# Donation crowdfunding · Germany

The platforms German charities trust — and how the Spendenbescheinigung makes a gift deductible for the donor.

Germany’s payment mix is unusually diverse: SEPA Direct Debit and bank transfer carry close to half of online donations, with cards, PayPal and Sofort splitting the rest. There is no single dominant rail like iDEAL, so platforms that support SEPA cleanly tend to deliver the most per euro for recurring German giving.

Donations to a recognised gemeinnützige (charitable) organisation are deductible up to 20% of the donor’s total income, evidenced by a Zuwendungsbestätigung (donation certificate). For gifts up to €300 a simplified receipt — often just the bank record — is enough, which platforms can generate automatically.

Financial services fall under BaFin; donor data is governed by the DSGVO, the German GDPR implementation. EEA data residency is effectively expected by German nonprofits handling supporter data.

## Facts

|  |  |
| --- | --- |
| Currency | EUR |
| Regulators | BaFin |
| Payment methods | sepa, sofort, card, paypal, apple-pay, google-pay |

## Platforms

1. **4fund.com** — $100.00/$100 · Individuals, charities, and small organisations across the EEA who want a multilingual, no-commission fundraiser backed by an established Polish crowdfunding operator with EU payment-institution licensing.
2. **Givio** — $100.00/$100 · German nonprofits and associations that want to collect donations and tap an additional passive income stream through the linked Gooding charity-shopping service.
3. **Spendenportal** — $100.00/$100 · German donors who want to give to vetted, pre-checked charities, and supporters who want to donate goods as well as money - including via SocialBay's eBay-based resale of in-kind donations.
4. **WhyDonate** — $98.35/$100 · EU nonprofits — 0% fee, SEPA + card, DSGVO-native
5. **iRaiser** — $97.85/$100 · Established European nonprofits, foundations, hospitals, and cultural institutions that want branded, self-hosted fundraising tools — forms, peer-to-peer, crowdfunding, and events — under their own identity.
6. **Betterplace** — $97.20/$100 · German and Austrian nonprofits and social-cause project owners that want a trusted, charitable, German-run donation platform with low pass-through costs and local data handling.
7. **Leetchi** — $96.85/$100 · Group collections across the DACH region
8. **GoFundMe** — $96.80/$100 · Personal causes — broad brand reach
9. **Donorbox** — $94.55/$100 · Embeddable forms with German receipts
10. **Fundraise Up** — $93.50/$100 · Mid-size and large nonprofits running international online fundraising that want to maximize donation conversion with modern wallets, local payment rails, and multi-currency checkout.
11. **GoGetFunding** — $92.80/$100 · Individual fundraisers running personal, medical, or emergency campaigns who prefer a fundraiser-paid platform fee over donor tipping, with broad international country availability.
12. **Chuffed** — $92.20/$100 · Nonprofits, social enterprises, and community-cause organisers in 29 supported countries who want a 100%-free, tip-funded platform and are willing to complete identity verification before launching.
13. **EcoCrowd** — $89.75/$100 · German environmental and sustainability nonprofits - associations, foundations, and gGmbHs - seeking community-backed funding for SDG-aligned projects through a curated monthly donation pool.
14. **Steady** — $87.10/$100 · European creators, independent journalists, podcasters, and publishers who want recurring income from paying members rather than one-off donation campaigns.

## FAQ

### Which platforms work in Germany?

The platforms in the table above operate in Germany. The German ranking rewards local trust and automated donation certificates alongside SEPA-first pricing, since SEPA support drives how much of each gift reaches the cause.

### Are donations tax-deductible in Germany?

Yes, gifts to a recognised gemeinnützige organisation are deductible up to 20% of your total income. For gifts up to €300 a bank record suffices; above that you need a Zuwendungsbestätigung from the charity. Gifts to individuals are not deductible.

### Will I be taxed on money I raise?

As an individual, gifts from any single donor above your personal allowance can attract Schenkungsteuer. Many small public gifts for a genuine cause are generally untaxed. Recognised charities are exempt. Giving goods or services in return can make it income or VAT instead.

### What’s the cheapest way to receive donations here?

A platform that supports SEPA Direct Debit at cost. With no single dominant rail, card-only routing is the most expensive per euro, so SEPA-first platforms deliver more of each gift to the cause.