Youvo

What Youvo does

youvo e.V. is a Berlin-registered, German nonprofit association (eingetragener Verein, Amtsgericht Charlottenburg VR 33972 B) that operates a curated online marketplace (youvo.org) connecting volunteer creative professionals with social-sector organizations. Founded in 2015 from work that began in 2013, the platform matches small German nonprofits, charitable associations, and social startups (typically under 10 staff) with designers, photographers, videographers, copywriters, web developers, and digital marketers willing to donate their skills. Organizations submit project proposals; creatives apply; the platform mediates and supports projects through to completion, with all services free for both sides. The platform is funded entirely through grants from German foundations and federal ministries (notably Robert Bosch Stiftung, Google Impact Challenge, BMW Foundation, Deutsche Stiftung für Engagement und Ehrenamt, and Bundesministerium des Innern und für Heimat) and through donations.

The technology is a Drupal-based web platform with project management, messaging, and registration workflows, supplemented by the youvo Academy, a digital blended-learning curriculum launched in 2021 that trains volunteer project managers across five+ modules plus a workshop. The platform is currently being rebuilt on a new tech stack (beta.youvo.org, v0.29.4) intended to be faster, more accessible, and more sustainable, with privacy-by-design hosting choices (Uberspace in Germany, Plausible analytics, Vimeo Do-Not-Track, minimal cookies). The organization reports 9,425 creatives, 779 organizations, and 910 mediated projects cumulatively, with 56 projects completed in 2021 alone.

Youvo operates as a free, grant-funded nonprofit with no pricing tiers, no commercial revenue model, and primary operations run on a volunteer basis since late 2018/2019, following an earlier period of partially paid staff funded by Robert Bosch Stiftung, Google Impact Challenge, and BMW Foundation grants. The volunteer Vorstand (board) consists of Anne-Sophie Pahl, Sebastian Schütz, and Lars Böhnke, with Tobias Oertel as the responsible editor under German press law. The company holds no patents, has no subsidiaries, has no M&A history, and is signatory to the Initiative Transparente Zivilgesellschaft.

Name

Youvo

Legal name

youvo e.V.

Website

https://youvo.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2015

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

youvo e.V. is a Berlin-based German nonprofit operating a free online marketplace that matches volunteer creative professionals (designers, photographers, video producers, writers, web developers) with small social-sector organizations needing pro bono creative and digital support. The platform is grant-funded and volunteer-run.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Volunteer Engagement Platform

NAICS

Civic and Social Organizations (813410), Religious, Grantmaking, Civic, Professional, and Similar Organizations (813)

SIC

Services-Membership Organizations (8600), Services-Advertising Agencies (7311)

akta.pro primary industry

Local & Neighborhood Communities (BPAMABAG)

akta.pro secondary industry

Membership Communities with Learning (Community-Led Education) (MPACALAF)

Keywords

• Volunteer matching platform
• Creative nonprofit services
• Pro bono creative work
• Nonprofit engagement platform
• Social sector communications

Headquarters

HQ city

Berlin

HQ country

Germany

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Software

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Grants and Foundation Funding: youvo e.V. is primarily funded through project-based grants and institutional funding. Key funders include the Robert Bosch Stiftung (multiple project grants 2013-2018), Google Impact Challenge as a Leuchtturmprojekt (2016), BMW Foundation (2018), and Deutsche Stiftung für Engagement und Ehrenamt (Bildungsturbo program, 2021 onward). The organization also received funding from Bundesministerium des Innern und für Heimat (2020-2022).
2. Donations: youvo accepts public donations to support the platform and the youvo Academy development. Donations are managed via betterplace.org and through a GLS Gemeinschaftsbank account.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

Youvo operates a free, moderated online marketplace that matches social organizations and nonprofits in German-speaking regions with volunteer creative professionals (designers, video producers, photographers, copywriters, web developers, and concept developers) for project-based creative and digital work. Social organizations submit project briefs that are reviewed and published; creatives browse and apply, completing the work pro bono. The platform is sustained by grants and donations, with no fees charged to either side.

Product overview

Youvo operates as a two-part platform ecosystem. The core product is the youvo online engagement platform (youvo.org), which matches social organizations with volunteer creative professionals for project-based collaboration. A second key offering is the youvo-Academy, a digital learning curriculum launched in 2021 that trains volunteers as project managers. Both offerings are being consolidated into a rebuilt platform (beta.youvo.org) aimed at being faster, more accessible, and more sustainable.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• youvo Academy: A digital online curriculum for engaged volunteers to learn project management skills and support social organizations. The Academy provides training modules covering project scoping, management methods, tools, and practical skills for managing creative projects for nonprofits.

Products and services

• youvo Core Platform The main online engagement platform that matches social organizations with volunteer creative professionals for project-based collaboration across video, photography, design, text and PR, online/digital, and concept development. Free for both social organizations (which must lack budget for creative services) and creative volunteers. Includes project brief creation, moderation, application management, and project completion workflows.
• youvo Academy A free digital online curriculum (blended learning) that trains volunteers as project managers to support social organizations, covering modules on the social sector, project scoping, project management methods, platform mechanics, and project supervision. Completing the Academy unlocks a new role on the platform, enabling scaling by distributing project management responsibilities to trained volunteers.

Quantifiable outcome

• 910 projects mediated since platform launch
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers34 records

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• Bundesarbeitsgemeinschaft der Freiwilligenagenturen (bagfa e.V.)minorStrategic or Co-development Partnerbagfa e.V. hosted youvo's first Academy concept workshop in their space, supporting the development of the Academy curriculum. An informal collaboration that enabled the team to hold an in-person planning session for the new Academy feature.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Catchafire: US-based nonprofit that matches skilled volunteers (designers, marketers, developers) with nonprofits for pro bono projects. Closest functional analog to youvo's model, with a similar curated marketplace approach in the social impact space.
• Taproot Foundation: US nonprofit that connects business professionals with nonprofits for pro bono engagements, including marketing, design, and technology services. Closely comparable mission and structured volunteer matching.

Broad incumbents

• VolunteerMatch: Large US-based online volunteer matching platform with broad skill coverage. Comparable in being a nonprofit-run platform connecting volunteers with organizations, though broader in scope than youvo's creative-services focus.
• Idealist: Global nonprofit job and volunteer board for the social sector. Comparable as a destination platform connecting mission-driven talent with organizations, though operating more as a listings board than a curated matching platform.
• Points of Light: Global nonprofit focused on volunteer engagement and service. Comparable as a nonprofit-led volunteer infrastructure organization with similar mission orientation, though broader in scope.

Regional players

• vostel.de: German online platform for skilled volunteering with nonprofits. Directly comparable model in the same German market, with similar curated matching focus on volunteer engagements.
• SKala (Stiftung SKala): German foundation that supports social organizations in scaling impact, including through pro bono skilled engagement. Comparable in the German nonprofit infrastructure space and a potential ecosystem peer.
• Phineo: German nonprofit analytics and consulting organization working with social sector organizations. Comparable as German social-sector infrastructure, though focused on impact analysis rather than creative services matching.
• Work for Good: UK-based platform connecting skilled professionals with charities for pro bono projects. Comparable curated-matching approach in a similar nonprofit services context, though operating in the UK market.
• Pro Bono Australia: Australian nonprofit platform connecting skilled volunteers with charities and social enterprises. Comparable pro bono skilled-volunteer matching model in a different geography.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/youvo.org
• Instagraminstagram.com/youvo_org
• Xx.com/youvo_org
• Pinterestpinterest.com/youvo
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/youvo-org

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 Youvo