Gooding
Gooding GmbH operates a German charity-shopping marketplace connecting online shoppers with 18,333 registered nonprofits across 2,050+ partner retailers, retaining a configurable share of affiliate commissions as its primary revenue stream.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded-
- HeadquartersFrankfurt, Germany
- Headcount1–10
- GTM typeB2B and B2C
- OfferingDigital Commerce or Content
What Gooding does
Gooding GmbH is a Frankfurt-based German company that operates a charity-shopping marketplace connecting online consumers with registered nonprofit organizations. Users register on gooding.de, select from among 18,333 verified charitable organizations (Vereine), and shop at any of 2,050+ partner retailers including OTTO, eBay, zooplus, and Deutsche Bahn. Gooding earns affiliate commissions on these mediated purchases at an average rate of approximately 5%, then passes up to 100% of those commissions to the user-designated nonprofit, retaining a default 30% premium share configurable by the user from 0-100% via the Prämien-Teilen feature. The platform is free for both nonprofits and supporters, with no transaction fees for donors across SEPA, credit card, PayPal, Apple Pay, and Google Pay.
The underlying technology is a cookie-based affiliate tracking stack integrated with external affiliate networks, layered with Cidaas OAuth2 authentication, AWS/CloudFront hosting, and standard marketing tooling (Brevo email, Google Analytics, Facebook Pixel). Mobile applications under the feed a dog and feed a cat sub-brands extend the platform into in-kind pet food donations routed through strategic partner Givio gGmbH, a recognized German charitable foundation that handles collection and distribution of direct monetary and in-kind contributions.
Gooding's go-to-market is product-led and community-led: the self-serve platform requires no sales motion, and growth depends on organic word-of-mouth, social sharing, and nonprofit-driven supporter recruitment. The company also runs PR-led acquisition campaigns, notably positioning itself as an alternative to Amazon Smile following Amazon's February 2023 discontinuation. To date, the platform has facilitated approximately 2.6 million good deeds and €22.5 million in cumulative donations to charities. Gooding is privately held, bootstrapped with no disclosed venture or private equity funding, and led by founder/managing director Felix Wassermann.
Gooding firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Gooding
- Legal name
- Gooding GmbH
- Website
- https://gooding.de
- Company type
- Private
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 1–10 employees
- Short description
- Gooding GmbH operates a German charity-shopping marketplace connecting online shoppers with 18,333 registered nonprofits across 2,050+ partner retailers, retaining a configurable share of affiliate commissions as its primary revenue stream.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Gooding industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Charity Shopping Platform
- NAICS
- Media Buying Agencies (541830)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Price Comparison, Deals, Cashback & Loyalty Shopping Platforms (BPAMAGAH)
- akta.pro secondary industry
- Affiliate & Performance Creator Programs (BPAFAHAG)
Keywords
Where Gooding is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Frankfurt
- HQ country
- Germany
- HQ region
- Europe
Offices1 record
Markets served
Gooding business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B and B2C
- Offering type
- Digital Commerce or Content
- Cost components
- Technology or R&D, Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Operations, Infrastructure, Others
Revenue model
- Affiliate Commissions: Partner online shops pay commissions for purchases mediated through the Gooding platform. Gooding passes through a portion (up to 100%) of these commissions to user-designated nonprofits. Default premium share to Gooding is 30%.
- Premium Share Contribution: Users voluntarily contribute a portion (0-100%, default 30%) of shopping commissions to fund Gooding's platform maintenance and development
- Advertising Revenue: Companies pay to advertise their products and services on the Gooding platform
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Freemium | Pay-as-you-go | Free for all users and nonprofits |
| Other | Pay-as-you-go | Premium share adjustment (0-100%) |
| Other | Quarterly | Minimum payout threshold |
| Other | Pay-as-you-go | Zero-fee donation payment processing |
Go-to-market motion2 records
Distribution channels4 records
Marketing channels5 records
Gooding product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Gooding operates a charity shopping platform that connects online shoppers with partner retailers and registered nonprofit organizations (Vereine). When users purchase through Gooding's network of 2,050+ partner shops, a portion of the resulting affiliate commission is automatically passed on to the user-selected nonprofit, with users able to allocate 0-100% (default 30%) of the premium to Gooding or the charity. The platform also offers direct monetary donations via Givio and pet food donation apps for animal welfare organizations.
Product overview
Gooding operates as a charity shopping platform ecosystem consisting of a core web platform (Gooding.de) and mobile applications (feed a dog and feed a cat). The core platform enables users to generate charitable donations for non-profit organizations through their regular online shopping at partner e-commerce stores, with no additional cost to the user. The platform is free for both supporters and charities. The mobile apps extend this to pet food donations specifically for animal welfare organizations. Gooding acts as an intermediary, facilitating premium/commission sharing between partner shops and registered charities, with optional donation functionality powered by partner Givio.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- feed a dog: Mobile app enabling users to donate pet food to animal welfare organizations
- feed a cat
Products and services
- Gooding.de Platform Web-based charity shopping platform where consumers register, select partner shops, designate nonprofit organizations (Vereine) to receive shopping commissions, and track accumulated donations. Free for users and nonprofits, with partner shops paying commissions averaging 5% per purchase.
- feed a dog Mobile application enabling users to donate dog food directly to animal rescue organizations and shelters, with donations processed through the Givio charitable foundation. Targets animal welfare nonprofits and pet food donors.
- feed a cat Mobile application enabling users to donate cat food directly to cat rescue organizations and shelters, part of the Gooding charity ecosystem coordinated via Givio. Targets cat rescue nonprofits and cat food donors.
Quantifiable outcome
- 5% average commission vs 0.5% for Amazon Smile - 10x higher returns for nonprofits
- +1 more outcomes
Companies that use Gooding
Customer profileNamed customers10 records
Segments3 records
Ideal customer profiles3 records
Gooding technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Feature4 records
Gooding partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Seven partnerships are on record, tiered minor and core.
- Amazon Smile (discontinued)minorAmazon Smile program that Gooding positioned as an alternative to after Amazon discontinued their charity shopping program on February 20, 2023. Gooding actively recruited affected nonprofits from Amazon Smile.
- Givio (Givio gemeinnützige GmbH)coreGivio provides the donation (spenden) functionality on Gooding's platform. As a recognized charitable foundation (steuerlich anerkannte Förderkörperschaft), Givio handles the collection and distribution of direct monetary donations to nonprofits. Located in Stuttgart, Givio manages both financial and in-kind donations (pet food) to qualifying organizations listed on Gooding.
- VikingminorPartner brand mentioned in the 'Helfen mit starken Partnern' (Helping with strong partners) section of the website footer.
- Partner Online Retailers (2,050+ shops)coreMajor partner shops include OTTO, eBay, zooplus, Deutsche Bahn and many others. These retailers pay commissions to Gooding for customer referrals, with a portion (up to 100%) passed through to user-designated nonprofits.
- Cidaas (WidasConcepts GmbH)coreOAuth2/OpenID Connect authentication and authorization service enabling secure user login and identity management for Gooding platform users.
- AWS / CloudFront (Amazon Web Services)coreCloud hosting and content delivery services for storing and delivering website content (images, files, scripts) through a global server network.
- Affiliate NetworkscoreExternal affiliate networks supporting technical tracking of mediated purchases, billing, and allocation of commissions and premiums between partner shops, users, and nonprofits.
Scale indicators5 records
Recent moves5 records
Expansion highlights4 records
Gooding competitors and assessment
Company assessmentBroad incumbents
- TopCashback: Large international cashback operator with a German site. Overlaps with Gooding on partner shop relationships and consumer cashback mechanics; differs in lacking a nonprofit-anchored value proposition.
- myWorld / CashbackWorld: Established European cashback and shopping community operating across multiple countries. While broader in scope and not charity-centric, it competes for the same affiliate-commission consumer wallet in DACH.
Direct peers
- iGraal: Major European cashback and loyalty program with strong German presence. Comparable affiliate-cashback infrastructure and partner shop network, with similar consumer-acquisition economics and overlapping retail relationships.
- Shoop: German cashback platform that also operates a charity-shopping vertical ("Shoop hilft") routing a share of user cashback to nonprofits. Directly competes with Gooding for the same German consumer shopping-commission audience and nonprofit partners.
- TheBestHack: DACH charity-shopping platform that lets users direct a portion of partner-shop commissions to chosen nonprofits. Same product mechanics, same target nonprofits and consumers, competing for the same shop integrations in Germany and Austria.
Emerging players
- betterplace.org: Germany's largest online donation platform for nonprofits. Overlaps with Gooding in helping German nonprofits raise funds, but uses direct donations rather than shopping-commission mechanics.
- HelpDirect: German online donation platform that connects donors to nonprofits. Different core mechanic (direct giving rather than shopping commissions) but overlapping nonprofit customer base and supporters.
Others
- Smile.io: Loyalty and rewards platform for ecommerce brands; architecturally analogous in turning purchases into consumer benefit programs (cashback, points) — relevant for comparing underlying mechanics even though not a charity-shopping competitor.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat4 records
Key risks5 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
Gooding social profiles
Digital presenceGooding financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Gooding leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles1 record
Gooding funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Gooding M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Gooding
What does Gooding do?
Gooding operates a charity shopping platform that connects online shoppers with partner retailers and registered nonprofit organizations (Vereine). When users purchase through Gooding's network of 2,050+ partner shops, a portion of the resulting affiliate commission is automatically passed on to the user-selected nonprofit, with users able to allocate 0-100% (default 30%) of the premium to Gooding or the charity. The platform also offers direct monetary donations via Givio and pet food donation apps for animal welfare organizations.
Is Gooding a public or private company?
Gooding is a private company. It is classified as founder individual operated bootstrapped and is currently operating.
When was Gooding founded?
Gooding was founded in -1. It employs 1 to 10 people.
Where is Gooding based?
Gooding is headquartered in Frankfurt, Germany, in the Europe region.
How does Gooding make money?
Three revenue lines are on record. Affiliate Commissions are the primary driver. The others are premium Share Contribution and advertising Revenue.
Who are Gooding's main competitors?
Broad incumbents on record are TopCashback and myWorld / CashbackWorld. Direct peers are iGraal, Shoop and TheBestHack. Emerging players are betterplace.org and HelpDirect. Smile.io is listed as an others.
Does Gooding have an API?
No public API is recorded for Gooding.
What industry is Gooding in?
Gooding's product category is Charity Shopping Platform. Its primary akta.pro industry code is BPAMAGAH, Price Comparison, Deals, Cashback & Loyalty Shopping Platforms, with a secondary code of BPAFAHAG, Affiliate & Performance Creator Programs. Its NAICS code is 541830.