Caritas Vorarlberg

What Caritas Vorarlberg does

Caritas Vorarlberg is a nonprofit Catholic charitable organization headquartered in Feldkirch, Vorarlberg, Austria, operating as the regional diocesan arm of Caritas Österreich. It delivers a comprehensive portfolio of social services spanning the full life cycle, including Familienhilfe and Lerncafé family and youth support, Sozialberatung and Notschlafstelle housing and existential aid, Suchtberatung and a Fachstelle für Essstörungen for addiction and eating disorders, disability services (workshops, supported employment, assisted living), Flüchtlingshilfe refugee integration, Hospiz palliative care, and senior outreach via the LE.NA neighborhood program and Seniorenerholung. The organization pairs 64 paid employees with a parish-based volunteer network of more than 1,400 active PfarrCaritaskreise volunteers and reports 11,483 donors, 400 collection containers, 34,374 hours of hospice companionship, and five carla Second Hand social-enterprise retail locations plus the WIDADO online shop.

The underlying operating model is hybrid: professional social work delivered directly across multiple Vorarlberg service offices (Feldkirch, Dornbirn, Bludenz, Bregenz) is combined with volunteer-led parish outreach, retail-driven employment integration for people with disabilities, and digital entry points such as the Caritas Wegweiser guidance tool and Onlineberatung. There is no proprietary technology platform of note — the technology footprint is a standard multi-language website supporting 30+ languages — and no AI/ML capabilities are disclosed.

Revenue is generated through three primary streams: individual donations and charitable contributions; government funding and social-services contracts from Land Vorarlberg and federal sources (notably for refugee basic care under FEBO, Kinder- und Jugendhilfe family assistance, and disability services); and social-enterprise hardware sales through the carla Second Hand shops and WIDADO online commerce. The organization holds the Österreichisches Spendengütesiegel donation-quality seal and Austrian tax-deductibility status (SO-1122). Services are provided free of charge to beneficiaries. Customer segmentation spans eight distinct personas — families, people facing existential and housing challenges, job seekers, those with illness and grief, people with addictions, people with disabilities, refugees/migrants, and senior citizens — distributed across the regional population rather than concentrated in any single segment.

Name

Caritas Vorarlberg

Legal name

Caritas Vorarlberg

Website

https://caritas-vorarlberg.at

Company type

Private

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

Caritas Vorarlberg is a nonprofit Catholic charitable organization in Vorarlberg, Austria, providing social services — family support, refugee aid, addiction and disability services, hospice care, and senior outreach — funded by donations, government contracts, and the carla Second Hand social enterprise.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Social Services

NAICS

Individual and Family Services (6241), Services for the Elderly and Persons with Disabilities (62412), Community Housing Services (62422)

SIC

Services-Social Services (8300), Services-Nursing & Personal Care Facilities (8050)

akta.pro primary industry

Disability Services & Independent Living Support (BPAGACAG)

akta.pro secondary industries

Refugee & Immigrant Support Services (BPAGAEAI), Disability Services & Assistive Solutions (Accessibility, Assistive Tech) (BPAGALAM)

Keywords

• Social services
• Family assistance
• Refugee support
• Disability services
• Addiction counseling

Headquarters

HQ city

Feldkirch

HQ country

Austria

HQ region

Europe

Offices5 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. Donations and charitable contributions: Individual donors contribute to support people in need. The organization reports 11,483 donors who have entrusted their donations for people in need.
2. carla Second Hand social enterprise: Second-hand retail shops and online commerce under the carla brand, providing affordable goods while creating employment for people with disabilities and generating revenue for social programs.
3. Government funding and social services contracts: Funded through public contracts and subsidies for various social services including refugee care, disability services, family support, and youth services.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Caritas Vorarlberg is a non-profit charitable organization that delivers integrated social and welfare services to vulnerable people across the Vorarlberg region of Austria. Its offerings span family and child support, social counseling, emergency shelter, addiction and eating-disorder services, refugee integration, disability services and supported employment, hospice/palliative care, and senior recreation programs. The organization supplements these with a second-hand retail and upcycling social enterprise (carla Shops and WIDADO) that creates employment for people with disabilities.

Product overview

Caritas Vorarlberg is a charitable social services organization offering a comprehensive portfolio of interconnected support services for people in need. The organization operates as a multi-service provider rather than a technology platform, delivering assistance through direct personal services. Core service areas include family support (Familienhilfe, Lerncafé), social counseling (Sozialberatung with online counseling), housing support (Notschlafstelle, Delogierungsprävention), addiction and mental health services (Suchtberatung, Fachstelle für Essstörungen), disability services (Werkstätten, Wohnen & Leben, Freizeit), refugee integration (Flüchtlingshilfe), and senior services (LE.NA, Seniorenerholung, Wandern im LE.NA). Commercial sustainability initiatives include carla Second Hand shops and WIDADO online trading. Community engagement features include Zäwas Treffpunkt and Suppenbar for people with disabilities, herz.com parish platform, and various volunteer programs (Freiwilligenbörse, youngCaritas). The organization provides digital access through the Caritas Wegweiser online navigation tool.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• LE.NA – Lebendige Nachbarschaft: Project promoting neighborhood community and social connections for seniors and isolated individuals
• Zäwas
• carla Vorarlberg
• carla Second Hand

Products and services

• Familienhilfe (Family Assistance) Classical family assistance, mobile family relief, and family assistance within the child and youth welfare framework, supporting families with care-dependent children in crisis or difficult situations.
• Lerncafé & DigiKids After-school learning café network with multiple locations across Vorarlberg providing educational support for children and youth, including the DigiKids digital literacy program.
• Sozialberatung (Social Counseling) Social counseling services supporting people facing existential and housing issues, including a dedicated online counseling option.
• Notschlafstelle (Emergency Shelter) Temporary emergency overnight accommodation for homeless individuals, combined with case work to help residents develop life perspectives.
• Suchtberatung & Psychotherapie (Addiction Counseling & Psychotherapy) Addiction counseling and psychotherapy for people with substance addiction, including abstinence-oriented and controlled consumption counseling, harm reduction, group therapy, and supported housing.
• Fachstelle für Essstörungen (Eating Disorders Center) Specialized contact center providing information, offerings, and therapeutic and pedagogical support for people with eating disorders and their relatives.
• Services for People with Disabilities Comprehensive disability services including supported employment in workshops and external workplaces, integrative employment on the open labor market, and supported living arrangements ranging from full care to independent living.
• Flüchtlingshilfe (Refugee Services) Refugee and asylum support including care, counseling, psychotherapy, legal advice under the FEBO Fachstelle, support for unaccompanied minors, educational programs, German language courses, and integration activities.
• carla Second Hand & WIDADO Second-hand retail and sustainability operations including 5 carla shops across Vorarlberg, the WIDADO sustainable online trading platform, electrical equipment re-use, and repair café services; creates employment for people with disabilities.
• Hospiz Vorarlberg (Hospice and Palliative Care) Hospice and palliative care services providing compassionate end-of-life support through professional teams and volunteer hospice companions.
• LE.NA – Lebendige Nachbarschaft (Living Neighborhood) Community-building initiative developed with parishes and local communities to create living neighborhoods, providing visit teams, café LE.NA meeting spaces, and various neighborhood initiatives for seniors and isolated individuals.
• Zäwas Treffpunkt (Zäwas Meeting Point) Low-threshold leisure, education, and culinary meeting point in Bludenz for people with and without disabilities, promoting relationship building and social inclusion.
• Betriebliche Sozialberatung (Corporate Social Counseling) Corporate social counseling service offering workplace support and employee assistance programs to businesses.
• Seniorenerholung (Senior Recreation) Week-long recreation programs for elderly people over 70, combining community gatherings, light hiking, excursions, exercise, memory training, creative activities, and singing.
• Caritas Wegweiser (Caritas Guide) Digital navigation tool that directs users to the appropriate Caritas help offerings quickly, anonymously, and conveniently, leading to the relevant service or online counseling channel.

Segments8 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Lebenshilfe Österreich: Specialist Austrian disability-services federation providing supported employment, housing, and inclusive leisure. Direct competitor to Caritas Vorarlberg's disability portfolio, including the carla social enterprise.
• SOS Kinderdorf Österreich: Austrian affiliate of SOS Children's Villages providing child welfare, family support, and youth services. Direct overlap with Caritas Vorarlberg's Familienhilfe and Lerncafé programs.
• Volkshilfe Österreich: Nationwide social services nonprofit providing family support, housing assistance, and poverty-relief programs. Competes with Caritas for the same donor and government-contract pool.
• Austrian Red Cross (Österreichisches Rotes Kreuz): National humanitarian organization delivering social, refugee, and welfare services in Vorarlberg. Comparable in scale, donor base, and integrated service approach.
• Caritas Österreich: National umbrella of the Caritas network in Austria and the parent organization of Caritas Vorarlberg. Directly comparable in mission, service portfolio, and Catholic-charity governance model.
• Caritas Steiermark: Sibling Caritas organization serving the Steiermark region with an analogous service portfolio (family, refugee, disability, senior). Comparable model and governance; serves as a benchmark for Vaorarlberg's operations.
• Samariterbund Österreich: Austrian nonprofit providing social services, hospice care, and emergency relief. Comparable in hospice and social-counseling service lines.
• Diakonie Österreich: Austria's largest Protestant-affiliated social services NGO, offering family, refugee, disability, and senior services across federal states. Closest direct competitor to Caritas in mission and service mix.
• Hilfswerk Österreich: Major Austrian nonprofit providing mobile care, family services, and senior support. Comparable in regional service delivery and reliance on public contracting.

Regional players

• Arbeiter-Samariter-Bund Deutschland (ASB): Adjacent German social-services and hospice nonprofit with comparable service categories (hospice, family support, refugee services). Useful peer for cross-border service-design and volunteer-model benchmarking, though geographically distinct.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/CaritasVbg
• YouTubeyoutube.com/user/CaritasVorarlberg
• Facebookfacebook.com/CaritasVorarlberg
• Instagraminstagram.com/caritasoesterreich
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/caritas-vorarlberg

Compliance2 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles4 records

Subsidiaries2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Caritas Vorarlberg