Nuorten Palvelu ry

What Nuorten Palvelu ry does

Nuorten Palvelu ry is a Finnish non-profit association (yhdistys) founded in 1969 and headquartered in Kuopio, with additional regional offices in Oulu and Tampere. The organization delivers youth support services across three core programs: Zemppari, a structured volunteer support person program matching trained adults with vulnerable youth aged 13–29 in Pohjois-Savo; Vertzi, a nationwide online peer support community for 15–29 year olds operated through Discord with expert supervision on Sunday and Monday evenings; and Meidän kylän nuoret, a rural community impact initiative for 16–26 year olds across eight North Savo municipalities. The underlying methodology is grounded in social pedagogy and a collective impact framework.

The organization is staffed by 13 specialists, supported by approximately 130 annual volunteers and a 10-member board drawn from partner institutions including Elävä Säätiö, University of Eastern Finland, Kiema Company Oy, Pääkaupunkiseudun kierrätyskeskus Oy, Suomen SOS-Lapsikylä ry, Pohjois-Savon hyvinvointialue, and HUMAK. All youth-facing services are free to users. Revenue is generated primarily through government grants and subsidies (STEA, ELY Centres/ESR, Ministry of Education and Culture, THL, regional administrative agencies, welfare areas, and municipalities), supplemented by paid expert services (training, consultation, coaching) to municipalities, welfare areas, companies, and third-sector organizations, plus corporate social-responsibility partnerships, donations, and fundraising. Personnel costs accounted for over 82% of 2025 operating costs, indicating a labor-intensive service delivery model.

The organization's go-to-market is community-led and indirect: rather than scaling a proprietary product, it works through and enhances the capacity of municipalities, welfare areas, and other third-sector actors via expert services, training, published guides, and advocacy. Distribution is direct to youth through program participation and to institutional buyers through professional relationships. Geographic reach is nationwide for the online Vertzi program, regional for Zemppari, and concentrated in North Savo for rural activities.

Name

Nuorten Palvelu ry

Legal name

Nuorten Palvelu ry

Website

https://nuortenpalvelu.fi

Company type

Private

Founded year

1969

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Nuorten Palvelu ry is a Finnish non-profit founded in 1969 that delivers volunteer-based youth support programs (Zemppari, Vertzi, Meidän kylän nuoret) to vulnerable youth aged 13–29 across Finland, funded primarily by government grants and supplemented by expert services and corporate partnerships.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Youth Social Services

NAICS

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

SIC

Services-Social Services (8300), Services-Management Consulting Services (8742)

akta.pro primary industry

Youth Mental Health, Counseling & Wellbeing (Education-Linked) Nonprofits (BPAGADAK)

akta.pro secondary industries

Youth Justice, At-Risk Youth & Violence Prevention Nonprofits (BPAGADAM), Behavioral Health for Children & Adolescents (Youth Services) (HLAFACAL)

Keywords

• Youth support services
• Peer support programs
• Volunteer befriending
• Community youth work
• Nonprofit social services

Headquarters

HQ city

Kuopio

HQ country

Finland

HQ region

Europe

Offices3 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Government Grants and Subsidies: Primary funding from STEA (Social and Health Organizations Subsidy Centre), ELY Centres (ESR/European Social Fund), Ministry of Education and Culture, THL, regional administrative agencies, welfare areas, and municipalities. Over 82% of operational costs in 2025 were personnel costs.
2. Expert Services Sales: Consulting, training, and coaching services sold to municipalities, welfare areas, companies, and other organizations
3. Corporate Social Responsibility Partnerships: Strategic partnerships with companies for social responsibility solutions, including funding partnerships and expert service provision
4. Donations and Fundraising: Fundraising permits, donations, testamentary gifts, and volunteer skill donations

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Nuorten Palvelu ry is a Finnish non-profit association that delivers youth support services across three core programs: Zemppari (a befriender program matching trained adult volunteers with vulnerable youth aged 13-29), Vertzi (an online peer support community operated via Discord for youth aged 15-29), and Meidän kylän nuoret (community activities for rural youth aged 16-26 in eight North Savo municipalities). The organization also sells expert consulting, training, and coaching services to municipalities, welfare areas, companies, and third-sector organizations working with young people. All youth-facing services are free for eligible participants.

Product overview

Nuorten Palvelu ry operates as a single integrated non-profit service offering focused on youth support and wellbeing. The organization provides three interconnected core programs: Zemppari (face-to-face peer befriending for 13-29 year-olds), Vertzi (online peer community via Discord for 15-29 year-olds), and Meidän kylän nuoret (rural youth community activities for 16-26 year-olds). These programs are complemented by expert consulting services for professionals, advocacy activities, and published guides/toolkits. All services are coordinated by a team of 13 experts and approximately 130 annual volunteers, serving vulnerable youth primarily in North Savo with nationwide reach through Vertzi.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Zemppari: Support person activities for young people aged 13-29 in North Savo. Trained volunteers serve as safe companions for vulnerable youth.
• Vertzi
• Meidän kylän nuoret

Products and services

• Zemppari (Support Person Program)
• Vertzi (Online Peer Support Community)
• Meidän kylän nuoret 2.0 (Rural Youth Community Program)
• Asiantuntijapalvelut (Expert Services for Organizations)

Named customers3 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Seven partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Terveyden ja hyvinvoinnin laitos (THL)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerNational institute for health and welfare providing research collaboration and funding
• HyvinvointialueetcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerWelfare areas as key partners for implementing youth support services regionally
• KunnatcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerMunicipalities as partners for youth service implementation and coordination
• Kolmas ja neljäs sektoricoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerThird and fourth sector organizations as collaborative partners in youth work
• Meidän kylän nuoret 2.0 project partnerscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerLocal youth work professionals and volunteers coordinating community activities in rural North Savo municipalities including Pielavesi, Tervo, Vesanto, Suonenjoki, Rautalampi, Tuusniemi, Nilsiä, and Juankoski
• Paikallinen nuorisotoimicoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerLocal youth services as partners for community evenings implementation
• Koillis-Savon 4HminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerLocal 4H organization participating in K16 evenings in Tuusniemi

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• 4H Finland: Finnish 4H youth organization running rural youth development programs, practical skills training, and community engagement. Directly comparable rural youth programming model — Nuorten Palvelu ry even partners with Koillis-Savon 4H for local K16 evening activities.
• Barnavårdsföreningen i Finland: Swedish-speaking Finnish child welfare organization offering family support, youth mentoring, and community-based interventions. Comparable volunteer-supported youth and family service model in the Finnish context.
• EHYT ry: Finnish NGO focused on preventive youth wellbeing and substance abuse prevention work, including digital peer support and volunteer-staffed community activities. Comparable online peer-support and youth wellbeing methodology.
• Big Brothers Big Sisters International: Global volunteer mentoring organization matching adults with at-risk youth. Directly comparable to the Zemppari support person program model, though operating at much larger international scale.
• Setlementti Nuoret: Finnish Settlement Movement youth work organization focused on community-based support for young people facing exclusion. Comparable in its emphasis on community methodology, social pedagogy, and youth participation in low-threshold local activities.
• SOS-Lapsikylä ry: Finland's SOS Children's Villages organization providing child welfare and youth support services nationwide. Directly comparable as a peer-support and adult-mentoring organization for vulnerable youth; notably, SOS-Lapsikylä is also represented on Nuorten Palvelu ry's board, indicating overlapping mission.
• Suomen Partiolaiset – Scouting Finland: National scouting organization providing peer-led youth development, volunteering, and community engagement programs. Comparable as a volunteer-driven, peer-community-based youth development organization with nationwide reach.

Broad incumbents

• Mannerheimin Lastensuojeluliitto (MLL): Finland's largest child welfare NGO providing family support, youth programs, and volunteer-driven services nationwide. Comparable as a volunteer-amplified child and youth services organization, but with a much broader family-services mandate and stronger national brand.
• Pelastakaa Lapset ry: Finnish arm of Save the Children, a much larger national child welfare and youth rights organization. Operates a broad portfolio overlapping with Nuorten Palvelu ry's youth wellbeing and rights advocacy mission, but at substantially greater scale and broader scope.

Others

• Allianssi – Suomen nuorisoyhteistyö: Finnish national youth cooperation umbrella that coordinates and represents youth organizations. Comparable as a sector-coordination and capacity-building actor in the Finnish youth work field, though operating as an umbrella rather than a direct service provider.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Instagraminstagram.com/vertzi_np
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/nuorten-palvelu-ry

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles9 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about Nuorten Palvelu ry