Diversity in German Civil Society: A Mixed-Method Study on Organizational Access to Public Funds

This paper contributes to an already flourishing literature on diversity in general (Bührmann 2020) and diversity in civil society more specifically (von Unger, Baykara-Krumme, Kerakayali, Schönwälder 2022) that is spurred by the continuously growing socio-cultural heterogeneity in Germany (Foroutan 2019). This study asks whether and to what extent German civil society organizations with a diverse background receive funds by public administrations, and how bias and discrimination exclude them from public funds allocation. At stake is access of a diverse civil society to the public funds system in Germany. Empirically, a survey of a sample of about 8.000 German civil society organizations to be fielded in spring of 2022 will shed light on both existing and perceived inclusion and exclusion mechanisms in the system of the German public funds allocation. We drew a stratified random sample of all non-profit associations, foundations and gGMBHs based on the German commercial register for the 16 state capitals. On the one hand, the survey reveals various aspects of diversity in civil society organizations, such as how diverse the leadership and personnel, as well as programs and projects are, but also to what extent diversity strategies and incentives are implemented. On the other hand, the survey sheds light on the extent to which civil society organizations apply for and receive funds by public administrations. This survey is part of a larger mixed-method project on public funds allocations to a diverse landscape of civil society organizations in Germany. The survey results will serve as groundwork for a series of subsequent qualitative and quantitative analyses whose results will enhance our understanding of the public fund allocation process from a diversity-sensitive perspective.