Author
Peter Hübner, as appeared in Alpha1 Journal 1/2024.
Dear members, dear Alphas,
Dear readers,
The members' meeting and information day 2024 have barely passed, and everyday club life has already caught up with us again, and the 2024 financial year is in full swing.
Following the presented audit report, the two auditors gave valuable suggestions for further financing options for our patient organization at the members' meeting.
Particularly in light of the high-quality work done so far, a possible membership fee increase was discussed. Inspired by this, members also suggested cash donations and bequests, perfectly in line with the spirit of our association: Alpha1 – that's all of us. A heartfelt thank you for that! We will seriously discuss these suggestions at the board meetings.
Inheritance donation to Alpha1 Germany eV – a taboo subject?
For the past two years, our patient organization has been receiving donations in lieu of flowers from funerals, both from members and from people we don't know. This means that, at the request of the bereaved, mourners donate to us instead of sending flowers at a funeral.
I furthered this by registering Alpha1 Deutschland eV as a donation recipient with a large funeral home in Berlin. Relatives are then presented with various organizations to which they can donate, if needed.
In addition to donations in lieu of flowers, there is also the option of receiving bequests. In this case, the testator stipulates that their estate, or a portion thereof, be donated to a charitable organization like ours. Through this form of donation, SOS Children's Villages received over €100 million in bequests in 2022. This trend is on the rise in Germany and is not solely attributable to the increasing number of childless testators.
Even though it is a rather sensitive topic, I would like to place it here to raise awareness that Alpha1 Deutschland eV can also be supported with this form of donation.
Anyone who would like to spread the word or has questions is welcome to contact me. A flyer explaining the background and purpose of donations to us and various ways to motivate donations will be published soon.
Just as almost everyone thinks about their estate, the topic of legacy donation is also part of this and should not be taboo.
Yours sincerely, Peter Hübner
