flexible aid options in the future.”