Transparent Civil Society Initiative

The Transparent Civil Society Initiative was launched by Transparency International Germany e.V. in 2010. The goal of the initiative is a unified action alliance within civil society that agrees on essential parameters for effective transparency.

To the Transparent Civil Society Initiative

The background for the initiative is that there are no uniform publication requirements for nonprofit organisations in Germany. The signatories undertake to make ten relevant pieces of information available to the public in a way that is easy to find. With 1,812 participating organisations (status: 06.06.2024), it is the largest civil society transparency initiative in Germany.

A board of supporters ensures that the initiative is disseminated, monitors compliance with the conditions of participation on a random basis, and is responsible for its further development.

As a signatory to the Declaration of Commitment, Sign of Hope publishes these ten points (status: 06.06.2024):

1. name, registered office, address and year of foundation of Sign of Hope

Hoffnungszeichen | Sign of Hope e.V.
Schneckenburgstr. 11 d
D-78467 Konstanz
Germany

www.hoffnungszeichen.de/en
mail@hoffnungszeichen.de

Short names: Hoffnungszeichen, Hoffnungszeichen e.V., Sign of Hope
Year of foundation: 1983
Name and seat official register: Freiburg Local Court in Germany, registration number VR 380978

2. Complete articles of association or company agreement as well as other essential documents that provide information about which specific goals we are pursuing and how these will be achieved (e.g. vision, mission statement, values, funding criteria).

See Sign of Hope's statutes.

3. Date of the most recent notice from the tax office about the recognition as a tax-privileged (non-profit) corporation, if it is such a corporation.

The tax office Konstanz of the state Baden-Württemburg in Germany has recognised by exemption notice dated 05.05.2023 to tax no. 09041/07891 the charitable status and charity of Hoffnungszeichen | Sign of Hope e.V. for the year 2021. Donations to the association are therefore tax deductible according to § 10b EStG or § 9 No. 3 KStG.

4. Name and function of the key decision-makers (e.g. management, Executive Board and Supervisory Board)
Klaus Stieglitz, Chairperson Executive Board
Miriam Schütze, Vice Chairperson Executive Board
Manfred Steiner, Chairperson Supervisory Board
Stefan Daub, Vice Chairperson Supervisory Board
Pastor Sibylle Giersiepen, Member of the Supervisory Board
Ute Felgenhauer-Laier, Member of the Supervisory Board

5. report on the activities of our organisation: timely, understandable, and as comprehensive as can be produced with reasonable effort (e.g., copy of the report to be submitted annually to the general meeting of members or shareholders).

See annual report (This covers our fiscal year from October 1 through September 30.).

6. Staff structure: Number of full-time employees, honorary staff, marginally employed, community service workers, voluntary service workers; information on voluntary staff.

At the end of the reporting year 2023, Sign of Hope had 47 employees at the association's headquarters in Konstanz and in Berlin in Germany, 16 in Kenya, 26 in Uganda, three in Ethiopia and two employees were active in several African countries. Two project-bound employees engaged in Armenia and five in Ukraine. The number of association members was 25, and the honorary supervisory board consisted of four people as of the reporting date.

7. / 8. source of funds: Information on all income, presented as part of the annually prepared income / expense or income statement, broken down by funds from the non-material sphere (e.g. donations, membership and sponsorship contributions), public grants, income from commercial business, special purpose operation and / or asset management.

Use of funds: Information on the use of all income, presented as part of the annually prepared income and expense or income statement and the statement of assets and liabilities or balance sheet.

See annual report ("Our work in figures" and "Finances").

9. Corporate legal affiliation with third parties, e.g. parent or subsidiary company, funding association, outsourced business operation, partner organisation.

Hoffnungszeichen | Sign of Hope e.V., East Africa Branch Kenya

The Hoffnungszeichen | Sign of Hope Foundation is legally autonomous and independent. Personally and financially Hoffnungszeichen | Sign of Hope e.V. supports the Sign of Hope Foundation. Two members of the Supervisory Board are delegated by the association according to the foundation's statutes § 7 (1).

Other connections important for the work of the organisation:

• German Charities Council e.V.
• VENRO
• UNO consultant status
• EU-CORD

10. Names of legal entities whose annual donation exceeds 10 % of our total annual revenue. Details of corresponding donations from natural persons will be published after approval by the same, but in any case marked as "major donations from private individuals".

Legal person: Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), Federal Foreign Office
Natural person: not applicable