Volunteering near you
Volunteering in Munich
In Munich several volunteer agencies offer personal advice, and the city bundles everything you need to know about getting started on a platform of its own
Key points at a glance
- Your first stop in Munich is one of the volunteer centres; according to the city, advice is always free and without obligation.
- The city’s guide engagiert.muenchen.de gives an overview of four providers, including five volunteer centres.
- According to the 2024 survey, about 40.1% of people aged 14 and over volunteer in Bavaria, compared with 36.7% nationwide.
- Munich issues the Bavarian volunteer card from five hours a week or 250 hours a year over two years.
- Munich’s volunteering fair takes place every March in the town hall.
- Volunteer40.1%
- Do not volunteer59.9%
End of 2023
Agencies move closer together
The Munich volunteer agencies step up their cooperation and take a joint stand for a strong democracy.
1 January 2026
Higher volunteer allowance
Expense allowances are tax-free up to 960 euros a year; until the end of 2025 the limit was 840 euros.
15 March 2026
Volunteering fair in the town hall
4,300 visitors come to Munich’s volunteering fair in the New and Old Town Halls.
14 March 2027
21st volunteering fair
The next fair is announced, in March as every year.
Volunteer allowance
- Tax-free per year
- 960 euros
- Until the end of 2025
- 840 euros
- Who it is for
- Part-time activity for charitable, benevolent or church purposes
- Legal basis
- Section 3 no. 26a Income Tax Act
- Can be combined
- Not for the same activity as the trainer allowance
Trainer allowance
- Tax-free per year
- 3,300 euros
- Until the end of 2025
- 3,000 euros
- Who it is for
- Coaches, trainers, educators, carers, artistic activities, care of older, sick or disabled people
- Legal basis
- Section 3 no. 26 Income Tax Act
- Can be combined
- Not for the same activity as the volunteer allowance
Contact points
| Contact point | What you find there |
|---|---|
| Freiwilligen-Agentur Tatendrang München | Offers free personal advice to volunteers and places them with recognised charitable institutions within the city. There is also a short quiz on your volunteer type and portraits of people volunteering in Munich. |
| engagiert.muenchen.de (Landeshauptstadt München, Fachstelle Bürgerschaftliches Engagement) | The city guide for individuals, initiatives and associations. You will find information on insurance and legal matters, on starting a project of your own, on finding rooms and on contact points. |
| Freiwilligen-Zentren der Caritas München | Volunteering advice at several volunteer centres, which you reach by entering your postcode. There are also drop-in advice sessions in Munich libraries, city-wide and independent of any one provider. |
- State
- Bavaria
- Author
- Johannes Max Harms
Where can I find volunteering in Munich?
The easiest way to find volunteering in Munich is personal advice at one of the volunteer agencies. Freiwilligen-Agentur Tatendrang gets to know you, your ideas and your wishes and looks with you for a role that fits your life. The advice is free of charge, and placements are with recognised charitable institutions within the city. On its website, volunteer reporters also present people who volunteer and their organisations.
The Caritas volunteer centres in Munich work at several locations. Your postcode takes you to the centre near you, where you can register for advice. If you prefer to come without an appointment, there are drop-in sessions at the Pasing district library and at the city library in the Motorama. Advice there covers the whole city and is independent of any provider, so it is not only for Caritas institutions.
The city itself gives the best overview of all routes. On engagiert.muenchen.de the Fachstelle Bürgerschaftliches Engagement has set up a guide for individuals, initiatives and associations. There you will find contact points, information on tax, law and insurance and pointers if you want to start a project of your own. The site mainly makes getting started easier if you do not yet know where to look.
Which areas are there?
The areas range from leisure companionship through projects for children and young people to culture and neighbourhood work. Tatendrang, for example, is looking for volunteers who accompany people with disabilities as they shape their free time independently, such as dancing, sport or visiting exhibitions. The Caritas volunteer centres run a bike workshop where children and young people can join in. And the “Hofkonzerte” project brings music to people who would otherwise be alone.
Even people with demanding jobs can find suitable fields. Tatendrang has long experience with corporate volunteering and develops projects with companies for their staff. The city has its own office for corporate engagement. Ask your employer whether a partnership already exists.
If you would rather help shape things than help out, engagiert.muenchen.de has a section on public participation. There you can take part in the planning and future strategies of the city. This is a different form of engagement that has more to do with having a say than with practical help. Both have their place, and the advice services help you understand the differences.
How can I get involved in peace and understanding?
You work for understanding where people are newly arriving or feel like strangers. The Caritas volunteer centres run a support café for refugees where encounter and practical help come together. They also collect old laptops so that refugees gain access to education and training. Offers like these need people who listen, explain and accompany.
The Munich volunteer agencies have stepped up their cooperation since the end of 2023 and take a joint stand for a strong democracy. Tatendrang has also signed the Diversity Charter, committing itself to respect and equal opportunities. If cohesion in the city matters to you, feel free to raise this directly in the advice session. The agencies know institutions that work in this spirit.
If you have a project of your own, you can create it as a peace mission on W3ltfrieden or support an existing mission. A mission describes what you plan to do, who is responsible and how progress is documented. You can see in the mission overview whether there are already suitable missions in Munich. For a local project of your own, engagiert.muenchen.de also helps with pointers on rooms and city funding.
How much time do I need to bring?
You do not need a lot of time, because short and spontaneous assignments are possible too. The Caritas volunteer centres stress that many projects welcome people who help at short notice. A long-term commitment is therefore not a requirement. In the conversation you clarify whether you want to be active regularly or only now and then.
According to the volunteer centres, volunteering alongside work and family is quite manageable. What matters is that the task and the time frame fit your everyday life. That is why the Tatendrang quiz also asks about the length of commitment you want. With this information, the advice session can make more targeted suggestions.
For people in retirement or anyone new to Munich, volunteering can also be a way to make new contacts. In that case it can be a little more time, because meeting people is a goal in itself. You do not need any prior knowledge, as the volunteer centres explicitly point out. The institution usually takes care of the induction.
Before you start, allow some time for practical questions. Whether you are insured or need a certificate of good conduct is explained by the volunteer centres in their questions and answers about volunteering. Further information on insurance and legal matters is on engagiert.muenchen.de. Once that is settled, you can concentrate fully on your task.
Sources
- Landeshauptstadt München: engagiert.muenchen.de (in German)
- Caritas München: Freiwilligen-Zentren München (in German)
- City of Munich: my way into volunteering (in German)
- City of Munich: allowance for election helpers (in German)
- Munich volunteering fair (in German)
- Bavarian volunteering portal: volunteer card (in German)
- Bavarian volunteering portal: Bavarian volunteer insurance (in German)
- Federal Chancellery: Sixth German Survey on Volunteering (FWS 2024), summary report (in German)
- Income Tax Act, section 3 no. 26 and 26a (trainer and volunteer allowance, in German)
Four steps to volunteering
- Take the type quizThe Tatendrang quiz asks eight short questions about motives, ways of working and duration. At the end you know which volunteer type you are.
- Enter your postcodeAt the Caritas volunteer centres, your postcode takes you to the right centre. You register for advice there.
- Use a drop-in sessionIf you prefer to drop by, go to an advice session in a Munich library. You do not need a finished plan for it.
- Check the basicsRead up on engagiert.muenchen.de on what matters for insurance and legal questions. That way you start without open questions.
More cities
- Volunteering in StuttgartBaden-WürttembergFrom the city volunteer agency and its online exchange to the Citizens Foundation: how to find a role in Stuttgart that suits you and your district
- Volunteering in CologneNorth Rhine-WestphaliaIn Cologne an independent volunteer agency, the digital volunteering exchange of the city and the AWO civic engagement office help you find a role in your own neighbourhood
Common questions from volunteers in Munich
How do you sign up as a volunteer in Munich?
The city describes four steps: a personal counselling session at a volunteer centre, choosing suitable options, contacting the project or organisation, and a getting-to-know-you meeting there. Counselling is always free and without obligation. The guide engagiert.muenchen.de names four providers for this: Stiftung Gute-Tat, Tatendrang, the five Munich volunteer centres and Z’sam.
The city itself also looks for volunteers, for example as school crossing helpers or as supervisors for holiday programmes. For work with children and young people you need to be at least 18.
What do volunteers in Munich need?
Above all you need time, reliability and an interest in the task. For many roles no special knowledge is required, because the placements show you the ropes. Usually there is no set age, but some tasks have a minimum age, such as 16 or 18. It matters that you say honestly how much time you have, so that the task fits your everyday life.
If you work with children and young people, many organisations ask for an extended certificate of conduct. For roles in rescue services, hospice work or supporting people with dementia, there is often training before your first assignment. In Munich, any of the volunteer centres clears up such questions with you in a counselling session.
Do volunteers in Munich get paid?
Volunteering is unpaid in principle, but many placements reimburse expenses such as travel or pay an expense allowance. Since 1 January 2026, such an allowance is tax-free up to 960 euros a year; this is the volunteer allowance. If you work as a coach, carer, in an artistic role or in care, you can use the trainer allowance of up to 3,300 euros. The two allowances cannot be used for the same activity at the same time.
A fixed allowance exists, for example, on the electoral board. Under its own by-law Munich pays between 70 euros for assessors and 120 euros for secretaries. On top of that you can choose between another 50 euros and a day off.
Is there a volunteer card in Munich?
Yes, Munich issues the Bavarian volunteer card. You can get the blue card from the age of 16 if you have volunteered for at least two years, on average five hours a week or 250 hours a year. It is valid for three years. Anyone who has volunteered at that level for 25 years receives the gold card, which does not expire.
With the card you get discounts across Bavaria; the city mentions state and municipal museums and palaces as well as other cultural and leisure venues. You can apply through the free “Ehrenamtskarte Bayern” app, online on the city’s website or directly at the city administration.
Are volunteers in Munich insured?
Statutory accident insurance and the insurance of your organisation come first, for example when you work in social welfare or for a municipality. Ask at your first meeting how your placement handles this.
For everyone else there is the Bavarian volunteer insurance. It covers volunteers who are active in Bavaria or whose volunteering starts from Bavaria and is a secondary safety net. You neither apply for it nor pay for it; the Free State bears the cost. Liability cover is a flat five million euros for personal injury and property damage, and accident cover includes the journey to your assignment. The state government’s partner is Versicherungskammer Bayern.
Is there a volunteering fair in Munich?
Yes. Munich’s volunteering fair takes place every March, most recently on 15 March 2026 in the New and Old Town Halls with 4,300 visitors. The 21st fair is announced for 14 March 2027. There you meet many organisations in one day and can talk directly to the people who support volunteers.
The city also says thank you with the award “München dankt!”. It goes to anyone who volunteers at least 80 hours a year or has given a total of 200 hours to a project, and comes with a certificate and a booklet of vouchers.
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