The Statutes of the Francke Foundations

In 1695, the theologian and educator August Hermann Francke (1663-1727), whose personality was characterised by pietistic piety, entrepreneurial drive and a strong social commitment, founded a school for the poor and an orphanage in Halle an der Saale. In 1698, the Francke Foundations were established by privilege of the Elector of Brandenburg. Thanks to Francke's wealth of ideas and organisational talent, further educational, scientific and social institutions were added over the following three decades. Financed by foundations from Germany and abroad and supported by its own commercial enterprises, the Francke Foundations gained a high reputation in Germany and other European countries.

For over 250 years, the Francke Foundations unfolded a constant and beneficial activity despite the changing times. They also survived the difficulties of the National Socialist era. Only an atheistic party and state power interrupted this tradition by cancelling the legal independence of the foundations and bringing their work to a standstill, contrary to the will of the founders and against the protest of the Protestant Church.

In 1990, favoured by the reunification of Germany, a circle of friends was formed to restore the Francke Foundations. With the support of the Evangelical Church of the Church Province of Saxony, the democratically elected government of Saxony-Anhalt succeeded in restoring the foundations' independence under foundation law. The Francke Foundations were recognised as a foundation under public law, while retaining their legal continuity, and were restored to ownership by a resolution of the state of Saxony-Anhalt on 13 July 1993.

With the aim of bringing the Francke Foundations' facilities back to life in the spirit of their founder and adapting them to the changed conditions in terms of organisational law, the regulations of 1832 were replaced by the statutes of 1992, which after eleven years of development work have been given the following new version.

(1) The Foundation bears the name ‘Francke Foundations’.

(2) The Foundation shall have its registered office in Halle an der Saale.

(3) The Foundation is registered as a foundation under public law in the register of foundations of the State of Saxony-Anhalt.

(1) The Francke Foundations and their bodies see themselves, both as a whole and in their individual branches of work, regardless of their legal form, as an institution characterised by the Christian spirit in the spirit of its founder, which aims to provide people from all social classes at domestic and abroad with a comprehensive education and the ability to act socially. They preserve the historical heritage with a view to shaping present and future living conditions. In addition, the Francke Foundations fulfil their cultural and scientific mission to the general public and make their contribution to cultural education.

(2) In order to fulfil the purpose of the Foundation, the Francke Foundations maintain educational and social, scientific and cultural institutions in accordance with their traditions, which are open to the public, taking into account their use.

(3) The Francke Foundations shall manage the properties belonging to their assets in accordance with their cultural, historical and heritage significance. The utilisation of the buildings shall be in accordance with the Foundation's purpose as set out in para. 1.

(4) For a legally independent branch of work to be recognised as an institution of the Foundation, it must be within the scope of the founder's will and its operation must be financially secure.

(5) The Francke Foundations pursue exclusively and directly charitable purposes within the meaning of the tax-privileged purposes section of the German Tax Code. They are selflessly active and do not primarily pursue their own economic purposes. The funds of the foundations may only be used for the statutory purposes. The foundations may not favour anyone through expenditure that is alien to the purpose of the foundation or through disproportionately high remuneration. The Francke Foundations are recognised as a non-profit organisation within the meaning of the German Tax Code.

(1) The Foundation's assets currently comprise the central property of the Francke Foundations with its buildings in Halle an der Saale, with the exception of the areas that have not yet been transferred back, as well as the scattered property in and outside Halle, in particular the former Stichelsdorf estate (community of Peissen).

(2) The Foundation's assets include the library, the archive and the art and cultural history collections that were owned by the Foundations before 1946 or have been acquired since 1992.

(3) The Foundation's assets must be preserved. Real estate assets may only be sold if they are properties that are not part of the Foundation's listed historical core holdings. Proceeds from the sale must be returned to the assets, unless projects that are essential to the Foundation's existence can only be secured using these proceeds.

(4) Endowments are sought to increase the Foundation's assets. They require the approval of the foundation authority.

(1) Die Stiftung finanziert ihre Aufgaben aus

1. Erträgen des Stiftungsvermögens
2. Zuwendungen der Bundesrepublik Deutschland, des Landes Sachsen-Anhalt und der Stadt Halle
3. sonstigen Zuwendungen, Spenden und eigenen Einnahmen, wie Entgelte und Gebühren.

(2) Ein Inflationsausgleich beim Stiftungsvermögen muss nicht erfolgen.

The bodies of the foundations are

>the Board of Trustees (§ 6)
>the Executive Board (§ 7)
>Association of Friends of the Francke Foundations (§ 9)

(1) The Board of Trustees, as the supreme body of the Francke Foundations, consists of at least 12 and at most 16 members. One member each shall delegate

• the European Union
• the Federal Republic of Germany
• das Land Sachsen-Anhalt
• the state of Saxony-Anhalt
• the Evangelical Church in Germany
• the Evangelical Church of the Church Province of Saxony
• Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg
• Association of Friends of the Francke Foundations.

The state of Saxony-Anhalt, the city of Halle and the church province of Saxony can each nominate a second member.

A deputy must be appointed for each delegated member. This representative attends the meeting if the member is unable to attend.

Further members of the Board of Trustees are co-opted by the Foundation for a term of office of five years, taking into account the diversity of the Foundation's fields of activity. If the representative of Martin Luther University is not a member of the Faculty of Theology, a member of this faculty should be co-opted onto the Board of Trustees.

(2) The Director and his/her deputy shall participate in the meetings in an advisory capacity.

(3) The delegated members of the Board of Trustees shall remain on the Board until a new member is delegated. The term of office of co-opted members of the Board of Trustees may be extended by a further 5 years in each case.

(4) The Board of Trustees elects the Chairperson and the Deputy Chairperson from among its members. Its term of office shall be five years. Re-election is possible. The Board of Trustees shall meet at least twice a year.

(5) The Board of Trustees shall constitute a quorum if at least seven members or their appointed representatives, including the Chairperson, are present. It shall make its decisions by majority vote, unless otherwise provided for in the Articles of Association. In the event of a tie, the Chairperson has the casting vote. Resolutions can also be passed by written circulation procedure if all members give their consent in individual cases.

(6) The Board of Trustees decides on all fundamental matters of the Foundation. In particular, it decides on

• the principles of the foundation's work
• the assumption, performance and termination of tasks by individual organisations of the Foundation
• the Foundation's budget and staffing plan
• the appointment and dismissal of the Executive Board
• the election of the Deputy Director
• Recruitment and upgrading of employees from remuneration group I b BAT-O an
• Discharge of the Executive Board on the basis of the audit in accordance with Section § 11 (3)
• Property and real estate matters
• Granting of heritable building rights
• Acceptance of endowments
• the matters submitted to it by the Board of Directors for resolution.

(7) The Board of Trustees may form a Standing Committee to advise the Director on all important matters. It shall consist of at least three and at most five members of the Board of Trustees. The Director shall issue invitations to the meetings.

(8) Further details shall be governed by rules of procedure, which the Board of Trustees shall adopt by a simple majority of votes.

(1) The Executive Board consists of the Director.

(2) The position of Director shall be advertised nationwide. For the first term of office of six years, the person who holds the office of Director in accordance with Article 4 (1) of the Articles of Association as amended in 1992 at the time the amendment to the Articles of Association comes into force shall be deemed to have been appointed as Director and member of the Executive Board.

(3) The Director shall have a term of office of six years. Multiple re-election is possible. In the event of re-election, there is no need for a new tender.

(4) The Director shall manage the Foundation on a full-time basis, or the Deputy Director if he/she is unable to do so. He/she is authorised to make decisions and take action and is responsible for all matters relating to the life of the Foundation, unless another body of the Foundation is responsible. The Board of Trustees may adopt a catalogue of tasks and powers for the Board of Directors that defines and supplements these.

(5) The Director shall be responsible for the Foundation's external legal representation.

(6) The Director shall be supported in his/her work by the Deputy Director.

(7) The Director shall prepare the resolutions of the Board of Trustees. He/she has a duty to report to the Board of Trustees.

The regulations applicable to the civil service of the state of Saxony-Anhalt are to be applied to the employment relationships of employees. For the recruitment of civil servants, the employer's eligibility is sought.

(1) The Association of Friends of the Francke Foundations contribute to the ideational and financial support of the foundations. It has the legal form of a registered association. Any natural or legal person in Germany or abroad can become a member of the Association of Friends.

(2) The Director is an ex officio member of the Board of the Association of Friends. The Deputy Director shall also take part in the meetings of the Board.

(3) The members of the Association of Friends receive the annual report of the foundations and are entitled to be invited to public events.

(1) The facilities and companies represented in the foundations are united in a forum. It is intended to strengthen community awareness within the Foundation and serves to provide mutual information, organise joint work projects and coordinate the public relations work of all the Foundation's institutions..

(2) Each facility within the Francke Foundations shall participate in the Forum through its director. He/she may be represented.

(3) The Director shall chair the Forum. Further details shall be determined by rules of procedure adopted by the Forum at the proposal of the Executive Board.

(1) The relevant provisions for the federal state administration shall apply mutatis mutandis to the budget, cash management and accounting as well as to the Foundation's financial reporting.

(2) Administration shall be carried out in accordance with the principles of economical and efficient financial management. The budget shall be drawn up for one or two years at a time. It must be balanced in terms of income and expenditure and shall be adopted by the Board of Trustees at the proposal of the Executive Board.

(3) The annual financial statements shall be audited by the State Court of Auditors in accordance with § 109 (2) of the State Budget Code.

The Foundation bears an official seal with the name and logo of the Foundation.

The foundation authority is the Ministry of Culture of the State of Saxony-Anhalt.

Amendments to the Articles of Association require the consent of all delegated members of the Board of Trustees and the approval of the foundation authorities.

The resolution to dissolve the Foundation itself requires the approval of all delegated members and at least half of the co-opted members of the Board of Trustees. The resolution only becomes effective upon approval by the foundation authorities.

These Articles of the Statutes replace the version dated 22 October 1992 and come into force on 1 June 2003 following approval by the foundation authorities.

(Version adopted by the Board of Trustees of the Francke Foundations at its meeting on 6 April 2005)