Volkswagen Foundation
The Volkswagen Foundation (proper spelling Volkswagen Foundation ) is a private charitable foundation, based in Hanover. It promotes science and technology in research and teaching, the humanities and social sciences as well as the natural and engineering sciences and medicine. The Foundation enables research in promising areas and helps academic institutions in improving the structural conditions for their work. Pay particular attention to young scientists as well as the collaboration of researchers across disciplinary and national boundaries.
Headquarters of the foundation is the building in the chestnut avenue 35 in Hanover- Doehren, which was built up in 1969 by the architect Dieter Oesterlen 1967.
History
The Volkswagen Foundation owes its origin to a contract by which the Federal Republic of Germany and the State of Lower Saxony regulated the unclear ownership after the war at the Volkswagen factory and at the same time the establishment of a ( as it was then called ) " Stiftung Volkswagenwerk " decided. The former Volkswagenwerk GmbH was converted into a corporation, if the share capital to 60% in private hands. Federal and state remained with 20 % involved in the former capital of the new corporation. With the proceeds from the shares sold of approximately 1 billion DM and the right to the equivalent of the annual profits from the federal and state remaining shares as capital equipment, the Foundation was established on 19 May 1961. The inaugural Board meeting was held in Hanover on 27 February 1962. The federal government has since sold its stake in Volkswagen AG today; the proceeds available to the Foundation. Main purpose of the foundation was and is to promote the science in research and teaching.
Foundation assets
As the most powerful German science promotional Foundation, the Volkswagen Foundation has in early 2013 with a capital of around 2.6 billion euros. The Foundation is economically self-sufficient and autonomous in their decisions. In the 50 years of its existence it has allocated around € 4 billion for over 30,000 projects; per year, it is around 100 million euros available for new projects.
Organization
On the basis of the judgment of experts, which include the Volkswagen Foundation relies particularly respected scientists, projects are requested by the Secretary-General, currently Wilhelm Krull and the Board of Trustees awarded.
The Board of Trustees of the Volkswagen Foundation consists of appointed for 5 years each 14 members; they are ever called to half of the Federal Government and the Government of Lower Saxony. It is chaired by a representative of the state of Lower Saxony.
The Foundation has an administration of about 90 employees who work the funding plans that ensure scientific peer review and which is responsible for the asset management of the endowment.
With the proceeds from the Foundation's assets are projects of scientific organizations (universities, Forschungseinrichten etc.) on request and funded by scientific peer review.
Subsidiary
As a subsidiary of the Foundation for the management of real estate the IVA KG exists ( in detail: real estate management and investment company Dr. A. Steiger KG ), which is also involved in the investment of the Foundation's assets.
Lower Saxony preliminary
The dividends from the current shareholding of the State of Lower Saxony in Volkswagen AG, however, as a preliminary Lower Saxony made available (in 2012 about 90 million euros ) on the proposal of the State of Lower Saxony as decided by the Board of Trustees of the Volkswagen Foundation of Lower Saxony science organizations.