On the occasion of the 25th anniversary of the proclamation of the Marshall Plan, the Federal Republic of Germany in 1972 donated a total of DM 250 million from the ERP1 Special Fund to the American people as an acknowledgement of gratitude. Funds were made available in annual installments of DM 10 million. The donation was mainly intended to endow the German Marshall Fund of the United States (GMF). The GMF uses the returns on the funds to assist projects for understanding and cooperation between Europe and North America. The last installment was disbursed in 1996, thus ending the measure.

As a follow-up the German government in 1997 initiated the German Program for Transatlantic Encounters to be financed from the ERP Special Fund. Its purpose is to keep the memory of George C. Marshall alive and foster transatlantic partnership in line with his wishes.