Govolunteer

What Govolunteer does

GoVolunteer e.V. is a German nonprofit association (eingetragener Verein) founded in 2015 and headquartered in Berlin that operates a nationwide digital marketplace connecting volunteers with charitable projects and social initiatives. As of 2025, the platform lists 8,979 projects from 3,843 registered charitable organizations and reports over 1.1 million people willing to help, organized across 17 thematic areas including climate protection, migration, education, seniors, youth, and animal welfare. The platform serves two primary user groups: individual volunteers seeking engagement opportunities and nonprofit organizations seeking volunteer support, with secondary segments including companies running corporate volunteering programs and refugees or migrants seeking integration opportunities.

The core product is the GoVolunteer web platform, which supports five engagement types: Mini-Engagement (flexible one-time tasks), Bundesfreiwilligendienst (federal voluntary service for all ages), Freiwilliges Soziales/Ökologisches Jahr (FSJ/FÖJ youth service), traditional Ehrenamt (long-term volunteering), and Praktikum (volunteer internships). The technology layer centers on an advanced multi-filter project search system, and the recently launched Wunsch-Ehrenamt (Wish Volunteering) feature introduces AI-based personalization that recommends projects based on declared strengths and interests. Supporting products include the Impact-Werkstatt learning portal for organizational capacity building and the GoVolunteer Blog for content marketing and community storytelling; sub-brands such as "Du für Brandenburg" and "Erfahrung zählt" indicate sub-geographic expansion within Germany.

The business model is donation-funded and the platform is entirely free for both volunteers and organizations. GoVolunteer e.V. accepts individual donations, applies for grants, and has secured institutional funding from partners such as Deutsche Postcode Lotterie to underwrite specific product lines (notably Mini-Engagements). The organization is a participant in the Initiative for Transparent Civil Society, disclosing its funding sources, use of funds, and decision-makers. There is no venture funding disclosed beyond a 2016 Axel Springer Plug and Play Accelerator participation, and no public revenue or ARR figures are available. Co-founders include Thomas Noppen (co-founder and COO) and Henryk Seeger (co-founder), with the founding team supported by a staff of 11-50 employees operating from Berlin.

Name

Govolunteer

Legal name

GoVolunteer e.V.

Website

https://govolunteer.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2015

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

GoVolunteer is a German nonprofit digital marketplace connecting volunteers with 3,843 charitable organizations and nearly 9,000 projects across Germany. The free platform offers five engagement types and an AI-powered personalized matching feature, supplemented by a learning portal.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Volunteer matching platform

NAICS

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

SIC

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

akta.pro primary industry

Volunteer Program Funding, Scholarships & Fundraising Support (EDAIAGAO)

akta.pro secondary industry

Federated Giving Organizations (e.g., United Way-type) (BPAGAKAG)

Keywords

• Volunteer matching platform
• Nonprofit marketplace
• Voluntary engagement platform
• Charitable project directory
• Social impact community

Headquarters

HQ city

Berlin

HQ country

Germany

HQ region

Europe

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Donations and Charitable Funding: GoVolunteer e.V. is a nonprofit association funded through donations. All donations support communication work and development of the GoVolunteer platform as an inspiring engagement portal.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

GoVolunteer operates a free online marketplace that connects individual volunteers in Germany with charitable projects posted by nonprofit organizations. Organizations create project pages describing their engagement opportunities — spanning Mini-Engagement, Bundesfreiwilligendienst, FSJ/FÖJ, Ehrenamt, and Praktikum formats — while volunteers search, filter, and apply directly to those opportunities. A personalized matching feature (Wunsch-Ehrenamt) recommends projects based on user strengths and interests, and a separate learning platform (Impact-Werkstatt) supports organizational capacity building.

Product overview

GoVolunteer operates as a unified volunteer matching platform that connects charitable organizations with potential volunteers across Germany. The core GoVolunteer Platform serves as the central hub where organizations post projects and volunteers search for opportunities. The platform offers multiple engagement types: Mini-Engagement (flexible one-time tasks), Bundesfreiwilligendienst (federal voluntary service for all ages), Freiwilliges Soziales/Ökologisches Jahr (youth volunteer year), Ehrenamt (traditional long-term volunteering), and Praktikum (internship opportunities). Supporting the platform are the Impact-Werkstatt learning platform for organizational capacity building, the AI-powered Wunsch-Ehrenamt recommendation feature for personalized matching, and the GoVolunteer Blog for content and community engagement. The platform covers 16 thematic areas including children & youth, neighborhood, seniors, sports, disaster relief, arts & culture, flight & migration, disability, poverty & homelessness, education & language, political activism, health, animal protection, nature & species protection, climate protection, and anti-racism.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• GoVolunteer Platform A Germany-wide digital marketplace that connects individual volunteers with charitable projects posted by nonprofit organizations. Organizations publish project pages across 17 thematic areas (climate, migration, youth, education, culture, etc.), and volunteers search, filter, and apply directly. The platform supports multiple engagement types — Mini-Engagement, Bundesfreiwilligendienst, FSJ/FÖJ, Ehrenamt, and Praktikum — and is free for both volunteers and organizations.
• Impact-Werkstatt GoVolunteer's central learning platform offering digital knowledge, exchange, and networking opportunities for charitable organizations and their teams. Provides regular free learning and exchange offerings for organizational capacity building, supporting the volunteer-project ecosystem beyond simple matchmaking.

Named customers3 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

AI capability5 records

Feature2 records

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Idealist: Global nonprofit platform listing volunteer opportunities, jobs, and internships in the social-impact sector. Comparable marketplace model and target audience (individual volunteers and nonprofit organizations seeking support).
• Betterplace.org: Germany's largest online donation and volunteering marketplace; operates a free platform connecting nonprofits with donors and volunteers across Germany. Directly comparable to GoVolunteer's two-sided marketplace model and nonprofit positioning.
• Do-it.org: UK-based volunteer opportunity database operated by the National Council for Voluntary Organisations, connecting individuals with volunteering roles across charities. Comparable directory-plus-matching platform for individual volunteers and nonprofits.
• VolunteerMatch: US-based online volunteer matching platform connecting individuals with nonprofit opportunities; one of the longest-running digital volunteer marketplaces globally. Comparable in core function (project search and matching) though geographically distinct.
• HelpDirect: German online volunteer-matching platform operated by the Diakonie welfare organization, connecting volunteers with social engagement opportunities. Comparable nonprofit-led model and German geographic focus.
• Freiwilligenserver: Bavaria-focused volunteer platform operated by the state welfare organizations, listing volunteer opportunities across social, ecological, and cultural causes. Comparable nonprofit-managed marketplace model within Germany.

Broad incumbents

• Aktion Mensch: Large German social lottery that funds inclusion projects and promotes volunteer engagement across disability, youth, and inclusion causes. Comparable nonprofit mission and beneficiary audiences, but with a much larger funding base from lottery proceeds.

Regional players

• Ehrenamtsstiftung MV: Mecklenburg-Vorpommern state foundation for volunteering, promoting and coordinating civic engagement in northeastern Germany. Comparable nonprofit mission and volunteer-support services but operates at the state rather than national level.

Emerging players

• Vostel: Berlin-based platform focused on corporate volunteering, helping companies design and run employee engagement days with nonprofits. Comparable volunteer matching function but targeted at the corporate customer segment that GoVolunteer has identified as secondary.
• Stifter-helfen: German nonprofit IT-donation portal that equips social organizations with software donations and capacity-building resources. Comparable nonprofit-supporting intermediary model, though focused on tech enablement rather than volunteer matching.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/govolunteer
• Instagraminstagram.com/govolunteer_com
• Xx.com/govolunteer_com
• Facebookfacebook.com/govolunteer

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds1 record

Investors1 record

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 Govolunteer