In 2025, the Fonds Soziokultur distributed a total of 3.9 million euros across four funding programmes. The funds were approved by the voluntary board of trustees. The ‘Techlab: Socioculture’ programme, which focuses on the use of digital technologies to create social impact, could not be continued from 2024.

In 2025, the Socio-Culture Fund was able to re-launch the ‘Profil: Socioculture’ programme, which was established only two years earlier, sending an important signal of stability in uncertain times. A preview of 2026: In view of the substantial cut of around 1 million euros, it has not been possible to continue the ‘Profil: Socioculture’ programme this year.

The main funding pillar, ‘General Project Funding’ (66 % of funding), is a long-standing programme that supports a wide range of participation in cultural work; proportional funding of up to 30,000 euros is available.

‘Profile: Socioculture’ (26 %) provides funding at the same level to support essential processes of organisational development and profile-building, something that small organisations in particular lack the time and funding for in their day-to-day operations.

Through ‘Cultural Bridge’ (5.4 %), the Fonds Soziokultur continues its cooperation with six further stakeholders on the UK side to strengthen bilateral exchange in the field of socially engaged arts.

Through ‘U25 – Young Culture Initiatives’ (2.6 %), 18- to 25-year-olds are supported with up to 4,000 euros to independently carry out their first cultural projects.

What is not visible are the imaginative and accessible initiatives that make participation possible in the first place, and in which people genuinely feel recognised as experts in shaping culture. The practical examples in this magazine give an insight into the reality behind the statistics. It is also worth noting here that, with a funding rate of 16.7 %, far too many opportunities for public participation are being missed.

To put it positively: on average, every funded project involves 1,200 local people, of whom around 80 are actively involved in shaping culture and more than 1,100 are members of the audience at events of all kinds.