Gruppo Polis

What Gruppo Polis does

Gruppo Polis is a paritetic cooperative group founded in 1985 and headquartered in Padova, Italy, operating as a non-profit social services platform. It delivers an integrated portfolio across six intervention areas: disability (day centers, residential communities, family respite, online training), mental health (rehabilitative day centers, therapeutic residential communities, protected apartments, home assistance, Club House), gender violence (four refuge houses and a perpetrator intervention program), social inclusion (homeless day center, social farm), migrant support (anti-trafficking micro-shelter apartments), and enterprise services (mandatory placement consulting, integrated group medicine, CSR partnerships). The group operates through a federation of cooperatives — Polis Nova, Gruppo R, Il Portico, and Gruppo Polis — alongside social enterprises including Sinfonia (communication agency, est. 2003), Fuori di Campo (organic farm, est. 2007), Attivamente (crafts and solidarity gifts), REMIX (assembly and logistics), Danceability, Lopup, and Caffè Remix.

The underlying "technology" is a stack of specialized social service methodologies: cognitive-behavioral interventions, the biopsychosocial rehabilitation model (RBPS, Spivak/Boston School/Liberman tradition), Housing First for homeless beneficiaries, and the participatory generative welfare model (Fondazione Zancan, 2012). Across 20+ facilities in the Padova area, the group employs 204 workers, serves 684 beneficiaries, has 237 cooperative members, and counts 20 supporting enterprises. A 2014 Human Foundation SROI study on La Bussola measured a 6:1 social return on investment.

The business model blends government-funded managed services (public contracts with ULSS local health authorities, municipalities, and Veneto region), donation and fundraising streams (individual donors, corporate CSR, gala events, the Italian 5x1000 tax designation, and Otto per Mille funding from the Istituto Buddista Italiano Soka Gakkai), fee-based services (home assistance at 26€/h, Club House Piano Terra at 27€/day), and social enterprise product sales (organic produce, crafts, communication services, and logistics). Go-to-market is primarily sales-led through referral pathways from public social services and healthcare authorities, supplemented by community engagement, content marketing via thematic blogs, and corporate partnerships. The group publishes annual balance sheets for transparency under Italian regional law.

Name

Gruppo Polis

Legal name

Gruppo Polis

Website

https://gruppopolis.it

Company type

Private

Founded year

1985

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Gruppo Polis is a Padova-based cooperative group founded in 1985 delivering integrated social services — disability, mental health, gender violence, homelessness, migrant support, and enterprise CSR — across 20+ facilities, serving 684 beneficiaries with 204 workers through public contracts, donations, and social enterprises.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Social Services

NAICS

Community Food and Housing, and Emergency and Other Relief Services (6242), Community Housing Services (62422), Community Food Services (624210), Emergency and Other Relief Services (624230)

SIC

Services-Social Services (8300)

akta.pro industry

PRIMARYBPAGAEAI

Refugee & Immigrant Support Services

Business & Public Services/Nonprofit, NGO & Social Services/Social Services & Community Support (Food, Housing, Family)

SECONDARYBPAGAFAB

Human Rights & Anti-Discrimination Organizations

Business & Public Services/Nonprofit, NGO & Social Services/Civil Rights, Advocacy & Public Policy Organizations

SECONDARYBPAIAKAF

Food & Nutrition Assistance Programs

Business & Public Services/Public Sector & Government Administration/Social Security, Benefits & Welfare Administration

SECONDARYBPADAHAI

Integration & Inclusion Services (Housing, Education, Employment)

Business & Public Services/International Organizations & Development/Refugee, Migration & Displacement Services

SECONDARYBPAGALAC

Affordable Housing & Community Development (Housing, Community Land Trusts)

Business & Public Services/Nonprofit, NGO & Social Services/Social Enterprises & Impact Organizations

Keywords

• Social assistance services
• Psychiatric rehabilitation programs
• Disability support services
• Domestic violence shelters
• Social enterprise employment

Headquarters

HQ city

Padova

HQ country

Italy

HQ region

Europe

Offices15 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Supply Chain

Revenue model

1. Public Funding and Contracts: Services are primarily funded through public contracts with municipalities, ULSS (local health authorities), and regional government. Balances of cooperatives are published for transparency as required by Regional Law 29 June 2012 n.23.
2. Donations and Fundraising: Individual donations, corporate donations, and fundraising events support the organization's services. The group runs regular fundraising campaigns including galas, running events, and corporate partnerships.
3. 5x1000 Tax Designation: Italian tax mechanism allowing taxpayers to designate 0.5% of their IRPEF tax to non-profit organizations. Gruppo Polis fiscal code: 01269370282.
4. Service Fees: Some services charge fees to beneficiaries or referring parties, such as home assistance at 26€/h + 5% VAT and Club House Piano Terra at 27€ per day.
5. Social Enterprise Sales: Sales of products from social enterprises including organic produce (Fuori di Campo), artisanal crafts (Attivamente), and services like Sinfonia communication agency and REMIX logistics.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels6 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

Gruppo Polis is a Padova-based cooperative group that delivers integrated social services for people in disadvantage, including disability day centers and residential communities, psychiatric rehabilitation programs, four refuge houses and a perpetrator program for gender violence, day centers and social farming for homelessness and social inclusion, micro-shelters for trafficking victims, and work integration programs. Funding mixes public contracts, donations, the 5x1000 designation, fee-for-service charges, and sales from social enterprises producing organic food, crafts, communication, assembly and coffee.

Product overview

Gruppo Polis is a cooperative group (composed of Polis Nova, Gruppo R, and Sinfonia cooperatives) founded in 1985 providing social services from its headquarters in Padova, Italy. The group operates a multi-module service portfolio across six main intervention areas: Disabilità (disability), Salute Mentale (mental health), Violenza di Genere (gender violence), Inclusione Sociale (social inclusion), Migranti (migrants/refugees), and Imprese e Organizzazioni (enterprise services). The disability strand offers Centri Diurni (Mosaico, New Team Mosaico), Comunità Alloggio (Il Biancospino, Abitare il Tempo), Sollievo Familiare (SoStare), and the online training project Accorciamo le distanze. Mental health services include Centri Diurni Riabilitativi (Attivamente 1&2), Comunità Terapeutica Riabilitativa Protetta (La Meridiana, CTRP HUB_049), Assistenza Domiciliare, Gruppi Appartamento Protetti/Autonomi (Casa A.M.A. 1&2, Casa AMICA, Casa FIESOLE, etc.), and Club House Piano Terra. Gender violence services comprise four refuge houses (Casa Viola, Casa Adele, Casa Elena, Casa Lydia) and the Servizio Uomini Maltrattanti (SUM). Social inclusion features Centro Diurno La Bussola (homeless support) and Fattoria Sociale (social farm). Migrant services include an apartment for victims of trafficking. Enterprise-facing services include Medicina di Gruppo Integrata, Collocamento Obbligatorio, Sinfonia (communication agency), REMIX (assembly/logistics), Fuori di Campo (organic farm shop), and Attivamente (craft shop). The group also runs community programmes such as Danceability.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Casa Viola: Shelter for women victims of violence and their children, opened in 2011, offering protected accommodation and pathways to economic and housing autonomy.
• Casa Adele
• Casa Elena
• Casa Lydia
• Club House Piano Terra
• Fuori di Campo
• Attivamente
• La Meridiana
• CTRP HUB_049
• La Bussola
• Fattoria Sociale
• DanceAbility

Products and services

• Disability Day Centers (Centri Diurni) Educational-habilitative and occupational day centers (Mosaico, New Team Mosaico) for adults with disabilities, focused on recovering and strengthening personal, relational and social autonomy skills.
• Disability Residential Community (Comunità Alloggio) 24-hour residential communities (Il Biancospino, Abitare il Tempo) offering daily life management, social skills development and support for work integration for adults with disabilities.
• Family Respite Service (Sollievo Familiare SoStare) Weekend, afternoon (after 16:30) and overnight respite coverage at the SoStare social aggregation space, developing social, instrumental and relational skills for individuals with intellectual disabilities.
• Accorciamo le Distanze – Online Training

Quantifiable outcome

• 6:1 Social Return on Investment - every euro invested generates 6 euros in social value (Human Foundation SROI study, 2014)
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers11 records

Segments8 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Partnerships

15 partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Irecoop VenetocoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2026PASSI PLUS project - Percorsi Avanzati per lo Sviluppo Sociale e l'Inserimento lavorativo. Promoted by Irecoop Veneto and funded by European Social Fund Plus Program 2021-2027 of Veneto Region.
• Human FoundationminorOthers · 1 January 2014Conducted SROI (Social Return on Investment) study on La Bussola day center in 2014, demonstrating 6:1 social return on investment.
• Amorim Cork ItaliaminorGTM or Marketing Partner · 1 January 2011Cork stopper recycling campaign Cuore di Sughero supporting work integration for young people with disabilities. Active since 2011.
• N.A.Ve. (Network Anti-tratta del Veneto)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerNetwork coordinated by Comune di Venezia for anti-trafficking efforts. Gruppo R is a partner providing micro-shelter apartments for male victims of trafficking and severe labor exploitation. The project provides integrated services for identification, assistance, and social inclusion of trafficking victims regardless of legal status.
• Fio.PSD (Federazione Italiana Organismi per le Persone Senza Dimora)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerNational federation working on homelessness. La Bussola follows Fio.PSD methodology for social inclusion of homeless individuals.
• Caritas Diocesana PadovacoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerDiocesan Caritas partnership for serving people in social difficulty, particularly homeless and marginalized individuals.
• Centro Veneto Progetti DonnacoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerRegional center for women's projects, part of the violence prevention network supporting women victims of violence.
• Associazione ReliveminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerAssociation working on violence prevention and survivor support, part of the territorial network.
• N.E.T.work VS ViolencecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerNetwork of Veneto centers for treatment of men who perpetrate violence in gender relationships. Italian translation: Nuove Esperienze Territoriali di lavoro contro la violenza.
• Fondazione ZancanminorOthersDeveloped the generative welfare model (welfare generativo) that inspired La Bussola's participatory approach to service delivery.
• Alì SupermercatiminorGTM or Marketing PartnerCorporate partner running annual fundraising campaigns (100 loyalty points = 1 euro donated) for violence prevention services.
• Legambiente PadovaminorGTM or Marketing PartnerEnvironmental organization partner in the Cantieri community festival project in Padua's 6B district.
• EurointerimminorGTM or Marketing PartnerStaffing agency partner providing job placement services for disadvantaged individuals through social enterprise collaboration.
• Pettenon Cosmetics S.P.A.minorGTM or Marketing PartnerCosmetics company supporting Gruppo Polis through corporate social responsibility and donations.
• Birrificio AntonianominorGTM or Marketing PartnerBrewery supporting Gruppo Polis through corporate social responsibility initiatives.

Scale indicators10 records

Recent moves14 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Cooperativa Lotta Contro l'Emarginazione: Lombardy-based social cooperative providing services for people with disabilities, mental health conditions, and social marginalization. Comparable to Gruppo Polis in being a multi-service Italian social cooperative with public-contract funding and integrated rehabilitation pathways.
• Consorzio Farsi Prossimo: Milan consortium of social cooperatives providing services across disability, mental health, family, and social inclusion. Comparable as a federated cooperative model delivering integrated social services through public contracts in a defined Italian territory.
• San Patrignano: Large Italian nonprofit community near Rimini providing residential rehabilitation, education, and work integration for marginalized people (especially addiction recovery). Comparable to Gruppo Polis's CTRP communities and protected occupational laboratories in its combined clinical-rehabilitation methodology plus work-insertion model.
• CEIS A.R.T.E. Italian social-solidarity cooperative network providing services for people with disabilities, psychiatric conditions, addiction, and minors. Comparable in operating a multi-cooperative federation with residential and work-integration programs funded through public contracts.
• Fondazione Exodus: Italian nonprofit providing residential rehabilitation communities for adolescents and adults facing marginalization, addiction, and trafficking. Comparable to Gruppo Polis's therapeutic communities and Casa Viola-style shelters in its rehabilitation-with-work-integration model.
• Gruppo Abele: Long-established Turin-based social cooperative founded in 1965 by Luigi Ciotti, addressing marginalization, addiction, trafficking, and social exclusion. Highly comparable to Gruppo Polis in mission, multi-service social-cooperative structure, and integration of shelter/housing/inclusion services across multiple vulnerable populations in a single Italian region.
• Casa della Carità: Milan-based foundation providing hospitality, housing, and social services for homeless, migrants, and people in severe marginalization. Comparable to Gruppo Polis's La Bussola and housing-first apartments in its first-reception day-center and Housing First approach for vulnerable populations.

Broad incumbents

• ACLI (Associazioni Cristiane Lavoratori Italiani): Large Italian association of Christian workers running cooperative services in welfare, immigration, family support, and social enterprise. Comparable in operating a multi-service social-and-cooperative network across Italian regions with public-contract funding.
• Caritas Italiana: National Catholic charitable organization operating a federated network providing social services, shelters, and food assistance across Italy. Comparable as a much larger incumbent in the same nonprofit social-services space; Gruppo Polis already partners with Caritas Diocesana Padova on homelessness services.

Regional players

• Vides Main: Italian voluntary association focused on youth education, gender equality, and social inclusion. Comparable mission-wise (inclusion, gender advocacy) but operates at a different scale and capacity-building focus.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/gruppo-polis

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Subsidiaries11 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 Gruppo Polis