The Kartei der Not was founded in 1965 by the publisher and editor of the Augsburger Allgemeine, Ellinor Holland. Today, the aid organisation for the Bavarian-Swabian region is managed by her daughters Ellinor Scherer and Alexandra Holland on the Board of Trustees, which makes decisions on all fundamental issues and sets the guidelines for the allocation of donations.
For over 50 years, the card index has been helping people in need through no fault of their own with financial aid from donations: These have included poor children and their families, the sick and disabled, elderly people with low pensions, social orphans and people who are struggling with severe strokes of fate. The prerequisites are economic need, habitual residence in the circulation area of Augsburger Allgemeine, Allgäuer Zeitung and their local newspapers, and application together with a social counselling centre.
In addition, exemplary projects of non-profit, tax-privileged organisations, corporations and institutions are also supported.
The Kartei der Not is supported by the Pressedruck media group in Augsburg and the Allgäuer Zeitungsverlag newspaper publisher in Kempten as an independent foundation under civil law. The latter also bears the entire administrative costs, which in turn means that 100% of all donations reach the people in need. In this way, around 40 million euros have been collected and utilised for people in need since 1965.
