EV Charity

Engel & Völkers has been specialised in the sale and leasehold of prestigious real estate for more than 30 years. We now operate in 36 countries across four continents. More than 3,700 staff are employed under the Engel & Völkers umbrella brand.

Success is a wonderful thing. Sharing that success even more so!

We believe that our business operations are inextricably linked with a duty to act in a socially responsible way. That is why we have founded the Engel & Völkers Charity e.V. to actively support a primary school project in Togo, West Africa. A family contact of our CEO Christian Völkers drew our attention to Africa and specifically to the village of Agbetiko. Aided by the generous support of our employees, Licence Partners and the Engel & Völkers Management Board, we are aiming together to finance the building of a primary school in this village, which will educate more than 200 children on a daily basis in the years to come.

Perceiving the world around us, aside from the finer things in life that Engel & Völkers in particular is so familiar with, we cannot fail to see the hardship and adversity in our world and it is our moral duty to provide help where it is most needed. The living conditions of children living in the so-called “Fourth World” leave no scope for evasion and discussion. Action must be taken and aid provided both quickly and without bureaucracy. It is not just financial interconnectedness that poses a challenge in our age of globalisation but above all social and humanitarian integration.

We cannot allow Africa to become a “forgotten continent”. Our efforts are aimed at giving the children of Agbetiko/Togo the chance to lead a better life in their home country, on their continent, in our world. We have taken the first step and will be supporting this project in Togo in the long term with our established local partners on site. We very much hope that you feel impelled to lend your support to our joint efforts!

Get involved and make a real difference

Why has the Engel & Völkers Charity been founded?

It was a member of his family that drew Christian Völkers’ attention to the project of a friend in Togo/Africa. His initial private donation triggered further thoughts about realising Corporate Social Responsibility within the company Engel & Völkers, as well as laying the foundation stone of the non-profit-making association “Engel & Völkers Charity e.V. / Association for the Long-Term Support of Educational Relief Projects in Africa”.

The project chosen was a very conscious decision to highlight the largest possible discrepancy between the lifestyles led by our clients, employees and Licence Partners in places like Dubai, New York, Berlin and Brussels, and the lives led in the village community of Agbetiko, Togo.

How is the Engel & Völkers Charity organised?

Engel & Völkers Charity e.V. is an officially registered, non-profit-making association based in Hamburg, Germany. The aim of the association is to provide aid for educational projects in Africa. The Members of the Board are Princess Wittgenstein, Gesine von Ehren-Ernst and Christian Völkers. The association is operated on a voluntary basis and has exclusively non-profit-making purposes in accordance with the “Tax-exempt Purposes” paragraph of the German Tax Code.

What platform constitutes the basis for the Engel & Völkers Charity?

The commitment of Engel & Völkers AG and the support of its Licence Partners and employees form the basis for the long-term existence of the Engel & Völkers Charity. Our clients are also given the opportunity to become involved in our project through donations.

All costs incurred for administration, PR work, advertising and marketing activities will be carried by Engel & Völkers AG. A long-term donation has already been made by the Engel & Völkers Management Board for the ongoing costs involved in running the school. This means that 100% of all donations received will be put towards the project itself.

Who is Engel & Völkers’ local cooperation partner?

The key areas of expertise of Engel & Völkers are the sale and leasehold of premium residential property, commercial real estate and yachts. For our first project in the Fourth World we therefore sought well-established and committed local partners and found them with the ONG (a non-governmental organisation) and the CVD (village development committee).

Why is the first project based in Africa?

A member of Christian Völkers’ family is a regular guest in the village of Agbetiko and has developed the idea of building a primary school together with the village community. The personal impressions of the village, the children and their lives formed a first glimpse for us into “another world”. The assurance that the sustained development of the project will be personally supervised in future has reinforced our commitment still further.

The more information we receive about the living conditions there, the more certain we are that it is the right decision to focus our efforts in Africa. The project chosen was a very conscious decision to highlight the largest possible discrepancy between the lifestyles led by our clients, employees and Licence Partners in places like Dubai, New York, Berlin and Brussels, and the lives led in the village community of Agbetiko, Togo.

The living conditions of children living in the so-called “Fourth World” leave no scope for evasion and discussion. Action must be taken and aid provided both quickly and without bureaucracy. We are making the first steps.

No continent can be allowed to be left behind and forgotten in our globalised world. This project will give the children living in Agbetiko/Togo the chance to lead a better life in their home country, on their continent, on our globe!

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