Fazit-Stiftung

The Fazit-Stiftung Gemeinnützige Verlagsgesellschaft mbH (stylised FAZIT-STIFTUNG) is a German non-profit corporate foundation based in Frankfurt am Main. It was created on 22 April 1959 by converting the then majority owner of the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung (F.A.Z.), the Allgemeine Verlagsgesellschaft mbH, into a charitable publishing company. Its founding purpose was to prevent a change in the newspaper's political direction through a takeover of capital and to secure the editorial and entrepreneurial independence of the F.A.Z. 'effectively and permanently'. The foundation's assets consist of its holdings in the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung GmbH and the Frankfurter Societät GmbH, in each of which it holds more than 90 percent of the capital. The Frankfurter Societät GmbH itself emerged from a reorganisation of the Frankfurter Societäts-Druckerei GmbH. The share capital amounts to 90,000 euros. Income from these holdings is used exclusively for charitable purposes. Under its statutes, the foundation promotes science and research, education and upbringing, art and culture, welfare, and support for economically needy persons within the meaning of § 53 of the German Fiscal Code (AO). It fulfils these purposes in particular by awarding scholarships to economically needy persons for doctoral studies at universities in Germany, awarding scholarships to economically needy persons undergoing journalistic training, funding projects serving science, education or popular education, endowing prizes for outstanding scientific or journalistic achievements, supporting universities, technical colleges and recognised research institutes, supporting museums and cultural institutions in the Rhine-Main region, and supporting associations of the free welfare sector. In recent years, thanks to stable distributions from its subsidiaries, the foundation has been able to award around one million euros in funding annually. Because distributions from the two subsidiaries depend on profits, the funding available to the foundation can fluctuate. The foundation is governed by a shareholders' agreement. Its shareholders number up to nine persons with equal shares, whose shares pass without financial compensation to successors unanimously selected by the company assembly. According to Paragraph 5, only persons who, by their position and personality, guarantee the preservation of the company's tax-exempt charitable status and the independence of the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung may become shareholders. The age of shareholders is limited to 75 years. A shareholder can also be excluded and must transfer his or her share to a successor determined by the others. The shareholders' assembly is called the Kuratorium (board of trustees). The chairman of the Kuratorium is Ulrich Wilhelm; the deputy chairman is Andreas Barner. Management is shared by Ulrich Wilhelm and Simon Haug. Since 2024 the shareholders have included Andreas Barner, Monika Hermanns, Peter M. Huber, Renate Köcher, Jens Weidmann, Ulrich Wilhelm, Birgitta Wolff and Cornelia Woll. In 1989 the Imprimatur GmbH, which dated from the Weimar era, merged with the FAZIT-STIFTUNG, bringing its capital majority in the Frankfurter Societäts-Druckerei GmbH into the foundation's assets.

The Fazit-Stiftung Gemeinnützige Verlagsgesellschaft mbH was established on 22 April 1959 by converting the Allgemeine Verlagsgesellschaft mbH, then the majority owner of the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, into a charitable publishing company. The publishers and editors of the F.A.Z. created it so that the newspaper's political course could not be altered through a takeover of capital, and to secure 'the editorial and entrepreneurial independence of the newspaper effectively and permanently'. In 1989 the Imprimatur GmbH, which dated from the Weimar era, merged with the FAZIT-STIFTUNG, bringing its capital majority in the Frankfurter Societäts-Druckerei GmbH into the foundation's assets. The Frankfurter Societät GmbH itself later emerged from a reorganisation of the Frankfurter Societäts-Druckerei GmbH. The foundation holds more than 90 percent of the capital of both the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung GmbH and the Frankfurter Societät GmbH. Its share capital is 90,000 euros, and income from these holdings is used exclusively for charitable purposes. In recent years, thanks to stable distributions from the subsidiaries, it has been able to award around one million euros in funding annually; because those distributions depend on profits, the available funding can fluctuate. Governance is set out in the shareholders' agreement. The foundation has up to nine shareholders with equal shares, whose shares pass without financial compensation to successors unanimously chosen by the company assembly. Paragraph 5 stipulates that only persons who, by their position and personality, guarantee the preservation of the company's tax-exempt charitable status and the independence of the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung may become shareholders. Shareholders must retire at 75, and a shareholder can be excluded and required to transfer his or her share to a successor determined by the others. The shareholders' assembly is called the Kuratorium. As of the 2024 shareholder list, the Kuratorium is chaired by Ulrich Wilhelm, with Andreas Barner as deputy chairman; management is shared by Ulrich Wilhelm and Simon Haug. The 2024 shareholders are Andreas Barner, Monika Hermanns, Peter M. Huber, Renate Köcher, Jens Weidmann, Ulrich Wilhelm, Birgitta Wolff and Cornelia Woll. They include former executives, former federal constitutional court judges, former ministers and university presidents, reflecting the foundation's practice of recruiting figures of public standing to safeguard the newspaper's independence.

• 2024

  Shareholder list included Andreas Barner, Monika Hermanns, Peter M. Huber, Renate Köcher, Jens Weidmann, Ulrich Wilhelm, Birgitta Wolff and Cornelia Woll.

• 1989

  The Weimar-era Imprimatur GmbH merged with the FAZIT-STIFTUNG, bringing its capital majority in the Frankfurter Societäts-Druckerei GmbH into the foundation's assets.

• 1959

  Founded on 22 April by converting the Allgemeine Verlagsgesellschaft mbH into the FAZIT-STIFTUNG Gemeinnützige Verlagsgesellschaft mbH.

A charitable corporate foundation that safeguards the independence of the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung and channels its publishing profits into scholarships and cultural funding.

• Promotionsstipendium

  Scholarships for doctoral studies at German universities and colleges, awarded to economically needy persons.

• Stipendium im Bereich Journalismus

  Scholarships for journalistic training at German journalism schools and universities, awarded to economically needy persons.

• Projektförderung

  Funding for projects in science, art and culture, journalism and the public welfare sector.

1. 1FAZIT-STIFTUNG – Förderung für Wissenschaft, Forschung und Bildungfazit-stiftung.de
2. 2Über die FAZIT-STIFTUNG – gemeinnützig seit 1959fazit-stiftung.de
3. 3Fazit-Stiftung – Wikipediade.wikipedia.org
4. 4Fazit-Stiftung – Wikidatawikidata.org