Today, the Friends' Association is financed by membership fees, donations, bequests and capital market gains. It is registered in the Hamburg Register of Associations under No. VR 4452 and is audited annually by the tax office and recognised as a non-profit organisation.

The purpose and organisation of the Friends' Association are laid down in the association's statutes. The purpose is to support the BNITM, which is currently achieved through funding programmes that the institute finds difficult or impossible to finance on the basis of its statutes. Currently, the activities of the Friends' Association focus on scholarships for doctoral students at the BNITM and for young scientists from low-income countries. These are closely coordinated with the institute's management.

The association is organised around two bodies: the general meeting, which convenes once a year and makes all decisions of fundamental importance, and an honorary board, which is elected every three years by the general meeting and manages the association's affairs.