Politics threatens Vorarlberg's aid organizations: economic dependency!

Politics threatens Vorarlberg's aid organizations: economic dependency!

Financial dependence on the Vorarlberg state government is a hotly discussed topic among aid organizations. According to an analysis of the APA-OTS , the multitude of projects and actions of the organizations are heavily dependent on public funding. This dependency could influence the offers of help and their objectivity, which endangers both the quality of the services and access for groups in need. For example, Caritas received 67 %, IFS 80 % and Dowas Vorarlberg even 84 % of their financing from state funds. These figures illustrate the critical role of politics in the financial resources of social projects.

The existing practice sees many of these organizations more than supplicants than as an equivalent partner in the social sector. So far, there is no formal decoupling of fixed grants and variables that are awarded to politics as required and decision. This leads to an unsafe and possibly unethical basis for the support of those in need, as is criticized by the Vorarlberg State Audit Office. There is a lack of a binding "sustainability code", which ensures the independence of the social institutions. Many organizations therefore call for transparent regulation to reduce the dependency on public funding.

economic challenges tighten the situation