There are 45 billion euros in the accounts of non-profit organizations with almost no interest. The banks donate to the sector every now and then. They rarely take him seriously as customers.
In Sandesneben, half an hour from Hamburg, unmarked white vans drive through the villages. Anyone who sees one thinks of craftsmen. But women affected by violence are counseled inside, in the parking lot in front of the supermarket or school. In the village, no one enters a counseling center unnoticed, so the counseling comes to the women.
Miriam Peters founded the Land-Grazien in 2020. Because the need is so great, the organization has grown quickly. Six months ago, the social worker moved from the vans to the office to take care of the money. There was work to be done: her organization's account fees were higher than the interest rates. She asked two banks about an investment. At the savings bank she was told: “You’re just a social worker anyway.”
The sentence is outrageous. But it's also bad business. Private non-profit organizations (clubs, foundations, churches and associations) had around 74 billion euros in cash and deposits in banks at the end of 2025. 45 billion of which are in sight accounts, available daily and virtually interest-free.
To put it into perspective: banks in the euro area paid companies 0.6 percent for such deposits in July. The banks themselves receive 2.5 percent overnight for the same money from the European Central Bank.
And the nonprofits? Unfortunately, there are no reliable statistics on this, but according to a survey conducted by the fundraising platform Bcause, almost forty percent receive a maximum of one percent interest. A similar number don't even know it. That's not representative. But it fits with the Bundesbank's statistics.
Let's do the math: The difference of 1.9 percentage points to 45 billion euros is around 850 million euros per year. All private individuals in Germany together donated a good 4.6 billion euros in 2025. The lack of interest corresponds to almost a fifth of all donations. Or the annual budget of 2,800 organizations like the Land-Grazien.
Why does so much money remain unused in a sector that deeply affects practically everyone in Germany? I see three explanations, but none of them relieve the banks.
First, nonprofits are legally required to spend donations within two years. Or they have to create complicated reserves. A truly attractive investment is difficult, but fixed-term deposits and money market funds are of course possible.
Second, most are small. More than half of the 657,000 organizations in Germany take in less than 10,000 euros a year. It's not worth the effort for them. For everyone else, yes.
Thirdly, they are often neither demanding nor self-confident as customers. In many clubs, those who did not defend themselves in a timely manner are in charge of the cash register. But that's exactly what advice is for.
At the same time, many banks advertise their commitment. The first commitment that Miriam Peters ever received came from a savings bank foundation: 2,500 euros. (But she wasn't allowed to spend it as she wanted, only on material costs.) The Sparkasse Finance Group donated around 136 million euros for social purposes in 2025. What the sector misses out on in interest (including from other banks) is more than six times this amount. Miriam Peters was welcome as a petitioner. As a client, she was just a social worker.
A financial industry is productive when it makes ideas financeable that would not exist without it. This makes it valuable for the economy. For organizations like Land-Grazien it does the opposite. She keeps her money until it is worth less. This is perhaps how you treat a donation recipient. But not with a customer.
