THW-Jugend

What THW-Jugend does

THW-Jugend e. V. is a registered nonprofit youth federation (eingetragener Verein) founded in 1984 and headquartered at Provinzialstraße 93, Bonn, Germany. It operates as the official youth organization of the Technisches Hilfswerk (THW), Germany's federal agency for technical relief, and serves approximately 6-17 year-old members through a federated structure consisting of the federal Bundesgeschäftsstelle, 16+ state-level Landesjugenden, and hundreds of local Ortsjugenden. Its core mission is structured technical-rescue and disaster-preparedness training delivered alongside leadership development, supported by national events such as the Bundesjugendlager (federal youth camp) and Bundeswettkämpfe (national competitions), international youth exchanges (with active programs for Ukraine and Romania), and standardized curricula including the Junghelfer:innen-Lehrgang and Jugendleiter:in certification.

The organization's product surface is a digital ecosystem built primarily on WordPress and open-source tooling. The centerpiece is the Homepage Baukasten, a website-builder platform hosted on Hetzner servers that powers over 160 websites for local, district, and state chapters under the thw-jugend.de domain. Supporting digital services include the JApp Jugendausbildungs-App for training content delivery, Microsoft 365 for collaboration (Outlook, Teams, OneDrive), NextCloud for file storage, OpenSlides for digital assemblies, Passbolt for password management, BookStack-based Wiki for documentation, Pretix for event ticketing, and Webmail. Marketing and analytics run on Brevo (newsletter), Matomo (privacy-respecting analytics), and HelpMundo GmbH (donation processing).

THW-Jugend's business model is a federally subsidized nonprofit model. Revenue is sourced from federal youth-work grants under programs 4311 (Groups Work) and 4320 (Youth Recreation, €5/day/participant in 2026, up to 100% of total camp costs), third-party donations processed through HelpMundo GmbH (bank transfer, PayPal, Sofort Überweisung), Fördermitgliedschaft (supporting memberships), and limited commercial partnerships for promotional merchandise (Werbemittel Amberger) and equipment procurement (Lanco). Specific membership fees and total revenue are not publicly disclosed. Leadership comprises Bundesjugendleiter Patrick Wiedemann and deputy Bundesjugendleiter Thomas Kilian and Ruben Schröder, with 11-50 staff at the federal headquarters.

Name

THW-Jugend

Legal name

THW-Jugend e. V.

Website

https://thw-jugend.de

Company type

Private

Founded year

1984

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

THW-Jugend e. V. is the official federal youth organization of Germany's Technisches Hilfswerk, serving children and teens aged 6-17 across local, state, and national chapters with structured disaster-preparedness training, leadership development, and standardized digital services including a homepage builder, training app, and collaboration suite.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Bonn

HQ country

Germany

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Membership Fees: Youth members aged 6-17 join local THW-Jugend groups. While membership structure includes local chapters, specific membership fee details are not publicly disclosed.
2. Donations: The organization accepts donations through its website using a third-party donation form provided by HelpMundo GmbH. Donors can make contributions via bank transfer, PayPal, or Sofort Überweisung.
3. Government Funding - Groups Work (4311): Federal funding program supporting youth group activities. Local groups apply annually by April 1st and receive funding based on membership count of youth aged 6-17 as of April 1st. Reimbursement through submitted receipts.
4. Youth Recreation Funding (4320): Federal funding for youth recreation/holiday camps. Provides 5 EUR per day/participant (2026 rate), with a maximum of 100% of total costs covered. Minimum 4-day duration required.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

THW-Jugend is the official youth organization of Germany's Technisches Hilfswerk (THW), providing disaster preparedness training, technical rescue skills education, and youth leadership development for children and teenagers aged 6-17 through a federal network of local chapters (Ortsjugenden) and state organizations (Landesjugenden). The organization delivers standardized curricula such as Jugend 01, the Junghelfer:innen-Lehrgang (young helper course), and Jugendleiter:in (youth leader) certification, complemented by national events including the Bundesjugendlager (federal youth camp) and Bundeswettkämpfe (national competitions), international youth exchanges, and a proprietary digital ecosystem anchored by the JApp training application and the Homepage Baukasten website builder.

Product overview

THW-Jugend e.V. operates a digital ecosystem centered around its main website (thw-jugend.de) and the JApp platform for educational content. The core infrastructure includes the Homepage Baukasten—a WordPress-based website builder serving over 160 local youth group websites—hosted on THW-Jugend's own servers at Hetzner. Supporting digital services include OpenSlides for digital meetings and assemblies, NextCloud for file storage, Passbolt for password management, Webmail for official communications, and Pretix for event registration. Microsoft 365 is provided for collaboration including Teams, Outlook, and office applications. The THW-Jugend Wiki (BookStack-based) serves as the central knowledge base with both public documentation and internal [INTERN] sections. A public status page monitors all services.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Homepage Baukasten (Website Builder Platform) WordPress-based website builder platform that enables Ortsjugenden, Bezirksjugenden, and Landesjugenden to create and maintain their own chapter websites with unified design, content management, downloads, events, contacts, and newsletter integration under the thw-jugend.de domain. Hosted on THW-Jugend servers and serving more than 160 chapter websites.
• JApp (Jugendausbildungs-App) Proprietary digital training platform providing public content and standardized methods for youth workers (Jugendleiter:innen) across all local chapters to deliver consistent educational content on technical rescue and disaster preparedness.
• Youth Training Programs (Jugenddienste and Seminare) Standardized in-person youth training programs including Jugenddienste (regular youth services), Jugend 01 (basic course), Junghelfer:innen-Lehrgang (young helper course), Jugendleiter:in (youth leader) certification, NEO seminar, Kreativwerkstatt 2.0, and Leistungsabzeichen (achievement badges) for members aged 6-17.
• Bundesjugendlager (Federal Youth Camp) Annual national multi-day camp gathering youth members from across Germany for training, competitions, and community building. Registration managed via the Pretix ticketing system.
• Bundeswettkämpfe (National Competitions) Annual national competitions in which local THW-Jugend chapters compete in technical rescue and disaster preparedness skills, fostering motivation and benchmarking performance across the nationwide chapter network.
• International Youth Work (Internationale Jugendarbeit) International youth exchange programs including partnerships with Ukraine and Romania, enabling cross-border youth encounters and international civil protection collaboration.
• Fördermitgliedschaft (Supporting Membership) and Donations Voluntary supporting membership and donation program providing financial backing to THW-Jugend. Donations are processed via HelpMundo GmbH with bank transfer, PayPal, and Sofort Überweisung (instant bank transfer) options.
• Bundesjugendsprecher:innenforum (Federal Youth Speakers Forum) New participation forum launching from October 2026 to strengthen the involvement of children and young people under 18 in THW-Jugend's organizational decisions, developed in partnership with Deutsches Kinderhilfswerk.

Named customers1 record

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration13 records

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Six partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• HelpMundo GmbHcoreTechnology or IntegrationHelpMundo GmbH provides the donation processing form for THW-Jugend's website. They handle secure transmission of donation data including personal information, payment details, and device data. Donations are processed through SSL-encrypted connections.
• BERNHARD Assekuranzmakler GmbHcoreOthersInsurance broker providing and managing insurance policies for THW-Jugend members including liability insurance (policy: FKA 30-4570113-07) and accident insurance (policy: UNF 35-0315644-47). Handles online damage claims through dedicated portal.
• LancominorOthersTent and equipment supplier offering discounted pricing on tents and accessories for local THW-Jugend groups. Orders are processed through the federal office to obtain group rates.
• Werbemittel-Service AmbergerminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorPromotional materials partner providing branded merchandise including pens, pencils, erasers, mugs, polo shirts, towels, and other items with THW-Jugend logos. Available through their online shop.
• HetznercoreTechnology or IntegrationServer hosting provider for the THW-Jugend website platform infrastructure. The IT administrators operate and maintain all technical systems on servers hosted by Hetzner.
• MicrosoftcoreTechnology or IntegrationProvides Microsoft 365 cloud services for collaboration including email (Outlook), file storage (OneDrive), video conferencing (Teams), and office applications. Access provided to members with official THW-Jugend email addresses.

Scale indicators1 record

Recent moves3 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Broad incumbents

• Technisches Hilfswerk (THW): THW-Jugend's parent federal agency and Germany's federal technical-relief organization. Comparable as the broader civil-protection institution; THW-Jugend is its youth wing. THW itself operates the adult technical rescue and disaster-response services that THW-Jugend members may graduate into.

Direct peers

• Deutsche Pfadfinderschaft Sankt Georg (DPSG): Germany's largest Catholic scouting association. Comparable as a federally structured, local-chapter-based youth development nonprofit offering structured curricula, camps, leadership development, and federal funding. Competes for the same youth demographic through a parallel values-based youth-development framework.
• Malteser Jugend: Youth division of Malteser Hilfsdienst in Germany. Comparable as a uniformed civil-protection youth nonprofit with federal affiliation, local chapters, structured training, and federal funding under similar Kinder- und Jugendplan programs. Direct competitor for members and visibility.
• AWO Jugendwerk: Youth organization of the Arbeiterwohlfahrt, one of Germany's largest welfare federations. Comparable as a federally funded nonprofit youth association offering local groups, structured programs, camps, and participation initiatives for children and youth. Direct competitor for federal youth funding and members.
• ASB-Jugend: Youth organization of the Arbeiter-Samariter-Bund, a German relief organization. Operates as a federal youth association providing first-aid and humanitarian training to youth via local chapters, with similar grant funding and uniformed-youth positioning. Structurally near-identical to THW-Jugend.
• Jugendrotkreuz (JRK): The official youth organization of the German Red Cross (DRK). It mirrors THW-Jugend in structure: federated nationwide chapters, ages 6-17 membership, civil-protection training, government grant funding, and uniformed youth engagement. Both organizations occupy the same niche of humanitarian/disaster-relief youth development.
• Bund der Pfadfinderinnen und Pfadfinder (BdP): Inter-denominational German scouting association. Comparable as a federally organized youth nonprofit with local Stämme (groups), age-tiered programming, camps, and federal youth-plan funding. Targets the same 6-17 demographic with structured extracurricular programming.
• Deutsche Jugendfeuerwehr: The youth arm of the German fire service. Comparable as a large, federally affiliated uniformed youth organization offering structured technical training, local chapters, federal funding, and competitions. It is one of THW-Jugend's closest direct competitors for the same youth demographic and parental mindshare.
• DLRG-Jugend: The youth division of the German Life Saving Association. Provides technical-rescue and water-safety training to youth via local chapters nationwide, with similar federal funding mechanics and uniformed-youth positioning. Directly comparable in mission (technical safety training) and operating model.
• Johanniter Jugend: Youth organization of the German St. John Ambulance (Johanniter-Unfall-Hilfe). Operates as a federal nonprofit youth association with local groups, civil-protection and first-aid training curricula, and government grant funding. Highly comparable mission and governance structure.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/user/THWJugendDeutschland
• Facebookfacebook.com/thwjugendsarstedt
• Instagraminstagram.com/thwjugend
• TikToktiktok.com/@thw_jugend

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about THW-Jugend