Philanthropie Aktuell 01/2021: Charitable and politically active – a contradiction?
Should charitable organizations be at the forefront of the political process? Since the votes on the Corporate Responsibility Initiative and the Hunting Law Referendum in Switzerland last year, both of which were largely supported by nonprofit organizations, an intense debate has developed around this question. So to what extent should charitable organizations be allowed to be politically active? Georg von Schnurbein discusses this question in the lead article of the latest issue of Philanthropie Aktuell. He argues for a societal debate that focuses more on the concept of general interest rather than regulation.
The permissibility and limits of political activity by charitable organizations also take center stage in article 2 on page 2, and in the interview on page 3. In article 2, Birgit Weitemeyer, Chair of Tax Law at Bucerius Law School in Hamburg, provides insights into the debate in Germany in this regard, arising in particular after the withdrawal of its charitable status from the association «Attac». In the interview, Isabelle Stadelmann-Steffen, Professor of Comparative Politics at the University of Bern, gives reasons for the increasing political activity of charitable organizations, and explores how far such political activity may go.
Finally, we would like to congratulate the Con·Sense team on the successful launch of their new consulting company, which was created as a spin-off of the CEPS. You can read about Con·Sense goals on page 4.
Read Philanthropie Aktuell 01/2021