betterplace.org

What betterplace.org does

betterplace.org operates Germany's largest online donation platform, connecting individual donors with verified charitable organisations across 185 countries. The platform, founded in Berlin in 2007, hosts 71,976 projects and has processed more than €361M in cumulative donations, including €41M in 2024. Core functionality includes project discovery by category (animals, children, climate, refugees, women), tax-deductible donation processing via Apple Pay, Google Pay, PayPal, SEPA, and credit card, automated donation receipts, recurring giving, and a donor dashboard (My Donations). Supporting products include betterplace Academy (organisational training), Charity Streams and Creators4Charity (streamer and content-creator fundraising), and a Donation Gift (Spendengeschenk) feature.

The underlying technology is a web-based donation platform with a published public API (api-docs.betterplace.org) and identity integrations with Facebook and WirWunder. Projects must be operated by verified German-registered charitable entities to ensure tax-deductible status under §60a AO. The platform itself does not charge fees to nonprofits; instead, it operates as a charitable gGmbH, funded through its own fundraising activities. Following a 2024 spin-off (effective 06.09.2024), betterplace.org gGmbH is a 100% subsidiary of gut.org gemeinnützige Aktiengesellschaft and operates with 36 employees (16 full-time, 20 part-time) under Managing Directors Theresa Filipovic and Dennis Guggenheim.

Go-to-market operates across three motions: direct-to-consumer via the website (self-serve donation), community-led through streamers and content creators, and sales-led outreach to nonprofit organisations and corporate partners (120 corporate partners disclosed). The company holds charitable status, is a signatory of the Initiative Transparente Zivilgesellschaft (Transparency International Deutschland), and is tax-exempt (confirmed 18.10.2024). Customer segments span individual donors, verified nonprofit organisations, corporate CSR partners, and streamers/content creators.

Name

betterplace.org

Legal name

betterplace.org gGmbH

Website

https://betterplace.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2007

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

betterplace.org is Germany's largest online donation platform, founded in 2007, connecting individual donors with 71,976 verified nonprofit projects across 185 countries and processing over €361M in cumulative donations on a fee-free, tax-deductible basis.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Online Charitable Donation Platform

NAICS

Grantmaking and Giving Services (81321), Other Grantmaking and Giving Services (813219), Grantmaking and Giving Services (8132)

SIC

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

akta.pro primary industry

Public Charities & Grantmaking Intermediaries (BPAGAKAE)

akta.pro secondary industries

International Grantmaking & Development Foundations (BPAGAKAH), Capacity Building & Nonprofit Infrastructure Funders (BPAGAKAO)

Keywords

• Online donation platform
• Charitable fundraising
• Nonprofit donation management
• Crowdfunding for charities
• Online giving platform

Headquarters

HQ city

Berlin

HQ country

Germany

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Software

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Platform Operations (Donation Pass-through): As a nonprofit organization (gGmbH), betterplace.org collects donations on its platform and passes them through to verified charitable organizations in Germany. The organization operates on its own fundraising with no disclosed platform fees charged to nonprofits.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

betterplace.org operates Germany's largest online donation platform that enables individuals, organizations, and companies to discover and donate to verified charitable projects. Nonprofits can register and raise funds on the platform free of charge, while donors benefit from automated tax-deductible donation receipts, transparent project reporting, multiple payment methods, and category-based project discovery. Supporting programs include the betterplace Academy for nonprofit training and dedicated tools for streamers and content creators to mobilize audiences for charitable giving.

Product overview

betterplace.org operates as a unified charitable donation platform connecting donors with verified non-profit organizations. The core platform enables project-based donations across categories including animals, children, climate protection, refugees, and women. Supporting modules include the betterplace Academy for organizational education, My Donations dashboard for personal giving management, Donation Gift (Spendengeschenk) for gifting donations, and specialized features for Charity Streams and Content Creators to engage their audiences in philanthropy.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• betterplace academy: Educational platform for organizations to learn about fundraising and charity management

Products and services

• betterplace.org Donation Platform Germany's largest online donation platform connecting individual donors, nonprofit organizations, and corporate partners with verified charitable projects. Enables project discovery by category, one-off and recurring donations, gift donations, automated tax-deductible donation receipts, and supports multiple payment methods including Apple Pay, Google Pay, PayPal, SEPA, credit card, and bank transfer.
• betterplace Academy Educational platform offering training and resources for nonprofit organizations on fundraising, digital presence, and charity management. Hosted at betterplace-academy.org as a standalone offering for organizational fundraisers.

Quantifiable outcome

• €361+ million in total donations collected
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers1 record

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

Yes

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration2 records

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• gut.org gAG (Parent Company)coreOthersbetterplace.org gGmbH is a 100% subsidiary of gut.org gemeinnützige Aktiengesellschaft. The gAG was formed through conversion of betterplace gemeinnützige Stiftungs-GmbH in 2010.

Scale indicators7 records

Recent moves8 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• GoFundMe: Global donation and personal-cause crowdfunding platform operating in the same online donation marketplace category as betterplace.org. Both serve individual donors and nonprofit fundraisers, though GoFundMe is broader in scope (personal causes, startups) while betterplace.org is mission-locked to registered charitable projects.
• PayPal Giving Fund: Donation infrastructure embedded in the PayPal payments network that routes consumer donations to verified charities. Same payment-method set (PayPal, credit card), same mission of connecting donors to 501(c)(3) equivalents, but operates inside PayPal's broader fintech stack.
• Meta Fundraisers (Facebook/Instagram): Native donation and personal-cause fundraising features inside Facebook and Instagram. Captures a large slice of German consumer charitable giving through social distribution, competing for the same individual donor audience with zero platform friction.
• Blackbaud (JustGiving / GiveWP): U.S.-listed vertical SaaS provider for the nonprofit sector, owning JustGiving and GiveWP. Same end-customer (registered charities) and overlapping feature footprint (donation forms, CRM, peer-to-peer), but sold as enterprise software rather than a public donation marketplace.

Direct peers

• JustGiving: UK-based online donation platform owned by Blackbaud that connects individual donors to registered charities. Most direct international analog to betterplace.org: same verified-charity model, same project-page UX, same tax-receipt automation, different national market.
• GlobalGiving: U.S.-based crowdfunding marketplace for vetted international nonprofit projects, with a similar project-based donation format and country breadth (185+ countries on both platforms). Comparable in serving the cross-border charitable-giving niche that betterplace.org occupies.

Emerging players

• Donorbox: SaaS donation platform used by tens of thousands of nonprofits for recurring giving, events, and peer-to-peer fundraising. Closest modern software-product analog to betterplace.org's My Donations / project management tooling, particularly for the SMB nonprofit segment.
• Givebutter: Modern U.S. donation, event, and peer-to-peer fundraising platform popular with small nonprofits. Comparable feature set (recurring donations, embedded forms, donation pages) and overlapping nonprofit customer base, though younger and without betterplace.org's tax-privileged charitable status.
• Bonterra (Network for Good): U.S. donation and fundraising software provider for nonprofits (Network for Good). Comparable in serving the verified-charity fundraising workflow with donation pages, receipts, and CRM, though focused on the American market.

Regional players

• WirWunder: German donation platform operated by betterplace.org's social-login integration partner and direct competitor in the same domestic German market. Overlapping nonprofit project universe and donor base, providing a natural head-to-head comparison.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks1 record

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/betterplace.org
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/509578
• Instagraminstagram.com/betterplace_org
• Xx.com/betterplace_org

Compliance2 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles4 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 betterplace.org