What Fairplaid does

Fairplaid (legal entity: fairplaid GmbH, registered in Berlin at Adalbertstraße 20) operates Germany's largest crowdfunding platform dedicated to sports, founded in 2013 and headquartered in Stuttgart with a bootstrapped, privately held ownership structure led by Managing Directors Torsten Lührs and Francesca Poschen. The platform enables individual athletes, teams, and sports clubs (Vereine) to launch campaigns for teamwear, training camps, sports facilities, equipment, and travel, using an all-or-nothing funding mechanism in which backers are only charged if the campaign reaches its target sum. Transaction fees are levied on successful projects only; project creation is free, which lowers the barrier for grassroots project starters.

The platform is built around three reinforcing layers: a self-serve campaign technology suite with customizable project pages, supporter management, and progress tracking; a human-led project-coaching service (Plattform-Coach and Projekt-Coach roles) that guides Vereine and athletes through campaign design; and a partner funding-pool layer (Fördertöpfe) from sponsors such as Toyota Crowd, Lotto Sport Stiftung (€100,000 pool under 'Bewegen.Integrieren.Fördern'), spized, and Talent-Crowd, which add matching or bonus capital on top of community contributions. Payments are processed via Stripe Connect across SEPA, credit card, and digital wallet rails. The FAIRPLAID Lab provides campaign analytics to refine project execution. Distribution combines a direct consumer website, Instagram and LinkedIn presence, email/newsletter, free educational webinars, and a white-label network of regional partner portals operated by municipal utilities (Enercity, GGEW, Nordwasser, Stadtwerke Düsseldorf, Stadtwerke Halle, Rheinenergie) and DKB, giving Fairplaid localized reach into regional CSR and sports-association budgets.

Commercially, Fairplaid runs a community-led, transaction-fee-only model. Reported cumulative platform outcomes are €31M+ distributed to sports projects, 5,200+ successful projects, 390,000+ supporters, and activity across 100+ sports — figures that represent platform transaction volume and engagement rather than company revenue. Customer concentration is structurally low because revenue is derived from a long tail of small campaigns; however, the supply side of matching capital is concentrated among a handful of large institutional and corporate partners (Toyota, Lotto Sport Stiftung, DFL Stiftung, DOSB). The company has no disclosed external funding rounds, operates with an 11–50 person team, and is currently active with ongoing campaigns and continued partner additions rather than in a high-growth investment phase.

Name

Fairplaid

Legal name

fairplaid GmbH

Website

https://fairplaid.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2013

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Fairplaid operates Germany's largest sports-focused crowdfunding platform, enabling individual athletes, teams, and clubs to raise funds via all-or-nothing campaigns supported by personal project coaches, Stripe-powered payments, and partner funding pools, serving 5,200+ projects and 390,000+ supporters across 100+ sports.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Sports Crowdfunding Platform

NAICS

Grantmaking and Giving Services (81321), Other Spectator Sports (711219)

SIC

Services-Miscellaneous Amusement & Recreation (7990)

akta.pro primary industry

Sports Fundraising & Development Services (Foundations, NIL Collectives Support) (MPAKAKAK)

akta.pro secondary industry

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

Keywords

• Sports crowdfunding
• Athletic fundraising
• Sport project funding
• Club fundraising platform
• Athlete sponsorship

Headquarters

HQ city

Stuttgart

HQ country

Germany

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Software

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Transaction-based fees: Fairplaid charges transaction fees only when a project successfully reaches its funding goal. Creating projects is free. If a project does not achieve its target sum, no fees are charged. The platform operates on an 'Alles-oder-Nichts' (all-or-nothing) principle where collected funds are only transferred to project starters if the goal is met.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Fairplaid operates a crowdfunding platform dedicated exclusively to sports projects, enabling athletes, teams, and sports clubs to raise funds for teamwear, training camps, facilities, and competition costs through community-driven campaigns. The platform operates on an all-or-nothing funding principle where project creators only receive collected funds if they reach their stated funding goal, with transaction fees charged only on successful projects. Complementary services include personal project coaching and partner-operated white-label portals for regional sports communities.

Product overview

FAIRPLAID SPORTS is a crowdfunding platform specifically designed for sports projects, operating on a platform model with multiple integrated components. The core product is the FAIRPLAID SPORTS Platform (crowdfunding technology) that enables project starters to create campaigns for sports-related funding. This core platform is supplemented by Project Coaching services, Tools und Technologie (campaign management tools), and Fördertöpfe (partner funding programs including Toyota Crowd, Lotto-Sport-Stiftung, Talent-Crowd, and spized). The platform also supports Partner Crowdfunding Portals for white-label deployments. The platform uses an all-or-nothing funding model where projects only receive funds if they reach their target goal, and processes payments through Stripe Connect.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• FAIRPLAID SPORTS Crowdfunding Platform A self-service crowdfunding platform that enables athletes, individual competitors, sports teams, clubs, and associations across Germany to create campaigns and raise funds for sports projects including teamwear, training camps, sports facilities, equipment, competition travel, and community events. Operates on an all-or-nothing funding model with free project creation and transaction fees charged only when funding goals are reached. Includes customizable project pages, supporter management, progress tracking, and multi-payment-method processing.
• White-Label Partner Crowdfunding Portals A separate B2B offering where Fairplaid's crowdfunding platform technology is deployed under a partner's own brand for regional sports communities. Used by regional utilities (enercity, GGEW, Nordwasser, Rheinenergie, Stadtwerke Düsseldorf, Stadtwerke Halle) and other organizations to operate branded local sports crowdfunding portals as part of their CSR and community engagement programs.

Quantifiable outcome

• €31,000,000+ distributed to sports projects
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers9 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

Integration1 record

Feature4 records

Partnerships

13 partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Toyota CrowdcoreGTM or Marketing PartnerToyota Deutschland operates a funding pool (Fördertopf) on Fairplaid specifically supporting sports projects from athletes and clubs in Olympic and Paralympic sports. Provides €10 bonus per €10+ support from general public until project goal is reached or €500 total is distributed.
• Lotto Sport StiftungcoreGTM or Marketing PartnerLotto Sport Stiftung provides a €100,000 funding pool (Fördertopf) through the 'Bewegen.Integrieren.Fördern' initiative supporting sports integration projects.
• spizedminorGTM or Marketing PartnerPartner providing €5,000 funding pool for projects on the platform.
• Talent-CrowdminorGTM or Marketing PartnerPartner providing €7,500 funding pool supporting talent development projects.
• DFL StiftungcoreGTM or Marketing PartnerGerman Football League Foundation partners with Fairplaid, showcasing projects and providing funding opportunities.
• DOSB (Deutscher Olympischer Sportbund)coreGTM or Marketing PartnerGerman Olympic Sports Confederation is part of Fairplaid's partner network supporting grassroots sports.
• EnercityminorGTM or Marketing PartnerRegional partner operating a branded crowdfunding portal for local sports projects.
• GGEWminorGTM or Marketing PartnerRegional energy company partner with branded Fairplaid platform for local sports.
• NordwasserminorGTM or Marketing PartnerRegional water utility partner supporting local sports through Fairplaid.
• Stadtwerke Düsseldorf (SWD)minorGTM or Marketing PartnerMunicipal utility partner with branded regional sports crowdfunding portal.
• Stadtwerke HalleminorGTM or Marketing PartnerMunicipal utility partner operating Fairplaid-based regional platform for sports.
• RheinenergieminorGTM or Marketing PartnerRegional energy company partner with Fairplaid for sports crowdfunding.
• StripecoreTechnology or IntegrationPayment processing partner handling all transactions on the Fairplaid platform including credit cards, SEPA, digital wallets, and bank transfers. Operates as 'Connected Account' provider for project starters.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Emerging players

• Donorbox: Donation and recurring fundraising platform for nonprofits. Comparable toolset for clubs and associations seeking online donation infrastructure, often used alongside or instead of crowdfunding.
• Patreon: Subscription-based creator monetization platform. Analogous model for athletes seeking recurring fan support, though structured around membership rather than project-based campaigns.

Direct peers

• Splendid: European sports-focused crowdfunding and sponsorship platform. Closest direct functional peer in the sports-specific crowdfunding niche, competing for similar clubs and athletes.
• Betterplace.org: Germany's leading donation-based fundraising platform for nonprofits. Comparable model for German nonprofits and clubs seeking community-driven funding, with overlap in the amateur sports club segment.
• Startnext: Germany's largest general-purpose crowdfunding platform. Directly competes with Fairplaid for German-speaking project creators and supports community/reward-based campaigns, including sports and nonprofit projects.

Broad incumbents

• Kickstarter: Global crowdfunding platform with all-or-nothing reward-based model. While not sports-specialized, Kickstarter sets the baseline user expectation for project-based crowdfunding against which Fairplaid competes for creator mind-share.
• GoFundMe: Global leader in personal and cause-based crowdfunding. Competes for the same donor wallets and serves individual athletes and clubs seeking community-driven fundraising outside a niche platform.
• Indiegogo: Global crowdfunding platform offering both fixed and flexible funding. Comparable all-or-nothing mechanism and international reach make it a partial alternative for European campaign creators.

Others

• SponsorUnited: Sports sponsorship marketplace and analytics provider. Adjacent to Fairplaid's mission of connecting sports projects with funding sources, though focused on corporate sponsorships rather than community crowdfunding.

Regional players

• WhyDonate: European (Dutch-headquartered) online fundraising platform for nonprofits and individuals. Comparable mechanics for European nonprofit fundraising with similar feature set and target segments.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/fairplaid-gmbh
• Instagraminstagram.com/fairplaid_sports
• Xx.com/fairplaid_org

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 Fairplaid