Our finances

We greatly value the trust of our donors. Therefore, transparency in the handling of our finances and independent audits are essential for us.

For us, doing investigative work in the public interest means that our publications and activities should be available to all, not just a few. Our journalistic work does without advertising revenue and restrictive paywalls or subscription models. It is instead financed by a three-pillar model: Donations and contributions from citizens, funding from foundations and institutions that support our projects, and revenue from our own economic activities, such as workshops or book sales.

It is the task of journalism to create transparency and expose wrongdoings in our society. For this reason, we disclose incoming donations and subsidies which exceed EUR 1,000. Donations from private individuals are reported as a total amount. In addition, we publish our annual balance sheet and profit and loss statement, freely accessible to everyone. We also have our finances checked every year by an independent auditor. Additionally, every quarter we provide our supporters with a report on our investigations and projects as well as revenues and expenses.

We publish our annual reports in autumn of the following year.

Annual report 2021

Donations 2021

Donations 2020

Annual Report 2019 (in German)

Donations 2019

Annual Report 2018 (in German)

Donations 2018

Annual Report 2017 (in German)

Donations 2017

Annual Report 2016 (in German)

Donations 2016

Annual Report 2015 (in German)

Donations 2015

Annual Report 2014 (in German)

Donations 2014
Brost-Foundation: €675,000

A balanced mix of our three sources of income avoids dependencies. In combination with transparent disclosure as well as a comprehensive editorial statute, the greatest possible independence is guaranteed in case of income fluctuations or external attacks. No one has any influence on the content of our work except citizens, whom we ask to participate in our activities. The work of our management is overseen by a three-member supervisory board. It meets several times a year and continuously monitors the preparation of annual plans as well as compliance with the purpose of the statutes, resolutions and legal foundations. In this context we also disclose the salaries of our management team to the public.

This transparency helps to make our work comprehensible for the public as well as donors. In addition to the extensive disclosure of our finances and the voluntary audit by an independent auditor, we are also signatories to Transparency International Germany’s commitment to transparency. We believe that it is worthwhile and desirable to show more transparency for our society.

If you have any questions, please write us and we will be happy to answer you.

CORRECTIV qualifies as equivalent to a U.S. public charity. The Equivalency Determination on File “badge” means that the organization was at one time determined by NGOsource to be equivalent to a U.S. public charity. CORRECTIV – Recherchen für die Gesellschaft gemeinnützige GmbH’s Equivalency Determination certification is valid through December 31, 2021.