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About us
- Who is Sign of Hope?
- Is Sign of Hope a church institution and does it undertake mission work?
- What does Sign of Hope do?
- What issues does Sign of Hope advocate for?
- In which countries is Sign of Hope active?
In dialog with us
- How can I request information material about Sign of Hope's work?
- I received post from Sign of Hope for the first time. How did the organisation get my address?
- Why is Sign of Hope sending me info post?
- How can I change my personal information?
- How can I reduce or terminate info post shipping?
- Why does Sign of Hope transfer one cent to my bank account?
Engage and donate
- How can I support the work of Sign of Hope?
- Are sponsorships possible, for example, for people about whom Sign of Hope reports?
- Does Sign of Hope also accept donations in-kind?
- What is the easiest way for me to donate?
- How can I support activities in a country of my choice?
- Why are free donations more helpful than earmarked donations?
- Why does Sign of Hope have multiple account linkages?
- Why is a regular donation more helpful than an one-time donation?
- How can I make an ongoing donation or change my current supporting partnership?
- Is my donation tax deductible?
- How do I get a donation receipt?
Control and transparency
- How much of my donation goes to projects?
- Will my donation reach the project country?
- How does Sign of Hope ensure that donations are used for projects?
- Who controls the work of Sign of Hope?
- Does Sign of Hope have the DZI donation seal?
Privacy and security
- Is my data well protected at Sign of Hope?
- I don't want to give my data on the internet. What can I do?
About us
Sign of Hope is a faith-based Christian organisation for human rights, humanitarian assistance and development cooperation. Since the year 1983, we are in operation and help people in need as well as distress worldwide. In doing so, we focus on the dignity of each individual. Our headquarters are located in Konstanz, Germany. In the section Who we are you can find more information about the organisation. back
2. Is Sign of Hope a church institution and does it undertake mission work?
No, Sign of Hope is a faith-based Christian human rights and aid organisation. In our work, we are guided by Christian values such as humanity, charity and solidarity. The majority of the people in our projects are of Christian faith, but we do not limit our aid to Christians alone. In many projects, we work closely with Christian sponsors or the local churches. In addition, we advocate for religious freedom with our petitions. We strengthen people in their faith through our work, even though we do not do missionary work ourselves. We receive support for our work from individual donors and institutional donors, but not from sources such as church taxes which are collected in some countries. back
Sign of Hope is active in the areas of human rights, humanitarian assistance and development cooperation. We provide our humanitarian assistance in the form of emergency and disaster relief. With heart and expertise, we are committed to helping people in need and distress. Our vision is to enable people worldwide to live in dignity. To this end, more than 105 employees work in Germany and in five other countries in Africa, Armenia and Ukraine. Our approximately 50 partner organisations worldwide are also committed to this goal. Since 2008, we have supported projects in more than 40 countries and reached more than 1.5 million people in the reporting year 2023 alone. In the What we do section, you can find more information about our work. back
4. What issues does Sign of Hope advocate for?
Our expertise lies in human rights work, humanitarian assistance and development cooperation. In order to strengthen the dignity of people, we address the following issues:
- Food
- Healthcare
- Human rights
- Emergency and disaster relief
- Combating poverty
- Water
- Education and social issues
With our outreach, we aim to promote the closely related themes of peace, justice, and the integrity of creation, as well as to mitigate the effects of social injustice. back
5. In which countries is Sign of Hope active?
The regional focus of our outreach is on the African continent, particularly in central East Africa. Our heart beats especially for the people in Uganda, Kenya, Ethiopia and South Sudan. We are also active in countries in West and South Asia such as Armenia, India and Yemen. back
In dialog with us
1. How can I request information material about Sign of Hope's work?
If you would like to receive information about our work, you can request our magazine or our letters on selected current projects free of charge and without obligation. To do so, contact our donor service by phone at +49 7531 9450-160 or by email at info@hoffnungszeichen.de. back
2. I received post from Sign of Hope for the first time. How did the organisation get my address?
There are two possibilities: One, we may have received your address because you donated with us. However, sometimes for our advertising, we also include addresses that are in line with the purpose of Sign of Hope that we get from our address provider. In this case, your address is not in our database. Still, if you request us to, we can remove it from our mailing list. To do so, please contact us by email at info@hoffnungszeichen.de or by telephone at +49 7531 9450-160. back
3. Why is Sign of Hope sending me info post?
Sign of Hope is a non-profit organisation that supports people in need through private donations and public funding. Our promotional activities are aimed exclusively at our association's purpose: help for distressed and exploited people. With our letters and our magazine we would like to inform about our current work in the project countries as well as the help that is needed. In doing so, we call for assistance through donations. We can adapt the mailings to your wishes - contact us for this by email to info@hoffnungszeichen.de or by phone at +49 7531 9450-160. back
4. How can I change my personal information?
Has your last name changed due to a marriage or your address changed due to a move, for example? Feel free to share the new name or address with our donor service at +49 7531 9450-160 or by email to info@hoffnungszeichen.de. back
5. How can I reduce or terminate the info post shipping?
Would you like to receive less or no more post from Sign of Hope? Then let our donor service know at +49 7531 9450-160 or by emailing to info@hoffnungszeichen.de. Of course, you will receive your donation receipt as usual in January of the following year. back
6. Why does Sign of Hope transfer one cent to my bank account?
It happens time and again that we do not receive the address of the sender of a donation. The reasons for this vary: The credit institution does not forward us all the specified data, there is not enough space on the remittance slip or a donor has forgotten to give their address. In these cases, we send a message to the donor thanking them sincerely for the donation by transferring one cent to their bank account. We also ask that they contact us so that we can complete the missing information. You can provide our donor service with your address by phone at +49 7531 9450-160 or by email at info@hoffnungszeichen.de. This will help us to definitively allocate your donation and issue you a donation receipt. back
Engage and donate
1. How can I support the work of Sign of Hope?
We welcome any support for distressed and exploited people. Together with us, you can get involved in various ways:
- Support our projects with a one-time donation.
- Assist people in need with an ongoing donation to the site and become supporting partner.
- Gift a loved one a donation towards a Sign of Hope project for Christmas, a birthday or any other occasion. In doing so, you will help people in need together and become givers of hope.
Our donor services team will be happy to help you by phone at +49 7531 9450-160 or by email at info@hoffnungszeichen.de. The team will agree with you on the best option for you and will be there to help you implement it. back
2. Are sponsorships possible, for example, for people about whom Sign of Hope reports?
This is not possible. Within a community, we do not want to limit support to individuals with sponsorships, but rather to promote the weakest and most in need as a whole, if possible. Sign of Hope has made a conscious decision to do this - also because it would require more administrative effort to allocate an individual donation to a specific recipient. However, it is our concern to keep the administrative burden as low as possible. This is likewise evidenced by our membership in the German Charities Council. Through sponsorships, individuals are given preference. However, we would like to treat every person or family in our projects equally and avoid giving the impression of preferential treatment. Even without sponsorship, your donation will benefit people in the project country or focus area that you have selected. We thus use your donation efficiently to support people in need or distress. back
3. Does Sign of Hope also accept donations in-kind?
For our project countries, we do not accept donations in-kind. We buy relief supplies for our work almost exclusively on site. In this way, Sign of Hope involves regionally based companies and promotes the economy in the respective countries. This also helps to save on transportation and logistical costs. back
4. What is the easiest way for me to donate?
The easiest and fastest way to donate is via our donation form. There, specify the amount you wish to donate, the donation frequency and purpose of the donation, and leave your personal details. Alternatively, you can transfer a gift to Sign of Hope's donation account:
Sign of Hope e.V.
IBAN: DE77 3702 0500 0008 7173 00
BIC: BFSW DE33 XXX
SozialBank
Our donor service will be happy to help you. The team can be reached Monday to Friday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. by phone at +49 7531 9450-160 or by email at info@hoffnungszeichen.de. back
5. How can I support activities in a country of my choice?
Using our form for online donations you can make a donation to Sign of Hope's projects. There you have the option to specify your desired donation amount, frequency and purpose. As a donation purpose you can choose one of our project countries, the focus areas of emergencies and disasters or human rights. If you do not wish to specify a particular project country or focus area, you can donate in general for the work of Sign of Hope with the donation purpose "Where most needed". In this case, your gift will be used for a project where it is most needed. back
6. Why are free donations more helpful than earmarked donations?
Donations with the purpose "Where most needed" are not tied to a project country or focus area. With these donations, we can help where the need is greatest. For example, we can take immediate action in emergencies or disasters, or support projects that are not (or no longer are) the focus of media attention. Thus, free donations allow us to use the funds in the best possible way. back
7. Why does Sign of Hope have multiple account-linkages?
Sign of Hope has several donation accounts. With the help of these accounts, we can more quickly determine the cannel through which a donation was received. The donation account for our online donations is:
Sign of Hope e.V.
IBAN: DE77 3702 0500 0008 7173 00
BIC: BFSW DE33 XXX
SozialBank
We reassure you that all account details communicated by us are valid and your donation will arrive uneventfully. We will allocate your gift based on your account details. back
8. Why is an ongoing donation more helpful than an one-time donation?
As a supporting partner, you lay the foundation of our mission. With your valuable ongoing donation, you ensure that we can provide immediate assistance in acute emergencies and that we can plan our aid projects for the long term as well as provide sustainable support to people. In addition, you have the following advantages as a supporting partner:
- You help particularly efficiently, thanks to low administrative costs.
- You save on fees for individual transfers, if applicable.
- Your ongoing donation is tax deductible in Germany - you will receive your donation receipt in January for the previous year.
9. How can I make an ongoing donation or change my current supporting partnership?
You can make a recurring donation by direct debit authorisation. You can easily create a direct debit authorisation via our donation form. There, select your desired amount, donation frequency (monthly or quarterly), and a donation purpose (country or theme). Note the desired method of payment (SEPA direct debit or credit card) as well as your personal data.
You can change or cancel your supporting partnership at any time without giving any reasons by calling, emailing or mailing our donor service:
Hoffnungszeichen │ Sign of Hope e.V.
Schneckenburgstr. 11 d
78467 Konstanz
Germany
Phone: +49 7531 9450-160
Email: info@hoffnungszeichen.de
10. Is my donation tax deductible?
Donations made to Sign of Hope are tax deductible in Germany. The charitable and non-profit status of Sign of Hope is recognised by the current exemption notice, tax no. 09041/07891. Donations to the association are therefore tax deductible according to § 10b EStG or § 9 No. 3 KStG. back
11. How do I get a donation receipt?
If you have provided us with your address, you will receive a donation certificate for the past year in January, which you can submit to the tax office in Germany. If desired, we can also send you a certificate by mail after each donation receipt. To do so, contact our donor service. back
Control and transparency
1. How much of my donation goes to projects?
Sign of Hope works to continuously keep the percentage of donations that go to our projects high. Currently, the proportion that goes into our statutory purposes is 92%, which means that for every euro donated, 92 cts benefits our statutory work. Our efforts also mean we have administrative and advertising expenses, which currently stand at 8%. These expenses can bei found in our current annual report. back
2. Will my donation reach the project country?
If you have indicated a specific purpose for your donation, such as one of our project countries, we will make every effort to use it accordingly. If more donations are received than needed for the described measures, these will benefit other statutory projects of Sign of Hope. back
3. How does Sign of Hope ensure that donations are used for projects?
Before a project is approved, our employees carefully check it for content, professionalism as well as financial viability. During the project, we check whether the funds are used appropriately and in accordance with our goals. We regularly review our larger projects for effectiveness, efficacy and efficiency. Depending on the size of the project, we work with independent evaluators and auditors. The results of a project are documented in the form of reports. We provide this information among other things on our website, on Facebook, Instagram and in the annual report to our supporters. back
4. Who controls the work of Sign of Hope?
Sign of Hope has been a member of the German Charities Council since 1997 and was one of the first holders of the donation certificate since its introduction in 2017. The certificate confirms that we handle donations responsibly and transparently. In addition, Sign of Hope has been a signatory of the Transparent Civil Society Initiative since August 2015. We achieved top scores several times within the framweork of the "Transparency Award", organised by the auditing firm PricewaterhouseCoopers. In 2009, for example, we received the "Special Award for Best Small Organisation". For sustainable business practices, Sign of Hope received the attestation of the Economy for the Common Good certificate (GWÖ) for the first time in 2019.
We have our work audited and certified annually by independent auditing companies in the form of annual financial statements. In addition, our non-profit work is confirmed by the notice of exemption from the German tax office.
In the section Commitment and control you can find more information about the auditing bodies and our declarations of commitment. back
5. Does Sign of Hope have the DZI donation seal?
Sign of Hope does not use the seal of the DZI (German Central Institute for Social Issues). One reason for this is the considerable fees which would have to be paid from donations. Instead, Sign of Hope has the donation certificate from the German Charities Council, of which we are a member, confirmings that we handle donations responsibly and transparently. We are also a member of the Transparent Civil Society Initiative and VENRO, among others. Furthermore, we have commited ourselves to further principles which can be found under commitment and control. back
Privacy and security
1. Is my data well protected at Sign of Hope?
The protection of your data is important to us! Sign of Hope handles these confidentially. Online, they are transmitted in encrypted form via a secure SSL (Secure Socket Layer) internet connection and are secure at all times. Data processing is strictly in accordance with the EU General Data Protection Regulation (DSGVO) and is supervised by an external data protection officer. You can read our privacy policy at privacy. back
2. I don't want to give my data on the internet. What can I do?
You can transfer a donation at any time to our donation account:
Sign of Hope e.V.
IBAN: DE77 3702 0500 0008 7173 00
BIC: BFSW DE33 XXX
SozialBank
Our donor service is also happy to accept your data by telephone on +49 7531 9450-160. back
