Lungeforeningen

What Lungeforeningen does

Lungeforeningen (The Danish Lung Association) is a non-profit patient association founded in 1901 and headquartered in Copenhagen, Denmark, that serves people affected by lung disease and their families. The organization operates as part of Lungekoncernen together with two wholly-owned entities: Lungeforenings Forskningsfond (the research fund, established 1993) and Børnelungefonden (the Children's Lung Foundation). It serves an addressable Danish population of more than 800,000 children and adults living with lung conditions, including the approximately 430,000 Danes living with COPD (KOL), of whom only half are diagnosed.

Its core offerings combine a subscription membership product (345 DKK per year) with a national community-services platform. Members gain access to professional counseling, the quarterly Lungenyt magazine, family holiday houses, 119 municipality-partnered training networks, 100+ lung choirs, 23 local chapters, lung cafés, lung paths, and a portfolio of self-management digital content covering exercise, breathing techniques, pelvic-floor exercises, and mindfulness training. The research fund distributes grants for lung-disease research, travel grants, and poster prizes in collaboration with professional and scientific societies. Annual Lungedag (Lung Day) events provide free lung-function testing for early detection.

Revenue is generated through annual membership fees, tax-deductible donations, legacies, and an endowment-backed research-fund grant program. Distribution is primarily domestic (Denmark only) via digital channels and a physical community infrastructure coordinated with Danish municipalities and adult-education associations (e.g., DOJ, LOF, FOF). No AI/ML or proprietary technology platform is disclosed; the underlying technology stack consists of a website (lunge.dk), a CRM, member self-service portals, and a third-party grant-management system (GrantOne) for the research fund.

Name

Lungeforeningen

Legal name

Lungeforeningen

Website

https://lunge.dk

Company type

Private

Founded year

1993

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Lungeforeningen is the Danish Lung Association, a 110-year-old non-profit patient association headquartered in Copenhagen that supports more than 800,000 Danes living with lung diseases through a 345 DKK annual membership, national training networks, lung choirs, counseling, and an affiliated research fund.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Copenhagen

HQ country

Denmark

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Membership Dues: Annual membership fees providing access to benefits including advice, events, lung choirs, training networks, holiday homes, and the member magazine Lungenyt.
2. Donations and Contributions: Members and supporters can make additional contributions beyond annual membership fees, which are fully tax-deductible.
3. Research Fund Grants: Lungeforenings Forskningsfond distributes funds to research in lung diseases, funded by the organization's endowment and fundraising activities.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels6 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

Lungeforeningen is a Danish non-profit patient association that provides support, counseling, and community services to people affected by lung diseases such as COPD, asthma, lung cancer, and pulmonary fibrosis. Its core offering is an annual membership (345 DKK/year) that bundles professional health counseling, access to 119 training networks, 100+ lung choirs, 23 local chapters, family holiday homes, and the quarterly magazine Lungenyt, supplemented by research funding through Lungeforenings Forskningsfond.

Product overview

Lungeforeningen is a Danish patient organization offering a comprehensive suite of services for people with lung diseases. The core membership product (345 kr/year) provides access to counseling, local networks, and the quarterly magazine Lungenyt. The organization operates 119 local training networks, over 100 lung choirs, lung cafés, and 23 local departments across Denmark. Member benefits include access to discounted family holiday houses. Health services include exercise videos, breathing exercises, pelvic floor exercises, and mindfulness training. The Research Fund distributes grants to lung disease researchers. Annual awareness events include Lungedag (Lung Day) offering free lung function testing.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Medlemskab (Annual Membership) Annual membership providing members access to professional counseling, local networks, online events, lung choirs, training, and the quarterly magazine Lungenyt. Standard price is 345 kr per year.
• Lungenyt (Member Magazine) Quarterly member magazine containing knowledge, tips, and stories about lung health, distributed to members of Lungeforeningen.
• Familieferiehuse (Family Holiday Houses) Holiday houses available for members of Lungeforeningen to rent at discounted rates at various locations across Denmark.
• Træningsnetværk (Training Networks) Physical and online exercise groups for members with lung disease, including 119 local training networks operating in cooperation with municipalities across Denmark.
• Lungekor (Lung Choirs) Singing groups across Denmark (100+) that help improve breathing control and provide community for people with lung diseases, established in cooperation with music and cultural schools.
• Lungecaféer (Lung Cafés) Social gathering places for people with lung diseases to meet, share experiences, and attend lung-related presentations.
• Lungestier (Lung Paths) Specially designed walking routes with benches for rest, providing safe and accessible exercise options for people with lung conditions.
• Lokalafdelinger (Local Chapters) 23 local branches across Denmark organizing activities, field trips, social events, and professional presentations for members.
• Lungeforeningens Forskningsfond (Research Fund) Research fund that distributes grants to researchers studying lung diseases, including project funding, travel grants, and poster prizes. The only Danish research fund where relevance for lung patients is a requirement for funding.
• Rådgivning (Counseling) Professional phone and personal counseling from healthcare advisors for members with questions about living with lung disease.
• Lungedag (Lung Day) Annual awareness event offering free lung function testing to raise awareness about COPD and early detection, held at locations including Bilka stores across Denmark.

Quantifiable outcome

• 13 research projects supported in 2025, 9 supported in 2024 through Lungeforenings Forskningsfond

Named customers3 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Five partnerships are on record, tiered minor and core.

• Music and Cultural SchoolsminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerLungeforeningen cooperates with music and cultural schools to establish lung choirs across Denmark, providing expertise on breathing techniques through singing.
• MunicipalitiescoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerLungeforeningen cooperates with municipalities to establish training networks and lung choirs in local communities, making services accessible across Denmark.
• DOJ (Danish Adult Education Association)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerLungeforeningen cooperates with DOJ (Folkeuniversitetet) and other adult education associations (LOF, FOF) to establish lung choirs.
• FYL (Foreningen af Yngre Lungemedicinere)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerTravel grants are distributed in collaboration with FYL (Association of Young Pulmonologists) to support healthcare professionals attending congresses and symposia related to lung health.
• Professional and Scientific SocietiesminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerLungeforenings Forskningsfond distributes poster prizes and travel grants in collaboration with professional and scientific societies.

Scale indicators10 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Asthma Canada: Asthma Canada is a national patient organization focused on asthma and respiratory health, with research funding and patient education programs. It is a directly comparable patient-association peer in the Canadian market.
• Hjerteforeningen (Danish Heart Association): Hjerteforeningen is the Danish national heart patient association, operating in the same country with a near-identical model — membership dues, local chapters, research funding, advocacy, and lifestyle services — making it the most structurally comparable peer to Lungeforeningen.
• Longfonds (Lung Foundation Netherlands): Longfonds is the Dutch national lung-disease patient association, operating a similar member-and-donor model with research funding, community networks, and advocacy. It is a directly comparable peer operating in a neighboring country with a similar healthcare and nonprofit context.
• American Lung Association: The American Lung Association is a US national lung-health nonprofit focused on research, education, and advocacy. While operating at a much larger scale and in a different health system, it offers directly comparable programming around COPD/ashtma awareness, research grants, and patient education.
• Asthma + Lung UK: Asthma + Lung UK is a UK patient advocacy charity formed from the merger of Asthma UK and the British Lung Foundation. It is the closest international analogue to Lungeforeningen — a national lung-disease patient association offering counseling, research funding, and community networks — making it directly comparable in mission and operating model.
• Lung Foundation Australia: Lung Foundation Australia is a national patient-focused nonprofit for lung disease, funding research and providing patient support networks. It is a directly comparable patient-association peer in a different geographic market.
• Kræftens Bekæmpelse (Danish Cancer Society): Kræftens Bekæmpelse is Denmark's national cancer patient association, operating in the same Danish nonprofit landscape with membership funding, research grants, and a volunteer-driven chapter network. It competes with Lungeforeningen for Danish charitable donations and member mindshare.

Emerging players

• Diabetesforeningen (Danish Diabetes Association): Diabetesforeningen is another major Danish chronic-disease patient association, with a comparable membership/donation model, research arm, and local chapters. It is an emerging player from an adjacent therapeutic area competing for the same Danish donor and member pool.

Broad incumbents

• European Lung Foundation: ELF is a pan-European patient-facing foundation linked to the European Respiratory Society, operating across multiple countries with broader respiratory-disease scope. It is a broader incumbent that overlaps with Lungeforeningen's lung-health mission at a European rather than national level.
• European Respiratory Society: ERS is a pan-European professional society for respiratory physicians and researchers, with overlapping concerns around lung disease research and policy. It is a broader incumbent operating upstream of Lungeforeningen's patient-focused mission, but with shared stakeholder relationships.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/i/flow/login?redirect_after_login=%2Flungeforeningen
• YouTubeyoutube.com/Lungeforeningen
• Facebookfacebook.com/lungeforeningen
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/lungeforening
• Instagraminstagram.com/lungeforeningen

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles10 records

Subsidiaries2 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 Lungeforeningen