For 14 years, epicenter.works has been campaigning for the preservation of fundamental and human rights in the digital age. We have achieved a lot during this time. The abolition of data retention, the four-time prevention of government spyware, the fight for a privacy preserving digital identity, the legal protection of net neutrality at EU level and much more. As a donation-funded organisation, we do all of this thanks to the support of thousands of donors and supporting members. Today, we must turn to all those who know our work, because we will not survive this year without your help.

Our finances are very transparent - last year we again had to cover a loss of EUR 20,000 from our reserves and this year, despite great efforts, we were unable to fully offset the loss of EUR 158,000 in annual support from the Open Society Foundation. In our regular appeals for donations, monthly cash flow charts and public appearances, we have often pointed out this problem. We are currently EUR 30,000 short to survive this year and next year we have a funding requirement of EUR 200,000, with around EUR 120,000 already verbally pledged (this means EUR 80,000 is still outstanding in 2025).

Difficult Times Need the Support of Civil Society

The political situation is not easy. The right-extremist FPÖ recently became the leading party in national elections and we are expecting a challenging five years for human rights and the rule of law in Austria. Things don't look much better in Europe. The more time we have to invest in fundraising, the less time we have for political work. With nine employees, our team is relatively small and, in view of the constantly growing flood of issues that are brought to us by politics and the media, we only want to think about reducing staff as a last resort. What would Austria look like without, without its largest NGO for fundamental rights in the digital age? Who would take care of net neutrality and digital identity in Europe, if we are gone?

Help Close our Funding Gap!

Our work is only possible because there are 1,432 people who support us every month. The majority of them come from Austria, even though we use 50% of our resources at EU and UN. 47% of our budget comes from donors and supporting members. A membership is the best way to support the independent operation of the organisation. It is risk-free, can be cancelled at any time and there are even welcome gifts for new supporting members and a special newsletter.

We believe in the power of the many. All it would take is for 250 people to sign up for a supporting membership of at least EUR 10 per month and our problem would be solved.

Yes, I want to help with a membership and ensure the survival of epicenter.works!

Of course, there is also the possibility of individual donations, which would also help us acutely.

Companies have the opportunity to sponsor us, although we have strict limits in order to maintain our independence. We are mainly supported by Austrian SMEs from the technology sector. Although these companies have no say in our organisation, their contribution sends a signal that data protection and fundamental rights are important to them. In recent years, the volume of sponsorship has unfortunately fallen from EUR 9,000 to EUR 2,500. Only Freewave GmbH is one of our most loyal and long-standing supporters.

Most recently, we had to fight for our survival in 2020 and were rescued by hundreds of private individuals. It is not easy to talk about your own weaknesses. Then as now, we make the promise that we see every donation as an obligation to continue or work for fundamental rights to the best of our abilities. Since you are reading these lines, it is up to you now, to decide whether our work should still exist in the future.