Les Petites Pierres

What Les Petites Pierres does

Les Petites Pierres is a French fonds de dotation (endowment fund) founded in 2013 that operates a solidarity crowdfunding platform dedicated to fighting mal-logement (poor housing) in France. The platform connects individual and corporate donors with vetted non-profit associations, foundations, and endowment funds running housing-related projects across five thematic areas: social exclusion, autonomy, energy poverty, living conditions, and social bonds through habitat. All projects are reviewed by an internal verification committee before publication, and each donation is automatically doubled by a collective of patron/mécène companies up to a €15,000 cap per project.

The platform is delivered as a self-serve digital product on lespetitespierres.org; associations register projects, donors browse and contribute online, and tax receipts are issued digitally. There are no disclosed proprietary AI/ML or core-technology components — the website was built by digital agency Today Tomorrow and SEO is handled by Pixalione. Since inception, 643 projects have been financed, €9,127,197 has been reversed (paid out) to associations, 32,675 individual donations have been processed, and 98% of projects were fully funded in 2025. Distribution is multichannel: organic social (Facebook, LinkedIn, YouTube, Instagram), email newsletters, content marketing, events (PRODURABLE 2026, Giving Tuesday), and partner-network amplification.

The business model is donation-based and structurally non-commercial. Les Petites Pierres charges zero commission and zero fees to associations; donor revenue is matched by corporate patrons (Fondation SOMFY as initiator, Groupe Valfidus, Fondation BTP-PREVOYANCE PLUS, PRO BTP Groupe, Crédit Agricole des Savoie, among others). Donors receive a 75% income-tax deduction (individuals, under the regime for organizations aiding people in difficulty) or 60% (companies). Revenue to the fund itself comes from donations to the endowment and from patron mécène contributions; project-disbursement totals imply an annual flow in the high hundreds of thousands of euros. The single-customer segment is French non-profits fighting mal-logement; donors and patron mécènes form a long-tail individual base and a concentrated corporate-patron set respectively.

Name

Les Petites Pierres

Legal name

Fonds de dotation Les Petites Pierres

Website

https://lespetitespierres.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2013

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Les Petites Pierres is a French non-profit crowdfunding platform, founded in 2013, that funds housing-solidarity projects run by vetted associations. Donations are doubled by a collective of corporate patron companies up to €15,000 per project, with 643 projects and €9.1M disbursed to date.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Social Impact Crowdfunding Platform

NAICS

Grantmaking Foundations (813211)

SIC

Services-Social Services (8300)

akta.pro primary industry

Community Foundations (BPAGAKAB)

akta.pro secondary industries

Private Foundations (BPAGAKAA), Social Justice & Human Rights Grantmaking Foundations (BPAGAKAN)

Keywords

• Solidarity crowdfunding platform
• Social housing fund
• Donation matching service
• Nonprofit fundraising platform
• Mal-logement association support

Headquarters

HQ city

Not disclosed

HQ country

France

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Digital Commerce or Content

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Crowdfunding Donation Collection (Platform): Les Petites Pierres is a non-profit endowment fund (fonds de dotation) operating a free-of-charge crowdfunding platform for associations fighting mal-logement (poor housing). The platform collects donations from individuals and businesses, doubles them through its patron/mécène collective, and redistributes the total to validated associative projects. The organization does not charge associations any commission or fees. Revenue is generated through donations to the fund itself (separate from project donations) and through the engagement of its patron companies.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

Les Petites Pierres is a French fonds de dotation (endowment fund) operating a free, solidarity-based crowdfunding platform that connects individual and corporate donors with non-profit associations running projects to combat poor housing (mal-logement) in France. Every donation made through the platform is doubled by a collective of patron companies (mécènes) up to a €15,000 cap per project, and the platform charges associations no commission or fees. The organization is funded through direct donations to the fund and contributions from its patron companies.

Product overview

Les Petites Pierres operates as a unified crowdfunding platform (Fonds de dotation) dedicated to fighting poor housing conditions (mal-logement) in France. The core product is a donation-based crowdfunding platform that connects donors with vetted associations, foundations, and endowment funds working on housing solidarity projects. Key platform features include automatic donation matching (doubling), a 75% tax deduction for donors, free access for associations with no commission, and a project validation committee that reviews all campaigns. The platform supports five main thematic areas: fighting social exclusion, aiding autonomy, combating energy poverty, improving living conditions, and creating social bonds through housing. Notable statistics include 643 successful projects, €9,127,197 reversed, and a 98% project funding rate in 2025.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Plateforme de Crowdfunding Solidaire Les Petites Pierres A solidarity crowdfunding platform that enables individual and corporate donors to financially support housing-related projects run by French non-profit associations fighting poor housing conditions. The platform uniquely doubles every donation received up to a €15,000 cap per project and is completely free for associations, with no commission or fees charged. Donors benefit from a 75% income tax deduction (for individuals) or 60% deduction (for companies).

Quantifiable outcome

• 643 projects successfully financed; 9,127,197 € reversed to associations; 98% of projects were fully funded in 2025; 32,675 individual donations made through the platform

Named customers13 records

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered supporting.

• Fonds de dotation QUALITELsupportingStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2011Created in December 2011, the Fonds de dotation QUALITEL has supported 251 projects to improve housing conditions for people in great precarity through four axes: accommodation, accompaniment, research, and digital. It is listed among Les Petites Pierres' other partners providing non-financial support.
• Fondation d'entreprise EiffagesupportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe Eiffage Corporate Foundation supports solidarity projects favoring social and professional insertion of people in difficulty (employment, training, housing, sport, culture). It acts through employee engagement, accompanies partner associations, and builds lasting partnerships to strengthen social impact in territories.
• Crédit Agricole des SavoiesupportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerA cooperative banking institution dedicated to client financial well-being. It is an active patron/mécène of the associative world, providing diverse support including grants, in-kind donations, and production of communication materials across various domains.
• Fondation AFNIC pour la Solidarité NumériquesupportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe Fondation AFNIC's primary mission is supporting the development of solidarity-oriented internet. It engages in training and awareness-raising about internet uses, encouraging local and structural initiatives in digital solidarity, and supports research projects specifically on digital solidarity.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Others

• DonnerAvecConfiance.fr: Donor transparency and trust label for French nonprofits, hosted by the Fondation de France ecosystem. Adjacent ecosystem player that helps legitimize donation flows for French associations, including those on platforms like Les Petites Pierres.

Emerging players

• Pro Bono Lab: French organization connecting nonprofits with skills-based volunteering and resources, including fundraising support. Comparable as an emerging enabling player for French associations, though focused on skills-based engagement rather than donation crowdfunding.

Broad incumbents

• GoFundMe: Global leader in donation-based crowdfunding, with a meaningful French user base. Competes for individual donors in the social causes category but charges platform fees and does not specialize in housing solidarity or operate a donation-matching mechanism.
• Fondation de France: France's largest grantmaking foundation, sheltering hundreds of sub-foundations (including Fondation BTP-PREVOYANCE PLUS). Operates a much broader grantmaking portfolio but shares Les Petites Pierres' model of distributing funds to vetted associations and could be considered a broader incumbent in the French philanthropic ecosystem.
• Caritas France: Large French charitable network active in housing, social insertion, and poverty relief. Operates as a federated association rather than a crowdfunding platform, but is comparable in mission and beneficiary population.
• Fondation Abbé Pierre: Major French foundation focused on housing precarity (mal-logement) and producing the authoritative annual report cited by Les Petites Pierres. A larger incumbent in the same cause area, but operates through direct programs, advocacy, and traditional grantmaking rather than a crowdfunding model.

Direct peers

• Ulule: Major French crowdfunding platform supporting creative, entrepreneurial, and solidarity projects. While broader in scope, it competes for the same donor audiences and association campaigns in the solidarity/housing space.
• KissKissBankBank: French crowdfunding platform with a dedicated 'KissKissBankBank & Co' solidarity segment for associative and community projects. Operates a similar donation-based crowdfunding model for French associations, with comparable donor demographics.
• HelloAsso: France's leading free crowdfunding platform for associations and nonprofits. Like Les Petites Pierres, HelloAsso charges zero commission and serves French associations, but operates as a generalist platform across all causes rather than specializing in housing precarity.

Regional players

• Fondation d'entreprise Eiffage: Corporate foundation of the Eiffage construction group supporting housing and social insertion projects in France. Comparable as a partner/patron that co-funds housing solidarity projects, though it operates through direct program funding rather than a crowdfunding platform.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/c/Lespetitespierres
• Facebookfacebook.com/LesPetitesPierres.org
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/les-petites-pierres-org

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

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 Les Petites Pierres