Civil Society and the Public Sector

Flick Gocke Schaumburg is one of the leading legal and tax advisory firms for all civil society organizations. Our clients include non-profit foundations and associations, charities, professional associations, scientific and educational institutions, museums and cultural organizers, sports associations and clubs, and international non-profit organizations. We advise the initiators of charitable projects, such as founders, as well as persons supported or employed by charitable organizations, such as members of governing bodies, researchers, and athletes. Our clients also include legal persons under public law such as churches, broadcasting corporations, universities, hospitals, pension funds, and non-profit subsidiaries in the public sector, for example on the legal and tax structuring of cooperations. In addition, we advise fundraising agencies and organizations responsible for non-independent foundations, such as banks and savings banks.

We provide comprehensive legal and tax advice to non-profit associations, foundations, limited liability companies, cooperatives, stock corporations, and organizations from all areas of civil society. Our advice encompasses governance matters, drafting contracts in respect of charitable work, the appropriateness of key business policy decisions, for example the remuneration of board members, and potential conflicts of interest. We are experts in non-profit law, association law and foundation law, all types of taxation, and business management issues. We support our clients in CSR projects, in transactions and reorganizations (mergers, spin-offs, changes of legal form, etc.), in tax audits, and in proceedings before the foundation supervisory authorities, for example when articles of association and structures are amended. We also advise charitable organizations on accounting matters and building compliance systems. In addition, we represent clients before the financial, administrative and civil courts, for example in liability and board disputes.

We are opinion leaders who regularly publish in trade journals and hold presentations across Germany. We work with leading associations in the non-profit sector and keep a close eye on developments in the third sector. In addition, we maintain close contacts with leading academics, judges, and senior administrators in the third sector, both from the tax authorities and the foundation supervisory authorities in the federal states.


All contacts and experts

Our expertise at a glance

Structuring advice
Tax returns
Representation before courts and authorities
Accounting, audits
Compliance
Responsible body
IT solutions

News and insights

30.09.2024 | Latest news
Second edition of ‘Foundation Law after the Reform’ released
 
22.02.2024 | FGS Event
Webinar: Besteuerung der öffentlichen Hand: Der Countdown läuft, § 2b UStG
 
19.09.2023 | External Event
Seminar: Familien- und Unternehmensstiftungen
 
16.06.2023 | Latest news
Best Lawyers: Flick Gocke Schaumburg again named Law Firm of the Year for Tax Law and Succession Planning & Foundations
 
25.04.2023 | External Event
Online-Seminar: Aktuelles Stiftungs-, Vereins- und Gemeinnützigkeitsrecht
 
24.02.2023 | External Event
Hybridveranstaltung: 17. Stiftungsrechtstag „Stiftung und Krise“
 
23.02.2023 | FGS Blog
Buchvorstellung: „Handbuch der Gemeinnützigkeit“: Partner von Flick Gocke Schaumburg geben Neuauflage des Standardwerks heraus
 
07.02.2023 | External Event
Jahresforum Stiftungen: Neueste Entwicklungen im Gemeinnützigkeits- und Stiftungsrecht
 
30.01.2023 | FGS Blog
BFH zu Zweckbetrieben und Konkurrentenschutz
 
26.01.2023 | External Event
Online-Seminar: Aktuelles Gemeinnützigkeits-, Stiftungs- und Vereinsrecht
 
24.12.2022 | FGS Blog
Update: Anforderungen an die Satzung ausländischer NPOs
 
08.12.2022 | FGS Blog
Organschaft bleibt als Gestaltungsmittel erhalten
 

Further information

Brochure: Our advisory for non-profit organizations (in German)
Download now


Interview: Take a look behind the scenes (in German)
Download now


Tax & law blog:
Articles on foundations and non-profit organizations


Tax law:
Taxation of public-law entities
Taxation of private individuals
Inheritance tax and gift tax


Auditing and business valuation:
Tax returns
Preparing annual financial statements
Bookkeeping (corporate entities, family offices, private clients)


Client focus:
Family-owned businesses
Private clients
Family offices