Donation projects
2025 – Open Knowledge Foundation
In 2025, we will support the Open Knowledge Foundation . The organization advocates worldwide for free access to knowledge, open data, and transparent digital infrastructures.
Open data is a key prerequisite for democratic participation, scientific progress, and responsible digitalization. The Open Knowledge Foundation ensures that data is not only published, but also made understandable, verifiable, and meaningfully usable.
As an IT company, we see it as our responsibility not only to provide technologies, but also to strengthen the foundations of an open, informed and self-determined digital society.
With our donation, we support projects that promote transparency, enable innovation, and understand knowledge as a public good – freely accessible, independent, and sustainable.
Past donation projects:
For the past 10 years, Ehmig GmbH has supported select projects and initiatives with its donations. As a successful company, we want to take on social responsibility: for a free and independent internet that offers equal opportunities and possibilities to every individual. This "charity spirit" becomes tangible in concrete donation projects.
2024 – WordPress Foundation
This year, we chose the WordPress Foundation to underscore our commitment to a free and accessible internet. The WordPress Foundation was founded by Matt Mullenweg to further the mission of the open-source WordPress project: to democratize publishing and make high-quality software accessible to everyone.
The organization is committed to ensuring that the software projects it supports remain permanently free and open source. This guarantees that the WordPress source code will be preserved for generations to come – regardless of the individuals or companies currently contributing to it. This sustainable vision makes WordPress an indispensable web publishing platform used by millions worldwide.
A key focus of the WordPress Foundation is education. It promotes public awareness of WordPress and related open-source software to make knowledge and digital skills accessible to a broad community. At the same time, the organization protects the trademark rights of WordPress, WordCamp , and related initiatives to ensure a trustworthy and stable foundation for the global community.
With our donation, we support the WordPress Foundation in its mission to create a freely accessible, secure, and open platform for digital communication. This commitment reflects our belief that open-source projects not only enable technological innovation but also build bridges for collaboration and knowledge sharing in a connected world.
We would like to make a small contribution to making the opportunities of the digital age more accessible and usable for everyone interested.
2023 – code.org
This year, we're focusing on the next generation of technology enthusiasts and expanding educational opportunities. We're proud to support code.org , an organization dedicated to increasing access to computer science in schools worldwide and promoting diversity in the field. With our donation, we hope to help ensure that computer science and digital education know no boundaries and are accessible to every child, regardless of their background.
Code.org is known not only for its inspiring educational initiatives but also for organizing the annual Hour of Code , which reaches millions of students worldwide. We firmly believe that education is the key to unlocking everyone's potential and opening the door to a world of opportunity. By supporting code.org, we aim to open that door as wide as possible and foster a generation of creative minds, innovators, and problem solvers.
We support code.org in its efforts to make digital education accessible to everyone. This partnership underscores our commitment to using technology for the benefit of society.
2022 – VLC Media Player
VLC is a media player that can play a wide variety of media formats and offers broad codec support. It is often used as a general-purpose media player for all types of media, such as movies, music, streaming video, and live TV. VLC has a simple and user-friendly interface and is easy to use.
VideoLAN is the non-profit organization behind VLC. It is dedicated to creating open-source multimedia software. Founded in 1996 by students of the École Centrale Paris , it has since become one of the world's most popular and widely used open-source multimedia software projects. VideoLAN's goal is to provide high-quality, stable, and powerful multimedia software that is easy to use for both users and developers, supporting numerous operating system platforms. In addition to VLC, the organization develops other open-source software such as VLC for Android and VLC for iOS , as well as libVLC (the engine and interface to the multimedia framework on which the VLC media player is based).
VLC can stream media over the internet, allowing us to watch videos or listen to music on our computers, tablets, or smartphones. VLC also supports various streaming protocols. The VLC user interface is customizable, allowing users to change the player's appearance and operation by using different skins or creating their own with the built-in designer. A wide range of features are available, including advanced audio functions (normalization, equalizer, and spatial audio), video filters and effects (color adjustments, distortion, and geometric corrections), and video and audio converters for converting media files to other formats.
The software is freely available under open-source licenses . The source code is available for free download. The VideoLAN organization is financed by donations and membership fees.
The European continent offers a wealth of examples of globally successful IT technologies and innovations. With our donations, we aim to highlight such successes and confidently contribute to shaping Europe's future.
2021 – Raspberry Pi Foundation
The Raspberry Pi Foundation is a UK-based charity dedicated to putting the power of computers and digital products into the hands of people worldwide. It promotes innovation and technology to solve critical problems and empower everyone to express themselves creatively.
A network is being established to create partnerships with youth organizations worldwide. Millions of young people are being given the opportunity to learn computer and digital skills . Every school and every student should have the chance to learn the fundamentals of computer science. The Raspberry Pi Foundation makes computing and digital making accessible to everyone by providing affordable and powerful single-board computers with free software.
The Raspberry Pi was launched in early 2012. The computer contains a Broadcom system-on-a-chip (SoC) with an ARM CPU. The board is about the size of a credit card. By May 2021, 40 million units had been sold. For children of the 1980s, the Raspberry Pi evoked memories of the Sinclair ZX and Commodore computers. Engineer Eben Upton recognized that young people's interest in programming was declining with the rise of non-programmable game consoles. His mission was: "We need to create a generation of producers, not consumers!"
Over the past 10 years, a diverse global community has formed around the Raspberry Pi . With the Astro Pi Mission Zero, the "Raspi" even made it to space, to the International Space Station. The Raspberry Pi 400 Personal Computer Kit is a complete PC in a compact case, reminiscent of its predecessors, the Sinclair ZX Spectrum and Commodore 64. It offers the younger generation an affordable entry into modern computing and is a lot of fun!
Numerous system extensions such as camera, touch display, audio boards or Lego Technic Connector make the “Raspi” the ideal tool for maker and community projects .
The success story of the Raspberry Pi Foundation impressively demonstrates the power unleashed by innovative technology projects. Integrated into a global community, the Raspberry Pi is also a success story for Europe as a technology hub. The components are developed and manufactured in the UK. And with ARM as the chip supplier, a future market for IoT and machine learning products is emerging right in the heart of Europe.
2020 – Kepass
Data security and information confidentiality were prominent topics in IT this year. Passwords – often too simple – are frequently the focus of security incidents. Excellent password quality is a solid foundation for protecting all types of information. For this reason, we are supporting the KeePass project in 2020.
As a user, you already have to remember many passwords. We as IT professionals and service providers need numerous passwords for websites, email accounts, web servers, network logins, and much more. The list is endless, and we should use a different password for each account. KeePass is a free, open-source password manager that allows you to securely manage all your passwords. The passwords are stored in a database locked with a master key. The advantage: If you remember a single master key, you can unlock the entire database. Database files are encrypted using the best and most secure encryption algorithms currently known (e.g., AES-256 ).
Is KeePass really free? Yes, KeePass is open source ( OSI -certified). The complete source code can be viewed and checked to ensure that the security features are correctly implemented. The German Federal Office for Information Security (BSI) regularly recommends KeePass in its publications.
KeePass helps you create, manage, and use secure passwords in your daily work. Many of our customers, like us, rely on this robust tool. To ensure the product continues to meet increasing security demands, we are contributing this year.
2019 – Tails
With our 2019 fundraising project, we are supporting "The Amnesic Incognito Live System" (Tails) . Tails was first released in 2009, is based on Debian Linux, and includes a number of pre-configured programs. The core components of this free software are Tor and the Tor Browser for anonymous internet browsing. Other applications include an email client, chat software, and a password manager.
Installed on a USB stick, the software can be run on any PC, regardless of the operating system. In addition to anonymity through the Tor project, working with Tails also allows for the automatic deletion of data that was temporarily stored during Tails use.
Tails gained attention when Edward Snowden wrote about it in his 2019 book, *Permanent Record* . Snowden stated that the Tails tool enabled him to contact and transmit sensitive information to journalists.
Not only since 2013 has a broad public in Germany been concerned about the rampant collection of personal data by government agencies and private institutions. The often unnoticed collection, storage, and analysis of personal data by intelligence agencies worldwide has been sadly confirmed by Mr. Snowden's revelations. Every day, journalists and human rights organizations in many parts of the world face immediate danger when carrying out their work. Free reporting is more important today than ever before. Reporters Without Borders (RSF)
Tails protects the interests of anonymous online work, regardless of the potential risks of widespread state surveillance by repressive regimes. We believe that Tails facilitates the secure sharing of information and makes this world a freer place – everywhere.
2018 – Let's Encrypt
At the end of 2018, we donated to the Let's Encrypt project . The security and confidentiality of data on the web are of paramount importance. Let's Encrypt makes it easy to create HTTPS certificates for data transmission on the internet. Most importantly, the service is free for every user, worldwide. Openness and transparency are fundamental building blocks of trust. Let's Encrypt creates trust on the internet on a massive scale. With over 1 million certificates issued daily, the service has grown rapidly since 2016.
This service is made possible by the Internet Security Research Group . Founded in 20013, its mission is to reduce financial, technological, and educational barriers to enabling secure communication on the internet. The organization is based in San Francisco, CA. Its Board of Directors comprises representatives from prominent companies such as Akamai, Cisco, Facebook, Mozilla, and Red Hat, as well as from US universities.
2017 – OpenStreetMap
In 2017, we supported the OpenStreetMap (OSM) project. This project collects and structures freely usable geodata for anyone to use in a database ( Open Data ). This data is released under a free license, the Open Database License . At the heart of the project is an openly accessible database of all contributed geoinformation. The OpenStreetMap project was launched in London in July 2004 by Steve Coast. Volunteers from many countries now work on both the software development and the collection and processing of the geodata.
The OpenStreetMap Foundation coordinates the project. In addition to funding, it also organizes events, such as the conference for mappers and users. In an increasingly interconnected world, the project ensures that reliable data for orientation and navigation will remain freely accessible to humanity in the future.
2016 – OSI
For 2016 , we are supporting the Open Source Initiative (OSI) with our fundraising project. Founded in February 1998, the OSI certifies software licenses based on its Open Source Definition (OSD) . The OSD itself is not a license; rather, it is a standard against which licenses are measured. The original English definition, containing the 10 essential criteria, has remained virtually unchanged for the past 10 years.
The Open Source Initiative's advisory board includes not only the founders but also numerous prominent figures in the IT sector. Many leading software manufacturers are among its sponsors.
2015 – ASF
The 2015 fundraising project supported The Apache Software Foundation (ASF) . This volunteer-run organization has been promoting Apache software projects since 1999 , including the Apache web server. As a distributed community of developers, ASF works on a wide variety of open-source software projects. Membership is exclusively for active developers and contributors to an Apache project.
The special Apache License, version 2.0, is recognized by the Free Software Foundation. Under this license, software may be freely used, modified, and distributed in any environment (with appropriate attribution to the licensor).
Apache Software Foundation is financially supported by leading software companies (Google, Yahoo, Microsoft, Hewlett-Packard, Facebook and IBM) and a broad base of donors worldwide.
2014 – Linux Foundation
In 2014, we donated to the Linux Foundation . The Linux Foundation was founded in 2007 as a non-profit consortium with the goal of promoting and supporting the spread and growth of Linux.
When Linus Torvalds began his work on Linux more than 20 years ago, no one could have foreseen that it would lay the foundation for today's internet economy. From school computers to space stations , from smartphones to complex machine controls, Linux is the ubiquitous basis of our daily lives. What would consumer electronics be without Linux?
The list of leading companies that create their digital added value based on free software is long and significant: Google, Amazon, IBM, Cisco, Panasonic, US Postal Service, Wikipedia, New York Stock Exchange, as well as a large number of research institutions (CERN) and government agencies (US Department of Defense).
Whether in business or everyday life: Today, the Linux Foundation promotes the further development of the kernel and also employs Linus Torvalds. Linux is part of our modern lives, and we are grateful for that!
2013 – Mozilla Foundation
In our 2013 fundraising project , we supported the Mozilla Foundation . The internet is becoming an increasingly important part of our lives. The mission of this non-profit organization is to promote openness, innovation, and opportunity on the web. The Mozilla Foundation coordinates a global community of developers who all work together to keep the internet vibrant and freely accessible. The free and platform-independent web browser Mozilla Firefox had a global market share of approximately 18 percent in September 2013 and is among the three most widely used web browsers.
We use the Mozilla Firefox web browser daily in client projects and for internal purposes. Its functionality is indispensable, especially considering its modular extensibility and compatibility with various operating systems. We are grateful for that!
2012 – Wikimedia
The 2012 fundraising project was supported by Wikimedia Fördergesellschaft mbH, a wholly owned subsidiary of Wikimedia Deutschland . Its mission is to raise funds for Wikimedia Deutschland and the Wikimedia Foundation . These funds are used to promote education, science, and research.
As an IT company, we deal daily with tasks and questions that require free access to current knowledge. For our employees, the wealth of knowledge and free access to Wikipedia has become an indispensable tool. For that, we say thank you!
