Your Impact Fund
Previously, if you cared in detail about what happens with your donation, you would have to start a new charitable foundation. To be viable, such a step typically requires $1–$5 mio.1, plus complex legal oversight, quality assurance audits, and ongoing compliance.
The new way of giving
Starting your Impact Fund at the Assistance Dog Foundation is the effortless alternative:
Enjoy the same impact and transparency on autopilot! Name your personal Impact Fund and define your priorities within our broad portfolio of high-impact, quality-assured projects — fully tax deductible, of course.
It’s a new way of giving sometimes also known as “donor advised funds” (DAF).
Transparent and easy
Our work focuses on qualified assistance dog teams, validated by an ISO-aligned external team certification. Strictly independent, we base our due diligence on clear ISO-aligned quality and project management.
Everything we accomplish in your name, down to the last cent, is visible in your impact portfolio, your personal, secure web portal. If you prefer, we can, of course, also send you updates at regular intervals in the mail.
Simply sit back and enjoy the results of your generosity.
Establish your own Fund
Start your Impact Fund with as little as € 10,000 and grow it step-by-step as your confidence grows. We designed it this way to keep everything easy and fun.
Curious? Let’s meet and find out what is important to you. Together, we can identify the best projects within our portfolio of projects and future program launches.
Are you fascinated by assistance dog teams? Do you love dogs and wonder how to support these unique partnerships?
Our work is rooted in respect for both handler and dog and deep care for their well-being. At the independent Assistance Dog Foundation, we establish the first universally recognized independent certification for assistance dog teams.
In a very improvised sector, focusing on qualified teams ensures that your funds are well invested. This focus on quality is also what will advance the concept globally.
A lasting legacy
Your Impact Fund comes with a donation link for easy sharing. Invite others to join your legacy. This makes it easy to keep impact growing, long into the future.
Spotlight
Ms. Engel lives in a retirement home in Germany, without close family bonds. She was looking for a meaningful plan for her legacy. Just donating her life’s savings or signing them away in her will seemed highly impersonal and unsatisfying.
Contacting nonprofits resulted in donation forms. What kind of impact that would create remained unclear and hidden behind slogans. Following a meeting with us, she created three Impact Funds supporting self-financed assistance dog teams in Germany.
She named them Engel Funds (German for “angel”) and invites you to contribute. She is not interested in digital devices, so she receives her updates via postal mail, which she appreciates a lot

Angel Fund III currently supports assistance dog candidate Fredi.
Engel Fund I
Health insurance for dogs
Ensures well-being through health care for self-financed, certified assistance dogs in Germany.
ContributeEngel Fund II
Independent certification
Subsidizes our certification for self-financed assistance dog teams in Germany.
ContributeEngel Fund III
Next assistance dog
Supports the next assistance dog for a qualified person known to Ms. Engel (private fund).
Start your Fund3 steps to your Impact Fund
1 – Launch your Impact Fund(s)
Creating your own Impact Fund online is easy. First step is to schedule a time to meet and discuss your vision. Join us for any number of projects that align with your priorities.
2 – Impact with quality assurance
All assistance dog teams supported by the Assistance Dog Foundation are independently vetted through an ISO-style certification, which makes us unique. Advance the future of assistance dog partnerships and support team welfare.
3 – Full transparency, personal updates
Your Impact Portfolio is your funding dashboard. Enjoy regular updates on the impact you create! Enjoy the difference you make by reviewing your results in your own portfolio, or getting regular updates in the mail.
Take a first step nowSome projects you can support:
We are the first organization to offer an independent, standard-based certification. This creates global acceptance for qualified assistance dog teams and secures their rights.
1
Help us ensure that every team can afford this important certification.
€ 300-800 per certification.
2
Clear legal precedents establish protection, access rights, and support for certified teams.
Cost/court case: € 1,000-15,000.
Judgments won are returned to the Fund.
Many assistance dog handlers live on limited income. We support the well-being of certified assistance dogs through tangible solutions.
1
Provide assistance dogs with optimal nutrition.
Cost per dog/year: € 880 (wholesale prices).
2
Health insurance for qualified assistance dogs.
Cost per dog/year: € 720 (group plan).
3
If misfortune strikes or the handler can no longer provide care, certified assistance dogs still deserve optimal care.
Cost per dog/year: € 1,500 to 7,500.
We are just getting started and have big goals for the future. Let’s meet and discuss ways you may get involved.
1
Establish an international education program and a globally accepted diploma for assistance dog professionals.
Costs: In addition to grants, we expect a funding requirement of € 250,000+
2
Our founders previously created successful info materials, conducted national campaigns and educated over 40 million people in Germany through media campaigns.
Costs: From € 5 (one mailing of info materials) to €100,000+ for new national campaigns.
3
We envision a residence for the Assistance Dog Foundation where we provide
– interested candidates with unbiased information (workshops).
– assistance dog handlers and professionals with continuing education.
– retired assistance dogs that can no longer live with their handler with a caring home,
– research and media creation to advance the concept.
If you have a project in mind that is not mentioned – let’s meet and discuss it.
Support Assistance Dog Foundation through these Funds:
Sustainer Fund
Operational costs
From rent to salaries — operational expenses need to be paid, too. If you like the transparency of the Impact Funds, please consider sustaining our day-to-day.
ContributeFundraising Fund
Turn € 1 into € 5
It is costly to reach future supporters. This is a highly impactful and effective investment to achieve more, faster. Multiply your impact fivefold!
Contribute- truist.com/resources/wealth/foundations-endowments/article/starting-a-private-foundation,
fidelity.com/learning-center/personal-finance/charitable-giving/private-foundation-creation,
investopedia.com/terms/p/privatefoundation.asp,
privatebank.bankofamerica.com/solutions/strategic-philanthropy-grantmaking.html, ↩︎

