What Stichting Join Us does

Stichting Join Us is a Dutch non-profit foundation (stichting) established in 2018 by pedagogue Jolanda van Gerwe and headquartered in 's-Hertogenbosch, with a mission to prevent and reduce loneliness among young people aged 12-30. The organization delivers an evidence-based methodology combining facilitated peer-to-peer group sessions, an online community platform, and a companion app with challenges, drawing on cognitive behavioral therapy techniques. Delivery is split across three formats: Join Us in real life (local in-person groups across 100+ Dutch municipalities), Join Us online (a 16-week online program of nine-person cohorts), and Join Us community (an ongoing digital platform), with a 'Doe de test' self-assessment as an entry funnel. Execution is decentralized through trained social work organizations and partly financed by municipalities, supplemented by subsidies, foundation grants, corporate sponsorship, and individual donations; all participation is free for end users. The methodology received formal 'well-substantiated' recognition in 2021 from Movisie, Nederlands Jeugdinstituut, and Loket gezond leven.

The organization is funded through a diversified, multi-stream model: recurring and one-time individual donations, municipal program financing, foundation grants (Oranje Fonds, Noaber Foundation, Postcode Loterij, Draper Richards Kaplan, MDT), a three-year Ministerie van VWS subsidy (2023-2025), and strategic corporate partners (Odido, Nationale-Nederlanden, Stayokay, Libema, Van Lanschot, KPMG, Snapchat). It operates with approximately 30 employees and 100+ experiential volunteers, has reached roughly 20,000 youth since 2018, and has set a three-year goal of 30,000 additional youth outcomes. Two adjacent product extensions — the Join Us Academy (training and masterclasses for professionals) and the workplace program Connected People (in partnership with Nationale-Nederlanden and Noaber Foundation) — demonstrate a deliberate move to monetize the methodology beyond the youth-only mission and into B2B training, with suicide prevention content delivered in collaboration with 113 Zelfmoordpreventie. Recognition includes the 2024 Appeltje van Oranje and the 2025 KHMW Brouwer Vertrouwensprijs (second prize), both of which materially strengthen fundraising credibility.

Commercially, Join Us occupies a hybrid non-profit / quasi-social-enterprise position: free for youth end-users, but increasingly building monetizable B2B and academy lines that convert validated methodology into diversified income, while remaining structurally dependent on Dutch government and lottery-channel funding.

Name

Stichting Join Us

Legal name

Stichting Join Us

Website

https://join-us.nu

Company type

Private

Founded year

2018

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Dutch non-profit foundation delivering evidence-based group programs to prevent and reduce loneliness among youth aged 12-30, executed in 100+ municipalities and online by trained social work organizations; funded by municipalities, foundations, government subsidies, corporate partners, and donations.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Youth mental health and social services

NAICS

Child and Youth Services (62411), Child and Youth Services (624110), Individual and Family Services (6241)

SIC

Services-Social Services (8300), Services-Educational Services (8200)

akta.pro primary industry

Student Mentoring & Peer Support Programs (EDAJALAL)

akta.pro secondary industry

Peer Support, Buddy Programs & Cooperative Learning Facilitation (EDAKABAI)

Keywords

• Youth mental health
• Loneliness prevention
• Social work programs
• Community wellbeing
• Prevention interventions

Headquarters

HQ city

's-hertogenbosch

HQ country

Netherlands

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Donaties particulieren: Recurring donations from individual donors supporting the mission to help lonely youth.
2. Gemeente financiering: Municipalities finance the execution of Join Us programs locally through social work organizations.
3. Fonds subsidies: Funding from foundations including Oranje Fonds (since 2021), Noaber Foundation, Postcode Loterij, Ministerie van VWS subsidy for Join Us online and community (2023-2025), Draper Richards Kaplan Foundation, and MDT.
4. Corporate partners: Financial and strategic contributions from corporate partners such as Odido, Nationale-Nederlanden, Stayokay, Libema, Van Lanschot, KPMG, and Snapchat.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Stichting Join Us delivers a free, scientifically-substantiated group intervention for Dutch youth aged 12–30 who experience loneliness, combining local facilitated group meetings, a 16-week online program, and an online peer community platform. The methodology is delivered locally by trained social work organizations and municipalities across more than 100 Dutch municipalities, and is supported by a companion app, a self-assessment tool, and an Academy providing training for schools, municipalities, companies, and professionals.

Product overview

Stichting Join Us operates as a single, unified intervention program — the Join Us method — aimed at preventing and reducing loneliness among young people aged 12–30. The core offering is delivered through three program formats: Join Us in real life (local face-to-face groups), Join Us online (16-week online group sessions), and Join Us community (a digital peer platform). A loneliness self-assessment tool ('Doe de test') serves as an entry point. The program is supported by a companion app featuring challenges. The Join Us Academy extends the offering by providing masterclasses and training (including suicide prevention via 113 Zelfmoordpreventie) to schools, municipalities, companies, and professionals. The Connected People module targets workplace social health in corporate settings. All programs are based on a scientifically recognized methodology combining peer-to-peer contact, personal leadership, and cognitive-behavioral techniques. Delivery is managed locally through social work organizations and municipalities across more than 100 Dutch municipalities.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Join Us in real life Join Us in real life brings together young people aged 12–30 in local group sessions facilitated by trained youth workers, combining peer-to-peer contact, personal leadership development, and cognitive-behavioral techniques to build social skills and resilience. Delivered in more than 100 Dutch municipalities via local social work organizations.
• Join Us online Join Us online is a 16-week online program in which groups of 9 young people (16–30 years) meet weekly via an online platform, guided by a youth professional and an experiential volunteer, with an in-person meeting included.
• Join Us community Join Us community is an online platform where participants can connect, share experiences, and continue building social connections after completing a Join Us program.
• Doe de test (Loneliness self-assessment) A self-assessment tool available on the Join Us website that allows young people to discover whether they experience feelings of loneliness and what steps they can take.
• Join Us Academy Educational and training platform within Join Us that provides courses and masterclasses for schools, municipalities, companies, and professionals on recognizing and reducing youth loneliness, including suicide prevention training in collaboration with 113 Zelfmoordpreventie.
• Connected People An in-company trajectory developed by Join Us in partnership with Nationale-Nederlanden and the Noaber Foundation, aimed at strengthening social health in the workplace. The modular program combines insight, measurement, and action for managers and employees to make workplace connections visible and address loneliness at work.

Quantifiable outcome

• Ruim 20.000 jongeren geholpen sinds 2018
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers3 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature2 records

Partnerships

Six partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Nationale-NederlandencoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2024Samen met Nationale-Nederlanden en de Noaber Foundation voert Join Us een pilot uit met het incompany traject Connected People, gericht op het versterken van sociale gezondheid op de werkvloer. Het traject combineert inzicht, meting en actie in een modulair programma.
• StayokaycoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2024Stayokay stelt hun locaties door heel Nederland kosteloos beschikbaar om jongeren met eenzaamheidsgevoelens samen te brengen. Jaarlijks worden Community Days georganiseerd waarbij meer dan 100 jongeren samenkomen.
• 113 ZelfmoordpreventieminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2024Join Us werkt samen met 113 Zelfmoordpreventie. Begeleiders kunnen via Join Us een masterclass suïcidepreventie volgen om signalen van suïcidale gedachten eerder te herkennen.
• OdidocoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 May 2021Sinds mei 2021 werken Join Us en Odido samen vanuit gedeelde overtuiging: échte verbinding maakt het verschil. Odido draagt bij met financiële steun, strategische expertise en bereik. Samen ontwikkelden ze landelijke campagnes zoals 'Alleen in de pauze' met ambassadeur Typhoon en 'Gebruik je stem'.
• Odido / MIND UsminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerSamen met Odido en MIND US lanceerde Join Us de campagne 'Gebruik je stem' om jongeren op te roepen naar elkaar om te kijken en echte verbinding aan te gaan.
• Gemeente AlmereminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerGemeente waar Join Us programma's worden uitgevoerd en gefilmd voor Postcode Loterij: Eén tegen 100.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Kooth: UK-based digital mental health platform for young people offering moderated online communities, peer support, and counseling — directly comparable to Join Us Online and Join Us Community in delivery format and youth focus.
• Headspace Australia: Australian national youth mental health foundation offering free or low-cost in-person and digital support to young people aged 12-25, with a hybrid service model and government/funder mix that closely mirrors Join Us's structure and target population.
• Togetherall: UK/Canadian online mental health community platform offering 24/7 peer-to-peer support, self-help resources, and clinician moderation — a direct comparable to the Join Us Community platform in technology, anonymity, and peer-support model.
• ReachOut Australia: Australia's leading online youth mental health service providing peer support, self-help tools, and moderated community forums for young people aged 14-25, mirroring Join Us's hybrid online-and-community model for lonely youth.
• JINC: Dutch nonprofit that supports young people from lower socio-economic backgrounds through career, mentoring, and educational programs run locally with municipalities and corporates — sharing the same Dutch youth-development, municipality-funded operating model as Join Us.

Regional players

• Stichting Fier: Dutch foundation focused on vulnerable youth (including domestic violence and trafficking) that provides shelter, support, and prevention programs funded by municipalities — comparable in Dutch municipality-funded youth services operating model, though serving a higher-acuity population.
• 113 Zelfmoordpreventie: Dutch suicide prevention foundation and current Join Us partner; operates in adjacent youth mental health space with similar Dutch funding mix and prevention focus, occasionally co-developing training such as Join Us's suicide-prevention masterclass.

Broad incumbents

• Stichting MIND: Largest Dutch umbrella mental health platform representing dozens of organizations and campaigning on youth mental health and loneliness; broader in scope than Join Us but overlapping heavily on Dutch youth loneliness policy, awareness, and referral pathways.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/joinus.nu
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/join-us-nu
• Instagraminstagram.com/join_us.nu
• TikToktiktok.com/@joinusnederland
• Xx.com/JOINUSstichting

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles12 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 Stichting Join Us