Operations

Finances

The publisher of Direkt36 is a public benefit, nonprofit company, and no dividends can be extracted from it. The company’s funds are used for operations and to achieve our goals. When financial resources allow, we expand our team, carry out larger-scale investigative projects, and build up reserves.

Thanks to the individuals who support us, Direkt36’s independence is guaranteed and the financial basis of our operations is stable. Anyone who supports us can be sure that Direkt36 will still be around in five years’ time, upholding the same values and carrying out the same activities as it does today. In 2023, we received around 18,000 of these so-called micro-grants, covering more than 60% of Direkt36’s total annual budget.

Media outlets such as Direkt36, which perform tasks that are essential to democracy on a non-commercial basis, are supported by a number of foundations and other organizations, mainly international ones. We only accept support from institutions that do not interfere in any way with our work. For 2023, we have received funding from these institutions to run Direkt36:

  • we have been working with the Center for Independent Journalism in Budapest for years to collect 1% VAT; we campaign together, and a significant part of the donations is given to Direkt36 for investigative articles, as decided by the Foundation’s Board of Trustees, according to the information provided in the campaign,
  • a three-year grant from the Sigrid Rausing Trust in London ended in October 2023, and we successfully applied for a further three-year grant,
  • the Brussels-based Civitates Foundation supports us for three years (until the end of 2023),
  • The Foundation for Democracy & Pluralism in Båstad, Sweden, supports Direkt36 for two years (until June 2024),
  • OCCRP, one of the world’s leading international investigative institutions, has been a long-standing professional partner and will provide financial support for our activities through a six-month programme in 2023-24.

You find the detailed list of our supporters at the bottom of this page.

 

Financial reports 2023

  • Transparency report 2023 – download
  • Financial statement and balance sheet 2023 – download
  • Notes to the financial statement 2023 – download
  • Public benefit statement 2023 – download

Previous years 

 

Advisory Board

Direkt36 is supported by two advisory bodies.

The members of our journalistic advisory group are Márton Galambos, Sándor Orbán and Balázs Weyer.

Our Strategic Review Board, which supports our business planning, is composed of Noémi Alexa, Viktor Bálint, and Sebastian Esser.

 

Our supporters

Since Direkt36 was founded in early 2015, more than 4,700 private donors have supported our work with one-off or recurring donations. We cover a significant part of our operating costs with funds received from our private donors and fees paid by our media partners that publish our stories. Click here to become a supporter.

Institutional donors

Previous institutional donors

Professional partners

  • Global Investigative Journalism Network
    OCCRP
  • OCCRP
    OCCRP