The Foundation on Future Farming supports pioneering, ecologically and socially sustainable agricultural projects. It is also active in the public debate, with the goal of promoting and developing the role of organic farming as the model for future agricultural policies.
Its aim is to develop a lively and forward-looking economy and culture in which cities and the countryside have a stimulating effect on each other. We all need good, healthy food and want to feel at home in a varied and ecologically intact landscape. The Foundation on Future Farming is sustained by individuals and businesses which care for attractive and productive cultural landscapes and which wish to play a leading role in the future development and design of the global service and scientific industries.
The Foundation on Future Farming only supports aims and projects which are in the public interest, in science, research, education, environmental protection health and projects for the benefit of young people and the elderly. Donations to the Foundation are tax deductible under § 10b EstG.
The original Foundation members brought together a sum of around 3million DM, a sum which is continually being topped-up by new donations. The aim is to steadily increase both the available funds and the number of contributors.
The council, chosen by the annual general meeting, lays down the guidelines for support and appoints an awards committee to make the individual decisions. In the important field of seed production, decisions are reached by a board of trustees which includes Foundation members and seed-breeders. It is possible within the framework of the Foundation to make contributions to particular projects.
At the annual general meeting all members come together in a pleasant atmosphere to debate and share experience.
Legally, the Foundation on Future Farming is a non-independent foundation which is managed by the Gemeinnützige Treuhandstelle e.V. in Bochum .
The Gemeinnützige Treuhandstelle (public interest Trust) and the associated GLS Gemeinschaftsbank (co-operative bank) have decades of experience in financing and advising cultural, social and educational institutions in the fields of organic and ecological agriculture, as well as the necessary competence and efficiency in administration, testing and consultancy. Many of the Foundation's members, alongside their public-service engagement, also have business interests in related fields.
