innn.it

What innn.it does

innn.it e.V. operates a civic engagement platform headquartered in Berlin that enables citizens to start, sign, and share online petitions, and — uniquely in Germany — to convert qualifying petitions into legally binding direct democratic initiatives (Volksbegehren) collectable digitally from home. Founded in 2022 under German association law (VR 35314 B, Amtsgericht Charlottenburg) with authorized board members Gregor Hackmack and Nora Circosta, the organization has built a 5.7 million-user platform hosting over 5,000 petitions across civil-society, environmental, media, disability-rights, and women's-rights causes. The product stack is a web-based React/Next.js (TypeScript) frontend deployed on servers in Germany, with supporting integrations including PostHog for product analytics, Dixa for customer support, FundraisingBox for donor CRM, SurveyMonkey for post-donation surveys, and Google Custom Search for petition discovery. The platform also operates a podcast (innn.it talks) launched in 2026 and targets WCAG 2.2 Level AAA accessibility as part of an ongoing design overhaul.

The business model is 100% donation-financed with no commercial revenue streams: regular monthly contributions from approximately 20,300 funders plus 10,000+ one-time donors in 2024 covered all platform operations, with the largest individual donations (≥€1,000) representing only 1.87% of 2024 revenues. The service is free for all users — both petition initiators and signatories — and innn.it explicitly absorbs initiative-related port costs. Distribution is product-led and community-led: users discover petitions via Google search, organic social (Instagram, Facebook, TikTok), an email newsletter, earned media through a dedicated press contact, and viral sharing via Facebook, WhatsApp, Signal, and email; the campaign team led by Head of Campaigns Sebastian Schütz provides hands-on support from launch through political handover.

Key milestones include a 1,380,734-signature AfD-Verbot petition handed to the SPD party conference, a DresdenZero climate initiative that resulted in Dresden city council adopting a 2035 climate neutrality target in December 2022, and a Voyeur-Aufnahmen petition with 165,493+ signatures handed to the Federal Justice Minister. The organization has also navigated a prolonged tax-status dispute: Gemeinnützigkeit was revoked by the Berlin tax office in October 2019, restored at first instance by the Finance Court Berlin-Brandenburg on 23 November 2023, partially affirmed by the Bundesfinanzhof on 12 December 2024, and voluntarily relinquished by member vote on 18 June 2025 to preserve unrestricted political advocacy — at the cost of donation deductibility.

Name

innn.it

Legal name

innn.it e.V.

Website

https://innn.it

Company type

Private

Founded year

2022

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

innn.it is a Berlin-based donation-funded civic platform that enables citizens to start, sign, and share online petitions and legally binding direct democratic initiatives (Volksbegehren). It serves individual activists, NGOs, and 5.7M+ users across Germany with a free, self-serve platform.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Civic Engagement Platform

NAICS

Software Publishers (5132), Information (51)

SIC

Services-Membership Organizations (8600)

akta.pro primary industry

General Web Portals & Start Pages (BPAMAAAA)

Keywords

• Online petition platform
• Digital civic engagement
• Citizen initiative software
• Petition signature collection
• Democratic participation 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, Marketing or Sales, Operations, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Donations and funding contributions: 100% donation-financed platform. No commercial revenue. Individuals contribute regular monthly or one-time donations. The organization waived non-profit status in 2025 but continues as a donation-funded association.
2. Förderbeiträge (regular supporter contributions): Regular monthly financial support from approximately 20,000+ regular funders (Förder*innen) as mentioned in the 2024 annual report.

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

innn.it operates a free online campaign platform that allows citizens to start petitions, sign existing ones, and—uniquely in Germany—launch and collect signatures for legally binding direct-democratic initiatives (Volksbegehren) entirely online. The platform provides digital signature collection, hybrid digital-physical campaign tooling, social sharing, expert campaign support, and full cost coverage for postal processing. The service is free for both petition initiators and signatories and is supported entirely by donations.

Product overview

innn.it operates as a unified petition and civic engagement platform consisting of two core offerings: the petition platform for online campaigns with digital signature collection, and the initiatives platform for directly democratic citizen initiatives. The platform also includes supporting features including Google-powered petition search, newsletter distribution, social sharing, and the innn.it talks podcast. The platform is completely free for users and funded entirely through donations. All services are hosted on servers in Germany.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• innn.it Petition Platform Free online petition platform enabling citizens to create, sign, and share campaigns; includes petition creation with title, category, photo upload, source linking, and news updates, plus email-confirmed signing for supporters. Targets individual citizens and civil society campaigners.
• innn.it Initiatives (Legally Binding Citizen Initiatives) Direct-democratic initiative platform that converts petitions into legally binding citizen initiatives (Volksbegehren) in Germany, allowing legally binding signatures to be collected digitally from home. Targets citizens seeking binding direct-democratic outcomes and civil-society organizations running such initiatives.
• innn.it talks Podcast Podcast series produced by innn.it covering campaigns and social issues, featuring petition initiators such as René Schaar discussing the BGG-Reform petition. Distributed on Spotify and YouTube for the platform's community and broader civic-engagement audience.

Quantifiable outcome

• DresdenZero climate initiative led to city council adopting 2035 climate neutrality target (December 2022)
• +5 more outcomes

Named customers7 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration5 records

Feature4 records

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered minor and core.

• Initiative Transparente Zivilgesellschaft (ITZ)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerTransparency initiative that innn.it has joined, committing to disclose 10 pieces of organizational information publicly including finances, governance, and activities.
• DresdenZerominorStrategic or Co-development PartnerDresden climate initiative using innn.it platform. Example campaign where platform's hybrid digital-physical approach helped achieve 30,000 signature quorum and city council adoption of climate goals.
• Volksverpetzer & Omas gegen RechtscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCo-initiators of AfD-Verbot petition - the platform's flagship campaign achieving 1.38M+ signatures and political impact.
• René Schaar & Sabrina LorenzcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerInitiators of BGG Reform petition with 150,000+ signatures. Platform provided full campaign support including podcast feature (innn.it talks).

Scale indicators11 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• AVAAZ: Global activist platform with online petitions, donation-funded, and millions of members. Operates at significantly larger scale internationally but lacks the legally binding Volksbegehren capability that anchors innn.it's differentiation.
• CivicPlus: Established US civic-engagement software vendor for municipalities offering petition and constituent-engagement modules. Comparable product category (civic participation tooling) though targeting government B2B buyers rather than direct citizens.
• Change.org: Global petition platform with hundreds of millions of users. Comparable in core petition-hosting functionality and product-led growth, though without innn.it's legally binding Volksbegehren workflow.

Emerging players

• Decidim: Open-source participatory democracy platform used by municipalities globally for petitions, initiatives, and consultations. Comparable technology stack and civic-engagement mission; potential partner or open-source substitute for innn.it's initiative features.
• GoPetition: International online petition hosting platform with multi-language support. Comparable core functionality (petition creation, signing, sharing) though without German direct-democracy legal integration.
• Mehr Demokratie: German advocacy organization promoting direct-democracy instruments including Volksbegehren and Bürgerbegehren. Shares innn.it's commitment to legally binding civic engagement and could be a partner or competitor in direct-democracy tooling.

Direct peers

• openPetition: Germany-focused online petition platform that also enables transition into Volksbegehren/Volksentscheid. Closest direct competitor in the German petition-and-direct-democracy niche, with overlapping signature-collection workflows.
• WeAct: German campaign platform focused on environmental and social petitions. Directly comparable in target audience (German civic activists), donation-funded model, and petition workflow, though without the legally binding initiative conversion.
• Campact: German civic campaigning organization that mobilizes citizens around political causes via online petitions and campaigns. Operates in the same German civic-engagement space with similar donation-funded model and expert campaign support.
• Abgeordnetenwatch: German platform for political transparency and citizen engagement with elected representatives. Comparable audience (politically engaged German citizens) and donation-funded nonprofit structure, though with a focus on accountability rather than petitions.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/HierKannstDuMitbestimmen
• Instagraminstagram.com/innn.it
• TikToktiktok.com/@innn.it
• Xx.com/innn_it
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/innnit

Compliance3 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 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 innn.it