Berlin – November 03, 2026 -- Seventy-two percent of German civil society organizations look to their future with confidence, even as 73% name bureaucracy and administrative burden as a key obstacle, according to the first Zuversichtsbarometer ("confidence barometer") from the Robert Bosch Stiftung.

Polling firm forsa surveyed 754 representatives of registered associations (e. V.), foundations and nonprofit limited companies (gGmbHs). The organizations cover welfare, education, environment, culture and sport. Interviews were conducted by computer-assisted telephone (CATI) from August 10 to September 4, 2026.

Staff engagement drives optimism for 94% of respondents

Employee and volunteer commitment is the most important source of encouragement, cited by 94%. Positive feedback from target groups follows at 92%, and tangible successes and visible impact at 90%.

Bureaucracy, financing and staffing gaps weigh on operations

Beyond administrative burden (73%), respondents cite uncertain financing (64%) and staff shortages or overloaded employees (60%). More than half of organizations (54%) perceive a lack of political support.

Societal pressures add to the strain. Polarization burdens daily work for 46% of respondents, and 16% report direct hostility or hate aimed at their organization or individual staff.

Bosch Stiftung calls for legal certainty and stable structures

Ottilie Bälz, head of the foundation's Global Issues program area, said large welfare associations generally operate stably, while smaller local initiatives working against extremism and hate face markedly harsher conditions. She argued that organizations need reliable structures, especially where state funding is disappearing or where political and societal pressure is mounting.

Bälz also called for modernizing German nonprofit law (Gemeinnützigkeitsrecht) so that organizations gain greater legal certainty for their socio-political activities.

Bosch Stiftung commits EUR 800,000 as first foundation in new democracy fund

The Deutscher Fonds für Demokratie was launched in spring 2026. It supports organizations squeezed by lost grants or political repression, particularly after the state elections in Saxony-Anhalt and Mecklenburg-Vorpommern. The Robert Bosch Stiftung is the first foundation to join and is contributing EUR 800,000.

The fund covers personnel, rent and infrastructure costs to secure the operating capacity of local democratic initiatives.