Monthly Income & Expenditure Graphs *
* These are illustrations of the association's monthly gross operating cash flow. In other words, the account movement of expenditure and income. However, this does not take into account taxes, additions to or reversals of provisions, depreciation and value adjustments. Therefore, there may be deviations from the annual transparency reports, which are based on the annual balance sheet of our double-entry bookkeeping and are checked by auditors, the board and tax consultants.
Donations FAQs
Why does epicenter.works rely on donations?
Since our formation (as AKVorrat) in the year 2010, our members worked countless hours pro bono in order to strengthen basic rights in the digital age. We composed position papers and statements to laws and as experts we are invited to hearings in parliaments and other decision making panels. We give talks, organise campaigns, develop new ways of participation in political processes, file complaints at the authorities and also at high courts to ensure our rights (as for example our lawsuit against data retention which the European Court of Justice ruled in our favour). We are very successful, especially considering the small size of our organisation. But even if the majority of the work was done pro bono, we need permanent employees. We have to extend our professional structures in order to keep up with the increasing challenges in politics and to defend against the attacks on our basic and freedom rights.
How is my donation used?
Since 2014 we publish our annual transparency report. We try hard to minimize the costs for administration, staff, and travels so that the majority of the donations are used for purposes defined in our statutes, public relations, public actions and campaigns, and scientific studies.
What are the chances for your political work in times of mass surveillance and with the current government?
Especially when freedom rights are threatened like they are today, civil society with a focus on democracy is vital. epicenter.works is in perpetual contact with digital policy communities in other countries. Together it is possible to influence the zeitgeist against global surveillance and in favour of freedom, even though this will be a long fight. "Who fights may lose. Who doesn't fight has already lost." (Bertolt Brecht). Every single person can get engaged and will then be able to say: "I was a part of it."
What do I get when I donate?
If you support our work, you can rest assured that we will continue to fight for our basic rights on the internet and contribute to the public discourse with all available means. We pay a lot of attention to the laws planned by the government. Civil society needs a strong voice against surveillance and restrictions on the internet. Freedom will not defend itself. You can come out of the defensive and become part of an active civil society.
I want to be mentioned as a donor - is that possible?
If you want to make your donation visible to provide an active signal, please send us an email with Name, amount, means of payment, and date of your donation and we will publish this on our list of donors. Optionally you can also send us a logo and a URL to link to, as well as a sentence starting with "I am supporting epicenter.works because ..."
Do donations from a company cause a conflict of interest?
We counter this problem by making sure to have a good mix of several sources of funds. That way we remain independent of single donors. Donors may never influence the content of the work of epicenter.works. Credibility is more valuable to us than money. For this reason, the general assembly has agreed to the following rule regarding the limit of company donations:
“Epicenter.works wants independent funding that does not give any group, person or institution the opportunity to influence the work of the association or create an existential dependency. Our work rests on many shoulders. Our role and credibility depend on this.
That is why our focus is on financing through micro-donations from civil society. However, since this alone is not enough, we also accept funds from institutional sponsors (project funding, core grants), major donors, bequests, public funds and private sector funds, although we have defined strict limits for these for many years. Public funds come from local authorities (e.g. the City of Vienna), social partners (e.g. the Chamber of Labor) or ministries. In this context, it is always important to ensure political independence and compatibility with the values of the association.
No single company may account for more than 7.5% of our budget, and the entire private sector may not exceed 30%. Subsidiaries or holdings of the association are excluded from these limits.
Charged services are also a source of income, although the association acts with caution in terms of its non-profit status. Consulting for private or public institutions that relate to projects on which the association could express a political opinion must be provided free of charge. Here, the appearance of influence through cash flows would jeopardize the association’s role as a neutral public watchdog.
The exact material means from which the association finances itself can be found in § 3 para. 3 of the statutes.”
Are donations to epicenter.works tax-deductible?
We are currently working on ensuring that donations to our association are also eligible for a retroactive tax break for the whole of 2024.
Will I receive a confirmation of the donation?
Yes. Please send us an email with your name and address, amount, and date of the donation. You will receive an electronic confirmation of the donation. Please note the above question about tax-deductability.
Is it possible to donate for a specific purpose?
The effort to administrate appropriated donations is considerable and they also restrict the association's ability to react quickly to political developments. For this reason we cannot accept the dedication of donations.
Do you also accept donations in kind?
Basically yes, but please only by prior arrangement.
Donations aside - in what other ways can I help?
You can support us with pro bono work. You can find more information here.
Stay informed and subscribe to our newsletter, follow us on X, Mastodon, Bluesky, Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn or Youtube.
And most importantly: Tell your friends and family about us!
Didn't find an answer to your question? Please send us an email at spenden@epicenter.works or contact us on Social Media.
Declaration of Data Protection
When you donate, we store the data that are necessary for the completion of the payment. The basis for this is the contractual relationship of donation according to Art 6 Abs 1 lit b DSGVO. We are obligated by law to store your data, for example to notify the revenue office of high donations (§ 121a BAO) and for our tax purposes (§ 131 BAO). We also transfer the data to our tax consultant Examina Steuerberatungs GmbH & Co KG. We store the data as long as legally required. After that your data will be deleted.
Your data will also be processed by the payment provider that you chose (PayPal, Flattr, mPay24, bank transfer, SEPA). These companies have their own data protection and privacy regulations. We endeavour to accomplish an optimisation of the data protection standards by these payment providers exceeding the legally required minimum.
The registered association epicenter.works (ZVR: 140062668) is responsible for the processing of the data. You can contact the data protection officer via mail to dsba@epicenter.works. You have the right to information by the data protection official about your personal data as well as correction or deletion, or restriction of the processing as well as the right to data portability. You can revoke your permission at any time. In that case please send a message to office@epicenter.works. You also have the right to complain at the supervisory authority. Our full declaration of data protection can be found here.