Foundation capital must suffice
The federal government no longer wants to fund Stiftung Warentest
01/22/2022 10:57 am
Many people trust the judgment of Stiftung Warentest before making a purchase. So far, it has also received money from the federal budget. But according to a report, that won’t be the case for much longer.
The federal government intends to withdraw from the funding of “Stiftung Warentest” in the near future. This is reported by the “Welt” with reference to information from the Ministry of Consumer Protection. This year, 970,000 euros will go to the foundation, and in 2023 it should be another 490,000 euros. From 2024, the Stiftung Warentest should then be financed from the income from the “recently increased foundation capital”.
Stiftung Warentest was founded in 1964 as an independent foundation under civil law. According to its own statements, it tests more than 25,000 products every year. Products are bought anonymously or services are used covertly. These are then evaluated according to scientific methods by independent institutes. The ratings range between “very good” and “inadequate”.
So far compensation payment from the state
Because the organization, according to its statutes, is not allowed to generate income from advertising, it receives an annual compensation payment from the state. According to Stiftung Warentest, this currently accounts for a good three percent of their income. According to the foundation, however, it finances itself for the most part through the sale of its publications. This also includes the regular “Test” booklets, the first of which was published in 1966. By the way, it dealt with the quality of sewing machines. In the meantime, the foundation also sees itself as an educational provider that aims, among other things, to teach young people about critical consumer behavior.
According to the report, instead of the Stiftung Warentest, the federal government supports the Federation of Consumer Organizations (VZBV) more. The umbrella organization of the 16 consumer protection organizations will receive around 23.8 million euros from the state treasury in 2022. That is half a million euros more than last year. However, the budget process is not yet complete, according to the ministry.