Austria

Introduction to Philanthropy Research in Austria

By Michaela Neumayr and Reinhard Millner

Philanthropy research in Austria is conducted by a range of private and public institutions. The most prominent are the Austrian Fundraising Association (Fundraising Verband Österreich, FVA), which has been active since 1996, and the Vienna University of Economics and Business (WU Vienna), which has engaged in philanthropy research since approximately 2005. Although philanthropy historically played only a minor role as a formal field of study in Austria, it is now well established.

At WU Vienna, philanthropy research is conducted primarily by the Institute for Nonprofit Management & Governance, the Social Entrepreneurship Center and the NPO Competence Center. The latter two centres are largely funded through third-party projects and conduct commissioned research, including studies of the effects of tax deductibility on charitable donations and analyses of Austria’s charitable-foundation landscape.

The Institute for Nonprofit Management & Governance focuses on academic research and teaching in nonprofit management and philanthropy, particularly individual charitable giving. Recent research has examined giving during the COVID-19 pandemic, the relationship between economic inequality and giving, and the factors influencing charitable behaviour. Researchers at the Institute also produce periodic studies mapping Austrian philanthropy and participate actively in international research networks such as ERNOP. The dominant disciplinary backgrounds remain management, business and economics.

The Austrian Fundraising Association supports nonprofit organisations through training, networking, advocacy and public relations. It regularly gathers financial information from its member organisations and publishes an annual donation report. These reports currently provide the only consistent national estimates of total charitable giving in Austria, covering individual donations, corporate donations and bequests. The Association also commissions research on specific topics, including high-net-worth philanthropy and legacy giving.

The private market-research institute Public Opinion GmbH continues to conduct population surveys on individual giving. Surveys have been undertaken since 1996, with annual data available from 2004 onwards. They provide descriptive information on donor characteristics, donation methods, supported causes, motivations for giving and reasons for not giving. Public Opinion has also conducted corporate-giving studies, with data available for 2007, 2008, 2011, 2015 and 2018.

The Austrian Ministry of Finance maintains administrative records on donations claimed as income-tax deductions. These records exclude donations made by people who are not liable for income tax and donations for which no deduction is claimed, but they nevertheless provide a useful basis for estimating charitable giving. Aggregated figures are periodically shared with the Austrian Fundraising Association.

A further development is the creation of a pilot Nonprofit Satellite Account by Statistics Austria, commissioned by the responsible federal ministry. Covering the years 2018–2021, the account incorporates nonprofit-sector activity into the national-accounts framework. It estimates that nonprofit organisations received approximately €1.01 billion annually in household donations, although this estimate is highly aggregated and based on assumptions about the proportion of household transfers that represented donations.

Despite these developments, Austria’s philanthropic data landscape remains incomplete. Information is often highly aggregated, and relatively little detail is available on the distribution and use of corporate donations, bequests and charity-lottery proceeds. More detailed information exists for individual and foundation giving, but gaps remain concerning the allocation of donations across charitable purposes.

Overview of Giving in Austria

Charitable giving is widespread in Austria. In 2023, approximately 72% of people aged 16 and over reported making a charitable donation. The average amount donated per donor was €138, the highest level recorded to date. On the basis of the population survey, total individual giving was estimated at between €711 million and €760 million, with a midpoint of €736 million. The Austrian Fundraising Association estimated household giving at the upper end of this range.

Animal welfare was the cause supported by the largest proportion of donors, followed by children and national emergency assistance. Human rights, education and research, and support related to drug addiction were among the causes supported by comparatively small shares of the population. Self-reported donor information does not always correspond directly with the financial information reported by nonprofit organisations.

Bequest giving has grown considerably. Charitable bequests were estimated at approximately €110 million in 2023, more than twice the €50 million estimated in 2014. Bequests reached a temporary peak of €120 million in 2022, partly because of an exceptional single bequest of €25 million. Despite this absolute growth, bequests have continued to account for approximately 10% of charitable donations.

This increase is associated with the ageing of the baby-boom generation, rising intergenerational wealth transfers and the increasing number of people without direct heirs. It has also been supported by the Vergissmeinnicht initiative, launched in 2012 to raise awareness of charitable bequests and provide information about inheritance law and charitable provisions in wills. Survey findings indicate growing openness towards legacy giving, although the proportion of inheritances that actually include charitable provisions remains relatively modest.

Information on corporate giving remains less current and less consistent. Available estimates vary substantially because studies use different definitions, populations, survey methods and extrapolation procedures. Public Opinion estimated corporate giving at €468 million in 2011, €300 million in 2015 when sponsorship and in-kind contributions were included, and €100 million in 2018. In the 2018 survey, 83% of companies reported some form of engagement: 77% donated money, 48% provided in-kind contributions and 36% participated in corporate volunteering.

Foundations with a public-benefit purpose remain a minority within Austria’s wider foundation sector. As of 2024, the country had 2,609 private foundations, most of which primarily pursued private purposes; 298 private foundations with public-benefit purposes; 35 savings-bank foundations; 197 provincial public-benefit foundations; and 237 federal public-benefit foundations. There is no comprehensive public database showing their income and expenditure.

An earlier study estimated the annual charitable expenditure of Austrian foundations at between €29 million and €61 million. More recent estimates from the Austrian Fundraising Association place total foundation contributions at approximately €90 million in 2022, or around 8% of total charitable donations. Public-benefit foundations are particularly active in social services, education and research, and culture and recreation.

Charity lotteries continue to make a relatively small contribution. Their annual proceeds have recently amounted to approximately €5–6 million, compared with €11.2 million in 2013. Only around ten nonprofit organisations operate charity lotteries, and approximately 50,000 people purchase charity-lottery tickets annually. Their development is constrained partly by the financial risks created by gambling taxes calculated on the number of tickets printed rather than the number sold.

Sources of Contributions in Austria, 2023

The table uses the Austrian Fundraising Association’s estimates. Because the data sources overlap and the available figures are partly based on extrapolation, the results should be treated as indicative rather than exact.

Total charitable giving increased from approximately €690 million in 2018 to around €1.1 billion in 2023. Donations now account for approximately 10% of nonprofit-sector income, compared with 7% in 2007 and 8% in 2013. This represents significant growth, although philanthropy remains a relatively modest component of nonprofit financing in Austria.

The development of philanthropy has been supported by stronger nonprofit networks, the professionalisation of fundraising, awareness initiatives concerning bequests, growing expectations surrounding corporate social responsibility and regulatory reforms. Tax deductibility has gradually been extended and, from 2024, applies to donations to all organisations that meet the relevant eligibility requirements. The 2023 Non-Profit Organisation Act also introduced measures intended to strengthen the enabling environment for philanthropy.

The availability and quality of data have improved significantly since the earlier publication. Nevertheless, Austrian philanthropy data remain fragmented and depend partly on estimates for which the underlying samples and extrapolation methods are not fully disclosed. Continued development of the Nonprofit Satellite Account could therefore make an important contribution to more consistent and robust data on nonprofit financing and philanthropy.

Source:

Neumayr, M., & Millner, R. (2026). Philanthropy in Austria. In B. Hoolwerf & J. Vamstad (Eds.), Philanthropy in Europe: Mapping Research and Data on Donations by Households, Bequests, Foundations, Corporations and Charity Lotteries (pp. 29–46). European Research Network on Philanthropy. Download the full publication here.