AfD to buy event venue for €3 million

The North Rhine-Westphalia branch of the AfD has announced plans to buy its own event venue, claiming it is currently difficult to find a location where owners will allow them to host an event.

AfD to buy events venue in NRW

The party announced the move in a letter to AfD party members from group leader Martin Vincentz and treasurer Christian Blex. 

Vincentz and Blex explained that the North Rhine-Westphalia branch of the party needed 1 million euros in supporter donations to make the purchase. The national party has agreed to pay the remaining costs in a mixture of funding and loans.

Like most political parties in Germany, the AfD hosts semi-regular events to carry out internal elections and select candidate lists. According to the North Rhine-Westphalia branch, booking a venue often proves difficult, because many property owners refuse to rent to the far-right party.

As such, Vincentz and Blex explained that buying an events venue is likely to make more financial sense in the long term.

Where does the AfD get its money from?

In Germany, each elected member of parliament receives a tax-free monthly salary from the Bundestag of 11.833,47 euros. Each MP also receives a monthly allowance of 4.752,48 euros to pay staff and buy office equipment, for example.

MPs are also allowed to hold paid second jobs. According to AbgeordnetenWatch, 232 of the current 630 Bundestag MPs have a second job. Ophelia Nick (Greens) is currently the MP with the highest income from a second job, raking in 2,7 million euros since the February 2025 election.

Then there is the state funding which goes to political parties in parliament. For every electoral vote a party receives, the state pays just under 1 euro in funding. The national AfD received 12,58 million euros in state funding in 2025, compared to the 54 million euros the CDU received.

Then there is money from members and donations. Private individuals and companies can donate money to political parties in Germany and there is no limit on how often or how much they can donate. However, donations from non-EU citizens are capped at 1.000 euros. For every euro donated to a party, the state adds 45 cents. 

According to DonationWatch, Gerhard Dingler, former regional manager for far-right Austria's Freedom Party (FPÖ), has donated the largest total to the AfD, with donations totalling 2,3 million euros.

Reuters reports that the AfD gets around half of its total 20 million euros of annual income from private donations and membership fees.