99Funken

What 99Funken does

99Funken is a German regional crowdfunding platform operated by Neorot GmbH (headquartered in Dresden) and built in partnership with GSD Gesellschaft für Sparkassendienstleistungen mbH and the Ostdeutscher Sparkassenverband. The platform enables private individuals, clubs, associations, schools, and non-profit organizations to present and finance community-oriented projects across categories including social, sports, education, culture, environmental protection, and regional development. Since its founding in 2015, 99Funken has facilitated approximately €15.9 million in total project financing across more than 2,021 successful projects, with a reported 90% project success rate and 27,000+ supporters.

The platform's core differentiator is its Sparkassen co-funding model (Co-Funding/Spendentopf), in which 25 regional Sparkassen (German savings banks) operate co-branded Regionalplattformen and pre-load financial matching pools that double or multiply individual donations. Each Sparkasse provides advisory support to project initiators and promotes the platform through its local branch network. The underlying technology is a PHP-based web platform with session management, Google Analytics integration, Secupay AG for payment processing and trustee escrow, and a proprietary "Crowdindex" ranking algorithm that is not publicly disclosed. An SDG-alignment initiative, including a 500 Euro Spendentopf bonus from Erzgebirgssparkasse for projects mapped to UN Sustainable Development Goals, represents a recent thematic expansion.

Revenue is generated through transaction fees charged by Secupay AG on successfully funded projects at payout readiness; project registration and drafting are free. No transaction fee rates, ARR, or revenue figures are publicly disclosed. The company has 11-50 employees, no external funding rounds, no M&A activity, and operates exclusively in German-speaking regions where Sparkassen partners are present. The platform is endorsed at the institutional level by the OSV, which validates and promotes it to member savings banks.

Name

99Funken

Legal name

Neorot GmbH

Website

https://99funken.de

Company type

Private

Founded year

2015

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

99Funken is a German regional crowdfunding platform operated by Neorot GmbH that enables clubs, associations, and non-profits to finance community projects through 25 co-branded regional Sparkassen partner networks with matching co-funding pools.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Crowdfunding Platform

NAICS

Grantmaking and Giving Services (81321)

SIC

Services-Computer Programming, Data Processing, Etc. (7370)

akta.pro primary industry

Creator Fundraising & Crowdfunding Platforms (Recurring/Project-Based) (MPACAFAJ)

akta.pro secondary industry

Creator Tipping, Donations & Micro-Payments (MPACAFAB)

Keywords

• Regional crowdfunding
• Community crowdfunding
• Donation matching funds
• Savings bank partnership
• Civic project financing

Headquarters

HQ city

Potsdam

HQ country

Germany

HQ region

Europe

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Digital Commerce or Content

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Transaction / Platform Fee: When a project reaches 'Auszahlungsreife' (payout readiness), the Secupay AG charges the project initiator a transaction fee on the (potentially reduced) funding amount. If a project does not reach payout readiness, no transaction fees are charged. Fee amounts are defined in a current price list referenced in the ANB for project initiators.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

99 Funken is a German regional crowdfunding platform that enables private individuals, clubs, associations, schools, daycares, and non-profit organizations to present community projects online and raise funds from the crowd. The platform operates 25 Sparkassen-branded Regionalplattformen across Germany where participating savings banks contribute matching co-funding (Spendentöpfe) that amplify individual donations. Revenue is generated via transaction fees (administered by payment partner Secupay AG) charged only on projects that reach payout readiness.

Product overview

99 Funken is a regional crowdfunding platform operated by Neorot GmbH in partnership with the GSD Gesellschaft für Sparkassendienstleistungen mbH and Germany's regional Sparkassen (savings banks). The core platform at 99funken.de provides an end-to-end crowdfunding solution encompassing project creation, funding collection, payment processing via secupay, co-funding mechanisms, and project communication. The platform's portfolio is anchored by the 99 Funken Crowdfunding-Plattform (the main platform) and supplemented by Sparkasse Regionalplattformen — individualized sub-platforms for each participating Sparkassa region. Regional platforms extend the core product with Sparkasse-specific co-funding programs, spendentopf (donation pool) campaigns, and local project curation.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• 99 Funken Crowdfunding-Plattform Web-based regional crowdfunding platform at 99funken.de that enables private individuals, clubs, associations, schools, daycares, and non-profit organizations across Germany to create project campaign pages, set funding goals, define reward tiers (Prämien), and collect pledges from the crowd. Successful projects reach payout readiness (Auszahlungsreife) and trigger a transaction fee administered by Secupay AG.
• Regionalplattformen (Sparkasse Regional Platforms) Individualized crowdfunding sub-platforms operated by each of the 25 participating regional Sparkassen under their own subdomain on 99funken.de (e.g., /sparkasse/vorpommern, /sparkasse/erzgebirge, /sparkasse/mittelsachsen, /sparkasse/leipzig, /sparkasse/chemnitz, /sparkasse/msh). Each Regionalplattform features Sparkasse-specific co-funding programs (Co-Funding), Spendentöpfe (donation pots), regional project curation, and dedicated crowdfunding team contacts.

Quantifiable outcome

• 90% project success rate across 2,021 successful projects and 15,937,746 € total financed
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers8 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration3 records

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Eight partnerships are on record, tiered core, major, minor and flagship.

• GSD Gesellschaft für Sparkassendienstleistungen mbHcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerGSD is the operational partner behind 99 Funken, providing the institutional framework and Sparkassen relationship management. GSD coordinates the platform's activities and manages financial partner agreements. The postal address of 99 Funken corresponds to GSD's office in Potsdam. GSD was involved in the platform's launch and continues to administer service contracts and fee settlements through Secupay AG.
• Neorot GmbHcoreOthersNeorot GmbH is the legal operator of the 99 Funken platform, as stated in the Terms of Use (Nutzungsbedingungen). Registered at Elsasser Straße 6, 01307 Dresden. Neorot GmbH holds the user agreements and platform operating rights.
• Secupay AGcoreTechnology or IntegrationSecupay AG, based in Pulsnitz near Dresden, handles payment processing (credit card, direct debit), money-laundering compliant identity verification (Legitimation) of project initiators, and acts as a trustee holding funds in a Helaba Landesbank Hessen-Thüringen account. Secupay charges transaction fees on successful fundings, which are passed on to project initiators.
• Tyclipso GmbHcoreTechnology or IntegrationTyclipso GmbH provides stable and scalable software tools and processes for crowdfunding and is responsible for the technical implementation of the 99 Funken platform.
• FinlanemajorTechnology or IntegrationFinlane is credited with conceiving the 99 Funken platform concept and overseeing its platform design.
• CromaticsminorOthersCromatics is a creative agency that developed the 99 Funken brand identity, having been involved since 1999 (the agency's founding year).
• Ostdeutscher Sparkassenverband (OSV)flagshipGTM or Marketing PartnerThe OSV is the overarching association of savings banks in eastern Germany and is a key strategic supporter of 99 Funken. The OSV has reviewed and validated the 99 Funken platform, contracts, and processes as suitable for Sparkassen. OSV actively promotes the platform to its member Sparkassen to expand participation.
• Regional Sparkassen (25 participating savings banks)flagshipChannel Partner/ Reseller/ Distributor25 regional Sparkassen operate branded Regionalplattformen on 99 Funken. Each provides co-funding (spendentöpfe), advisory support to local project initiators, and local promotional reach. Notable examples: Sparkasse Mecklenburg-Schwerin (61 projects, 401,997 € funded, 2,066 supporters), Erzgebirgssparkasse (131 projects, 1,121,148 €), Sparkasse Vorpommern (220 projects), Ostsächsische Sparkasse Dresden (629 projects).

Scale indicators9 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Broad incumbents

• Kickstarter: Global reward-based crowdfunding platform. Comparable in product mechanics (all-or-nothing funding, project pages, reward tiers) but operates globally at vastly larger scale and with a creative-product focus rather than community/nonprofit emphasis.
• GoFundMe: Global personal- and community-cause donation platform. Comparable because it channels crowd donations to community and nonprofit causes — the same initiator segment 99 Funken serves — but operates as a personal-cause donation engine rather than a Sparkassen-anchored regional platform.
• Indiegogo: Global crowdfunding platform with flexible funding options. Comparable in mechanics and category breadth, though it lacks 99 Funken's regional bank-partnership structure and is oriented toward tech and creative products internationally.

Emerging players

• WIWIN: German sustainable-finance crowdfunding platform for green and social investments. Comparable because it operates in the German sustainable-financing space with similar community- and SDG-aligned positioning, though its model is investment-based rather than donation-based.
• LeBonbon / Ulule: European reward-based crowdfunding platform active in France and other European markets. Comparable as a regional European crowdfunding platform with similar project categories and mechanics, but lacks 99 Funken's institutional banking-partnership backbone.

Direct peers

• Startnext: Germany's largest reward- and donation-based crowdfunding platform. Directly comparable to 99 Funken because it serves creative, social, and community projects with similar all-or-nothing mechanics, but operates nationally and at significantly larger scale.
• Betterplace.org: Germany's leading online donation platform for nonprofits and social projects. Comparable because it channels community funds to clubs, NGOs, and social initiatives — the same initiator base that 99 Funken serves — though it operates as a non-profit donations engine rather than reward-based crowdfunding.
• Companisto: Berlin-based equity crowdfunding platform serving German startups and SMEs. Comparable as a German alternative-finance platform with a similar user-base profile of project initiators, though it focuses on equity rather than community donations.
• Seedmatch: German equity-based crowdfunding platform for startups. Comparable because it operates in the German alternative-financing market with similar regulatory and platform mechanics, though its equity-investment model differs from 99 Funken's donation/reward-based community focus.

Regional players

• Vision Bakery: Austrian crowdfunding platform with a comparable reward-based model for creative and community projects. Comparable because it operates in a DACH market similar to 99 Funken's geography, but is restricted to Austria and serves a different Sparkassen/banking ecosystem.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/99funken
• Xx.com/99funken

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

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 99Funken