Support
for changemakers
Our experience has taught us that there are many extraordinary charitable projects out there — and committed people who bring them to life. These inspiring creative sparks make the world a place worth living in.
bridgebuilder e.V. is a non-profit association. We support social, ecological or cultural projects free of charge. Are you part of such a project? Then secure our support now!
How it works
How we support you
Looking back on many years of experience in campaign development and fundraising, we support emerging initiatives or campaigns that are already underway:
How you get support
Which case applies to your project?
Projects supported so far
Our mission:
find a way into a liveable future
What kind of world do we want to live in?
While we are busy connecting the world with cables, destroying ecosystems and making ourselves redundant in the face of artificial intelligence, we often forget this question. All of this can be quite frustrating — and you may be wondering where this will lead?
In our vision, the collective overload of climate change, unjust distribution of resources and disruptive technological developments is part of a gigantic development process. It is forcing us humans to reorganize our coexistence and develop at a breathtaking speed. Imagine the possibility to travel freely through many countries, equal access to education for all sexes, freedom of expression, a social system, workers’ rights, free choice of partner, same-sex marriage… All these social achievements have developed only recently in human history and we often take them for granted (at least us Europeans).
But the status quo is far from perfect — and for further development we need to understand the following: Humans are not only composed of their physical bodies and their intellects - their emotions and their spirituality are equal parts within them.
About spirituality and meaning
Maybe the word “spirituality” makes you imagine hippies in sackcloth sitting together in a circle and talking about their feelings. However, we are concerned here with the entire world of life and work, which nowadays often seems completely soulless: people are locked into automated processes like cogwheels and anyone who does not run smoothly is removed.
Recently, however, more and more “serious” business people in suits are realising that remaining successful in this increasingly complex system requires new perspectives. Being aware of the meaning of one’s own activities and having access to one‘s emotions are becoming increasingly important in this context. After all, those who learn to reconnect with their own and others’ emotions can deal more empathetically with challenges and together find solutions that could not be achieved cognitively on their own.
Those who develop their own spirituality can establish an active connection to themselves and all life and draw from this an enormous strength and motivation for their work.
Our task as bridge builders is to shape our lives and our work in a holistic and sustainable way and thus open up new paths for other people. We do not have ready-made solutions for this — but we do have tools that have been tried and tested in practice! We use them to build examples that combine technology and intelligence with empathy and meaning. In this way, we transform rigid cogwheel systems into organically growing living environments.
For a better understanding of how we envision an organization of the future, we recommend Frederick Laloux’s book “Reinventing Organizations”. Have a look at this short video to get an idea of what it is about.
Frequently Asked Questions
Would you like to find out more about bridgebuilder.eu and the conditions under which we will support you? Then have a look at our FAQ section.
Questions about the organisation
The initiator of bridgebuilder is Matthias Lindner. Matthias is a political campaigner and exhibition designer as well as the owner of ARaction GmbH, a software company for augmented reality projects.
Together with an interdisciplinary team, Matthias founded the bridgebuilder e.V. (a registered association):
- Sebastian Adler (Nautical officer, B.Sc.)
- Veronika Czieslik (Energy and Process Engineering, M.Sc.)
- Nike Schödl (English and American Studies, BA)
- Christoph Lindner (Dr. jur., lawyer and lecturer)
As part of the bridgebuilder advisory board, we will decide on your applications for support. We will also discuss how we can best use our professional experience to support you in the implementation of your projects.
Most of the work for bridgebuilder is done on a pro bono basis. To ensure that bridgebuilder continues to function in the long term, it is our goal to raise more funds for our projects. If you would like to donate something, please contact us here. Donations are tax deductible, as the non-profit status of our association has been recognised by the tax office.
We have been thinking for a long time about whether it makes sense to set up our own initiative. After many years of experience in NGOs such as Greenpeace, the Economy for the Common Good and after discussions with the sociologist Harald Welzer and members of Fridays for Future, we decided to take this step. Since we have a lot of experience in founding our own companies, we believe that this is the way we can achieve the most.
Yes, it is! “bridgebuilder e.V.” was founded on the 21st of February 2020 by eight committed people and is registered in the register of associations at Landshut District Court under the number VR 201072. The association is based in Dietersburg. The association is recognised as a non-profit organisation by the tax office.
The statutes of the association are available for download here.
The cogwheel stands for workings of the “old” economic system: In too many companies and corporations, people are treated like machines, like “cogs in the system”. They have to function smoothly, or they will be forcefully replaced.
The leaf in our logo symbolizes the “new” social system, in which work and life are seen as an organic process. Here, people and organizations develop in self-governing structures and natural hierarchies, compared to a complex ecosystem.
The cogwheel and the leaf are also intended to express our desire to contribute to a reconciliation between technology and nature. What would a world look like in which nature and technology are symbiotically linked and do not exploit or fight each other?
Networked technology:
Project management software (ClickUp), data clouds, messenger services, version control tools, Creative Cloud, 2D and 3D visualizations, Augmented Reality, WordPress, tools for online collaboration, etc.
Organic Organisation:
Nonviolent Communication (NVC), Systemic Konsensing, Soziocracy / Holocracy, “Sense & Respond” instead of “Predict & Control”, Iterative Design instead of the waterfall model, Spiral Dynamics, Design Thinking, Dragon Dreaming, etc.
Spiritual tools:
Meditation, Binaural Beats, expressive dance, Holotropic Breathwork, Possibility Management, Yoga, Playfight, Contact Impro, etc.
Some changemaker networks require you to invest large amounts of money and/or time in attending seminars before you can become part of the network.
At bridgebuilder we believe that you already have the necessary skills and can best develop them in a practical process. We want you to take action right away and not let anything distract you from your project. That’s why we will immediately provide you with very practical support when it comes to implementing your ideas and solving practical problems such as fundraising, online communication, project presentations, IT and much more!
We’d appreciate it very much if you decided to support bridgebuilder! You can do this in the following ways:
- You can donate to our non-profit organisation by bank transfer:
bridgebuilder e.V.
DE36430609671066941000
GENODEM1GLS - You can become a supporting member according to article 4 of our statutes and the valid contribution regulations.
If you are interested, please contact Matthias Lindner, bridgebuilder’s initiator.
You can do this via email or mail to bridgebuilder e.V., Graben 1, D‑84378 Dietersburg.
Questions about our support
Anyone, regardless of age, gender, origin, religion, educational background, skin colour, nationality or favourite food can apply — as long as they already lead a charitable project or are about to start one. It is important to us that you work professionally, are highly organized and determined, and have experience in your field. It would be great if you are self-confident, yet realistic and reflective and have already spent some thoughts on your purpose and vision of life. We assume that you are interested in political, social and maybe even philosophical questions anyway — otherwise you probably wouldn’t be on this page. 😉
- There is no legal claim to support.
- The advisory board is free to decide who, when, how long and to what extent bridgebuilder fe.V. supports someone in the context of their charitable commitment.
- The statutes of the founded bridgebuilder e.V. define the decision-making framework for the committee.
- Submitted concepts will not be remunerated.
- All submitted ideas and concepts are “Open Source”. They are handed over by the author under the license CC0 1.0 Universal (CC0 1.0) Public Domain Dedication. Further information: https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/deed.en
- All documents, ideas and submitted media may be freely used and published by bridgebuilder e.V.
- Funding amounts received can be reclaimed if the recipient does not fulfil his obligations as project manager or uses the money for other purposes than described in the funding application.
- The collaboration and support can be terminated by either party at any time without giving reasons and with immediate effect. (However, we will always talk to you first if any problems arise!)
- bridgebuilder e.V. may change the support conditions at any time with effect for the future.
- Please also read the FAQ articles about the funding period and your obligations.
- All details of the cooperation are regulated by a written agreement between bridgebuilder and the supported organisations / committed individuals.
In short, this will largely depend on your project and the type of support. When we decide to work together, we will specify this in detail within the framework of the agreement we conclude. If our collaboration will last over a longer period of time, the board will decide at the end of each year whether or not to continue the collaboration.
Both. We support other NGOs, associations, activists, social entrepreneurs, campaigners, start-up founders and other committed individuals on the condition that the support received is used for charitable projects. The use of funds in accordance with the agreement must be proven, e.g. by documenting the hours contributed to the non-profit project. See also here.
The support by bridgebuilder is provided free of charge.
Before we cooperate with NGOs, associations and other organisations that are recognised as charitable in Germany, we conclude a written agreement that regulates the conditions of the cooperation.
If you want to be supported as a natural person in the implementation of charitable purposes, we will ensure through a contract with you that you are active as an “auxiliary person” (see also § 57 AO) for bridgebuilder e.V. and that our association can precisely determine your activities.
The agreements regulate the following:
- Content and scope of the cooperation and activities
- Charitable purpose to be pursued
- If applicable, naming of partners/organisations with whom cooperation will take place within the framework of the activity.
- If financial support is granted: Amount of funding.
- Period of support
- In the case of natural persons:
Obligation of the person to document the number of working hours in a time sheet and to submit it to bridgebuilder e.V. for examination.
Furthermore, it is necessary
- that you inform us openly and transparently about the progress or possible problems in your project;
- that you disclose figures, cash flows, staff structure and connections to other private or public actors in a transparent manner;
- that you support other bridgebuilders in their projects as far as possible;
- that you get involved in the bridgebuilder network and continue as a “bridgebuilder alumnus”;
- that you support us in the further development of bridgebuilder e.V.
We would like all bridgebuilders to see themselves as a large, joint team that works together symbiotically: everyone has their focus, roles and responsibilities, but we support each other where we can.
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If you have any questions, do not hesitate to contact us.