Wau Holland Foundation

The Wau Holland Foundation (German: Wau Holland Stiftung; WHS) is a nonprofit foundation based in Hamburg, Germany.

Wau Holland Foundation Logo, "Stiftung" means foundation

It was established in 2003 in memory of Wau Holland, co-founder of the Chaos Computer Club. Loosely connected with the Chaos Computer Club, the foundation aims to preserve and further Holland's ideas in fields such as technology assessment, the history of technology and freedom of information. Specifically, it promotes the use of electronic media for educational purposes. The Vice President of the Wau Holland Foundation is Andy Müller-Maguhn, a friend of Julian Assange.

The Foundation organises its charitable activities into multiple project areas,^[1] reflecting issues relevant to Holland's ideas and their mission. As of 2025, project areas include "Campaign against voting computers," "Anonymity networks," "Decentralized communication networks," "Enduring freedom of information," "Alpha-BIT-isation" (media and technology education for children and young people), "Informational Self-Determination," "Moral courage," and "Free software." Supported projects include the "Archive of Contemporary History of Technology (Hacker archive)", which documents the history of the hacker scene, and a campaign against voting machines (both in collaboration with the Chaos Computer Club). The foundation processes donations in Europe to support the WikiLeaks organization and Julian Assange's defense, and it also processed proceeds from the AssangeDAO.^[2][3]

Finance

As of December 2010, their endowment was about 62,000 €. It also owns land (valued at about 1500 €), currently leased to a public institution.^[4]

Non-profit status

In December 2010, the Wau Holland Foundation got in trouble with authorities for not filing it accounts on time.^[5] On October 25, 2012, the Hamburg Tax Office retroactively revoked its non-profit status for 2010 because they decided that "the forwarding of donations to WikiLeaks and/or to the individuals behind the organization" meant the Wau Holland Foundation "did not satisfy the condition for the direct pursuit of tax-advantaged purposes".^[6] The Hamburg Tax Office rejected a complaint filed by the Wau Holland Foundation about the decision.^[6] Its charitable status was reinstated on 12 December 2012, applied retroactively for 2011 and 2012.^{[7][non-primary source needed]}

In March 2024, the Wau Holland Foundation announced that its non-profit status for 2020 had been revoked in a letter dated February 26, 2024 and that they would appeal the decision.^[8] In June 2024, the Wau Holland Foundation announced that its non-profit status for 2020 had been regained.^[9]

Relationship to WikiLeaks

The foundation processes donations in Europe to support the WikiLeaks organization and Julian Assange's defense, and in 2022 it processed proceeds from the AssangeDAO.^[2][3]

Between October 2009 when it began accepting donations on WikiLeaks' behalf and December 2010, the foundation collected over $1.9 million USD.^[10] On 4 December 2010, PayPal turned off donations in response to the foundation's connection to WikiLeaks, alleging that the account was being used for "activities that encourage, promote, facilitate or instruct others to engage in illegal activity."^[11] On 8 December 2010 the foundation released a press statement, saying it has filed legal action against PayPal for blocking its account and for libel due to PayPal's allegations of "illegal activity."^[12]