FEANTSA

What FEANTSA does

FEANTSA (the European Federation of National Organisations Working with the Homeless) is an independent non-profit federation founded in 1989 and headquartered in Brussels, Belgium. It brings together nearly 140 national non-profit member organisations from 26 countries — including 23 EU Member States — that deliver frontline services to people experiencing homelessness, and it serves as the only European NGO focused exclusively on ending homelessness. Its core activities span policy dialogue with European institutions, peer-to-peer knowledge exchange among members, training programmes, and research dissemination through a Brussels-based Secretariat of approximately 25 staff led by Director Frederik Spinnewijn and Deputy Director Ruth Owen.

FEANTSA's core intellectual and technological assets include the ETHOS (European Typology of Homelessness and Housing Exclusion) classification framework, which it conceptualised and stewards; the European Journal of Homelessness, a double-blind peer-reviewed open access journal published three times a year since 2007; and EPOCH Practice, a mutual-learning and capacity-building platform launched in 2024 to support solutions to end homelessness in the EU by 2030. Internal organisational units such as the European Observatory on Homelessness (led by Coordinator Volker Busch-Geertsema), the Housing First Europe Hub, and the Housing Rights Watch network extend FEANTSA's reach into research, Housing First implementation, and housing-rights policy.

FEANTSA's business model is that of a non-profit membership federation. Revenue derives from recurring membership fees paid by ~140 member organisations, co-funding and grants from the European Commission (including support for the European Platform on Combating Homelessness and EPOCH Practice), supplementary foundation grants such as the $500,000 Citi Foundation award in September 2024, and fees from conferences (notably the European Research Conference on Homelessness) and training programmes. Knowledge products — newsletters (FEANTSA Flash, Health & Homelessness, Migration & Homelessness, Housing Rights Watch), the Homeless in Europe Magazine, and the European Journal of Homelessness — are distributed free of charge, supporting the federation's awareness-raising and policy-influence mission rather than direct monetisation.

Name

FEANTSA

Legal name

FEANTSA – European Federation of National Organisations Working with the Homeless

Website

https://feantsa.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1989

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

FEANTSA is a Brussels-based non-profit federation founded in 1989 that unites nearly 140 national non-profit organisations across 26 European countries to drive policy, research, and capacity-building aimed at ending homelessness.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Homelessness Advocacy and Policy Services

NAICS

Community Food and Housing, and Emergency and Other Relief Services (6242), Community Housing Services (62422), Individual and Family Services (6241)

SIC

Services-Social Services (8300), Services-Membership Organizations (8600)

akta.pro industry

PRIMARYBPAGAEAB

Housing Assistance & Homeless Services

Business & Public Services/Nonprofit, NGO & Social Services/Social Services & Community Support (Food, Housing, Family)

SECONDARYBPAIANAC

Homelessness Prevention, Shelter & Supportive Housing Services

Business & Public Services/Public Sector & Government Administration/Housing, Urban Planning & Community Development

Keywords

• Homelessness advocacy
• Social policy research
• Non-profit federation
• Housing exclusion services
• EU policy coordination

Headquarters

HQ city

Brussels

HQ country

Belgium

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Membership fees: FEANTSA is a membership federation with nearly 140 member organisations from 26 countries; member dues form a baseline of operating revenue supporting the democratic decision-making bodies.
2. European Union co-funding / grants: FEANTSA is supported and co-funded by the European Commission; the information on the website is co-funded by the European Union. EU programme funding (e.g., supporting the EPOCH platform and European Platform on Combating Homelessness) underpins much of FEANTSA's project work.
3. Conference and training fees: Revenue from registration fees for the European Research Conference on Homelessness and from training programmes (e.g., training on violence against women and homelessness; young professionals training).

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels10 records

Core offering

FEANTSA is a pan-European federation of nearly 140 non-profit member organisations in 26 countries that unites frontline homelessness service providers to drive EU-level policy change, conduct and disseminate research, and run capacity-building programmes. Its core offerings include the peer-reviewed European Journal of Homelessness, the EPOCH Practice mutual-learning platform, the ETHOS classification framework, thematic publications such as Homeless in Europe Magazine, the annual European Research Conference on Homelessness, and structured training programmes on topics including violence against women and homelessness.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• EPOCH Practice: Initiative launched in 2024 to end homelessness in the EU through mutual learning and capacity-building, aiming for sustainable, inclusive solutions for homelessness by 2030.
• Housing First Europe Hub
• European Journal of Homelessness
• Homeless in Europe Magazine

Products and services

• EPOCH Practice platform A mutual-learning and capacity-building platform designed to support FEANTSA's member organisations and partners in developing sustainable, inclusive solutions to end homelessness in the EU by 2030.
• European Journal of Homelessness An international, double-blind peer-reviewed open access journal on homelessness and housing exclusion in Europe, published three times per year and offered free of charge to readers and authors.
• ETHOS (European Typology of Homelessness and Housing Exclusion) A definition and classification framework conceptualised and stewarded by FEANTSA that categorises living situations conceptually considered as homelessness, used across Europe to support coherent data collection, policy and research.
• Homeless in Europe Magazine A twice-yearly thematic magazine published by FEANTSA on homelessness and housing exclusion in Europe, distributed via a dedicated mailing list free of charge.
• European Research Conference on Homelessness Europe's leading annual research conference on homelessness, organised by FEANTSA's European Observatory on Homelessness, bringing together researchers from across Europe and beyond to discuss recent evidence and emerging research on homelessness and housing exclusion.
• Training programmes (e.g., Empowering Young Professionals; Understanding Violence Against Women) Structured training events delivered across European cities for homelessness practitioners, covering topics such as violence against women, youth engagement, and multiple intersecting inequalities.

Quantifiable outcome

• ~140 member organisations from 26 countries (including 23 EU Member States) unified in a single pan-European homelessness federation
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers2 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Five partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Catholic University of PortugalcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCo-organiser with FEANTSA's European Observatory on Homelessness of the 20th European Research Conference on Homelessness, held at the Catholic University of Portugal in Lisbon on 24-25 September 2026.
• European Observatory on HomelessnesscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerFEANTSA's European Observatory on Homelessness is an internal research arm that produces the European Journal of Homelessness, organises the European Research Conference, and coordinates research on homelessness and housing exclusion across Europe. Volker Busch-Geertsema is Coordinator of the European Observatory on Homelessness.
• Housing First Europe HubcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerHoused within the FEANTSA Secretariat, the Housing First Europe Hub coordinates European efforts to scale the Housing First approach, with dedicated staff (Samara Jones, Laura Fritz, Mercedes Hauviller, Christianna Fontouli) supporting its partnership and project work.
• Housing Rights Watch networkcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCoordinated from within FEANTSA by Maria Jose Aldanas (Housing Rights Watch Coordinator), the network publishes a periodical newsletter of articles and analysis, working on housing rights and eviction prevention.
• StatikminorImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerBelgian digital agency credited at the bottom of the FEANTSA website as the builder of the website ("Built with love by Statik").

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Regional players

• Crisis UK: UK national homelessness charity with a research, policy, and campaigning remit and member-network model. Comparable in mission and research-driven advocacy approach, but UK-focused rather than pan-European.
• Fondation Abbé Pierre: Leading French national foundation on housing exclusion and homelessness, producing an influential annual report on housing conditions in France. Comparable as a national-level homelessness/housing-exclusion research and advocacy actor with similar policy-influencing ambitions, but France-only.

Direct peers

• Caritas Europa: Brussels-based federation of Caritas organisations active across Europe in social services including homelessness, poverty, and migration support. Comparable as a federated European NGO delivering social services with EU policy advocacy, member services, and research outputs.
• Housing Europe: European federation of public, cooperative, and social housing providers based in Brussels. Highly comparable as a federated EU housing-network body engaging in EU policy dialogue, research, and capacity exchange, with overlapping member constituencies in the housing-exclusion space.
• European Anti-Poverty Network (EAPN): Brussels-based pan-European network of NGOs and civil-society organisations fighting poverty and social exclusion. Comparable as a federated EU-level NGO on social policy with similar membership, advocacy and EU institutional engagement model.
• European Social Network (ESN): Network for public social services in Europe, focused on knowledge exchange, research, and policy advice to public social-services authorities. Comparable as a Brussels-based social-services knowledge and policy intermediary with a similar member-driven and research-led model.

Others

• Médecins du Monde / Doctors of the World (EU operations): International medical-humanitarian NGO with significant EU programming intersecting homelessness and health. Comparable as a Brussels-adjacent advocacy and service-delivery actor engaging EU institutions on homelessness-related health inequalities, but with a clinical/humanitarian rather than housing-policy mandate.

Broad incumbents

• The Salvation Army International (Europe territory): International faith-based organisation operating major homelessness services across many European countries. Comparable as a large-scale service provider and policy advocate on homelessness in Europe, though with a broader social-services remit and a non-federated operating model.
• Eurocities: Network of major European cities working on urban policy including housing and homelessness. Comparable as a Brussels-based city-level network engaging EU institutions, but broader in scope than FEANTSA's single-issue homelessness focus.
• Habitat for Humanity Europe, Middle East and Africa: Regional arm of an international housing non-profit active across Europe on affordable housing and homelessness. Comparable as a European NGO focused on housing insecurity and homelessness advocacy and service delivery, though operating with a broader housing-development mandate.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/FEANTSA
• YouTubeyoutube.com/@feantsa
• Facebookfacebook.com/FEANTSA
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/feantsa
• Instagraminstagram.com/feantsa_org

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles6 records

Subsidiaries2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds1 record

Investors1 record

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about FEANTSA