The sole purpose of the Foundation is the direct support of scholarship and research at universities and non-profit research institutions, primarily in Germany, with special emphasis on giving help to young scholars. The support of international cooperation is also one of the aims of the Foundation. These aims are reached through the financing of specific projects which can be completed in a predictable and limited period of time in areas which have been selected by the Foundation. The projects to be supported must lie within the financial possibilities of the Foundation.

The support of scholarly and scientific meetings also belongs to the programme of the Foundation. In particular, smaller conferences which have the following goals can be subsidized:

• consideration of interdisciplinary questions
• cooperation of experts in a variety of fields
• international exchange within more limited areas
• discussion and development of specific themes to the point where the results can be published

Large conferences are not subsidized.

Applications can be accepted only if they come from a university or a non-profit research institution. Applicants must have a doctoral degree.

The Foundation suggests that the application be organized as follows:

• Applicant
• Topic
• Date and venue of the event
• Detailed account of the scholarly or scientific goals
• List of the speakers with (tentative) lecture topics. The list should, in each case, differentiate between speakers who have been "invited" and those who have "accepted" the invitation. A prerequisite for the experts´ assessment of the application is that at least two-thirds of the speakers have accepted the invitation.
• Programme and schedule
• Costs of conference: total costs and a detailed schedule of the items to be paid for from the funds of the Foundation
• Support available from the budget of the institute or from other sources: materials and personnel
• Declaration that no application of this or a similar kind is at present under consideration elsewhere, nor has such an application been submitted to any other organization in the past. In the event that a further application (or applications) has been made, the Foundation requests additional information
• Date and signature

Funds can be applied for to cover the costs of travel, accommodation, and meals of active participants, as well as limited amounts for other costs of the meeting. However, payment of fees cannot be subsidized by the Foundation. Only a single set of application papers should be submitted, and these should not be stapled or bound.

Deadlines:
Applications for support of a scholarly event can be submitted to the Foundation by February 28th, May 31st, August 31st and November 30th of each year. Normally a decision can be reached six to eight weeks after each of these dates. Accordingly, applications need to be submitted at least three months before the planned date of the meeting; the six to eight weeks period following the deadline should be taken into account.

In the letter announcing the grant to the candidate, the conditions governing the grant are stated. It is important that any restrictions in connection with the various types of costs be noted. In accepting the grant, the candidate commits himself to carrying out the conditions of the grant.

The funds will be paid out upon the written request of the grant-holder, who should name his or her bank, account number and other details. The payment of the funds should take place as close as possible to the actual date of the conference.

At the end of the period of support the Foundation requires accounts showing how the funds have been used. Funds not made use of must be returned to the Foundation. The accounts must be supported by documents enabling a financial audit. These documents, however, should be retained and should not be sent to the Foundation unless the grant-holder is requested to do so.

The Foundation assumes that the programme and the announcement of the event as well as any resulting publications will contain a reference to the Foundation´s support. For this purpose the logo of the Foundation can be downloaded from the internet.