Creating a just society in Germany
Head Office in Freiburg.
We take responsibility for our role in the development of needs-led social infrastructures, and we contribute to providing people with health and social care, education and employment services.
Gearing Up for the Future
The German Caritas Association was founded in 1897. Our main office is in Freiburg, and we also have branch offices in Berlin and Brussels. Along with political advocacy and public relations work, the 350 people who work in the main office are also responsible for Caritas’ professional development. They initiate pilot projects, discuss and evaluate results, and make these available in publications and at conferences. The combination of practice, political campaigning and research will continue to enable us to meet the demands of the future.
Transparency towards our donors, founders and the public is important to the German Caritas Association. It complies with the norms of the DZI Seal of Approval and is a member of the Transparent Civil Society Initiative. Together with Diakonie, the social welfare organisation of Germany’s Protestant churches, it has developed transparency standards for its own services and institutions.
Safeguard quality, research and further training
The umbrella association’s other tasks include internal information management, quality improvement and providing further training in foundational subjects. The German Caritas Association therefore maintains the Professional Further Education Academy of the German Caritas located in Freiburg, as well as the Caritas Library, which has a collection of more than 235,000 works focusing primarily on social welfare and social care, also in Freiburg. The main offices in Freiburg also house the Caritas Archive, which has a collection of texts, photographs and posters documenting the Association’s history. The archive is open to researchers working on topics in the social sciences.
Working in Large Networks
The German Caritas Association cooperates with other non-statutory organisations. We are a member of Germany’s Federal Association of Non-Statutory Welfare (Bundesarbeitsgemeinschaft der Freien Wohlfahrtspflege, BAGFW) and of the international Caritas network. Through our International Department, which coordinates the international relief work of Caritas Germany, we aid people in emergencies and disasters worldwide.