What Rat auf Draht does

Rat auf Draht (legally Rat auf Draht gemeinnützige GmbH) is Austria's national emergency hotline and counseling service for children and adolescents, operating under the short number 147 since its founding in 1987. Its core offering is a 24/7 toll-free, anonymous telephone helpline supplemented by scheduled chat counseling, a youth-to-youth Peer2Peer chat, a themed digital chat café (Chateria Speciale), and a Trusted Flagger service for reporting illegal online content under the EU Digital Services Act. The service is delivered by an 18-person multiprofessional team of clinical and health psychologists, life and social counselors, social educators, and lawyers, supported by 10-12 psycho-social interns annually; the organization also publishes a topic-organized content library (mental health, relationships, sexuality, family, school, violence, addiction, online safety) and a dedicated Elternseite for parents.

Since 2014 the organization has been operated as a wholly-owned nonprofit subsidiary of SOS-Kinderdorf, Austria's largest child and youth protection organization, and is headquartered at Vivenotgasse 3, 1120 Vienna. The service is free of charge to all users; the business model relies on Austrian federal ministry grants (BMBWF, BMBF, BMI, BMASGPK, BKA), funding from all 9 Austrian federal states, EU program support, donations, legacies, and corporate partnerships (Maybelline, Allianz Austria, A1 Telekom Austria, ORF Licht ins Dunkel, ProSiebenSat.1 PULS 4). Rat auf Draht handles approximately 42,000+ documented consultations and ~100,000 contacts per year, and is a member of Child Helpline International, Insafe, and Missing Children Europe. Revenue is not publicly disclosed.

Name

Rat auf Draht

Legal name

Rat auf Draht gemeinnützige GmbH

Website

https://rataufdraht.at

Company type

Private

Founded year

1987

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Rat auf Draht is Austria's 24/7 nonprofit emergency hotline and counseling service (number 147) for children and youth, offering free, anonymous phone, chat, and peer-to-peer counseling plus online-safety reporting, operated by an 18-person clinical team under SOS-Kinderdorf and funded by Austrian federal and state governments plus donations.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Youth Helpline & Counseling Services

NAICS

Child and Youth Services (62411)

SIC

Services-Social Services (8300)

akta.pro primary industry

Crisis Support, Suicide Prevention & Acute Behavioral Triage Platforms (HLALAEAI)

Keywords

• Youth helpline services
• Child counseling support
• Crisis intervention hotline
• Peer mental health
• Online safety reporting

Headquarters

HQ city

Vienna

HQ country

Austria

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. Public Funding: Funding from Austrian federal ministries (BMBWF, BMBF, BMI, BMASGPK) and federal states (Bundesländer). However, this funding is insufficient to cover full operations.
2. Donations and Fundraising: Relies heavily on donations from the public. Donation options include one-time or monthly contributions via direct debit, credit card, PayPal, or bank transfer. Since 2014 under SOS-Kinderdorf, must largely finance itself through donations.
3. Legacies and Bequests: Accepts inheritances and bequests to support operations. Managed through fundraising department.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels12 records

Core offering

Rat auf Draht is Austria's national emergency helpline for children and youth, reachable 24/7 free of charge at the short number 147. Services include round-the-clock telephone counseling, scheduled online chat counseling, peer-to-peer youth counseling, and the Chateria Speciale themed chat café on mental health, supported by a topic-organized information portal with quizzes and a Trusted Flagger reporting channel for illegal online content.

Product overview

Rat auf Draht (147) is Austria's national emergency hotline and counseling service for children and youth. The core offering consists of a 24/7 telephone helpline (147) and scheduled chat-based counseling services. Additional channels include Peer2Peer Chat (youth-to-youth counseling) and Chateria Speciale (themed chat café for mental health). The Trusted Flagger service enables reporting of illegal online content. A comprehensive content library organized by topics (mental health, love, sexuality, family, school, violence, etc.) with interactive quizzes provides self-service educational resources. The service is free, anonymous, and confidential, operated by a multi-professional team of psychologists, counselors, and social workers. Since 2014, the service has been part of SOS-Kinderdorf.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Telefonberatung (147 Hotline) Round-the-clock telephone counseling service reachable at the short code 147, providing free and confidential psychosocial support for children, youth, and their families across Austria.
• Chatberatung Online chat-based counseling available during scheduled hours (Mon, Tue, Fri 18-19; Wed, Thu 18-20), providing free, anonymous, text-based psychosocial support for Austrian children and youth.
• Peer2Peer Chat Peer-to-peer chat counseling where trained young people provide advice and support to other young people in Austria. Includes themed chat sessions on Wednesdays covering topics such as sexualized violence online.
• Chateria Speciale Themed digital chat café focused on mental health topics, available Mondays, Tuesdays, and Fridays from 19-21, providing free anonymous topic-based chat discussions for young people in Austria.
• Trusted Flagger service Service enabling users to report illegal online content. Rat auf Draht holds official Trusted Flagger status under the EU Digital Services Act (VO (EU) 2022/2065) and forwards reports to online platforms for action.
• Themenübersicht (Topic Information Portal) Educational content library on rataufdraht.at organized by topic (mental health, love, friendship, sexuality, family, school, personal, health, addiction, violence, mobile & internet, tips & info, tests & quiz) providing self-service guidance for young people.
• Brave Together (with Maybelline) Global initiative in collaboration with Maybelline supporting people with anxiety and depression, providing free 10-minute 'Brave Talk' training to help young Austrians support friends experiencing mental health challenges.
• Elternseite (Parent Section) Dedicated section for parents and caregivers at elternseite.at providing guidance, articles, and counseling resources for supporting children and adolescents through psychosocial issues.

Named customers2 records

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration1 record

Feature5 records

Partnerships

16 partnerships are on record, tiered core, major and minor.

• SOS-KinderdorfcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2014Parent organization. SOS-Kinderdorf assumed operational management of Rat auf Draht from ORF in 2014. Rat auf Draht operates as a wholly-owned non-profit subsidiary (gGmbH) under the SOS-Kinderdorf umbrella, accessing synergies and shared resources.
• Child Helpline InternationalcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerGlobal network of child helplines operating in over 130 countries. Member since establishment, working according to defined quality standards for child and youth telephone counseling services worldwide.
• Insafe / Safer InternetcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerEuropean network promoting safe and responsible internet use among youth. Rat auf Draht serves as the official Helpline for Safer Internet in Austria, participating in network meetings and conferences and maintaining close content exchange with other countries.
• Missing Children EuropecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerEuropean Federation for Missing and Sexually Exploited Children. Rat auf Draht operates as the hotline for missing children in Austria.
• Bundesministerium für Inneres (BMI)majorGTM or Marketing PartnerAustrian Federal Ministry of the Interior - government funding and partnership
• Bundesministerium für Bildung, Wissenschaft und Forschung (BMBWF)majorGTM or Marketing PartnerAustrian Federal Ministry of Education, Science and Research - government funding and partnership
• Bundesministerium für Soziales, Gesundheit, Pflege und Konsumentenschutz (BMASGPK)majorGTM or Marketing PartnerAustrian Federal Ministry for Social Affairs, Health, Care and Consumer Protection - government funding
• Bundeskanzleramt (BKA)majorGTM or Marketing PartnerAustrian Federal Chancellery - government funding and partnership
• Austrian Federal States (Vienna, Lower Austria, Upper Austria, Styria, Tyrol, Carinthia, Salzburg, Vorarlberg, Burgenland)majorGTM or Marketing PartnerAll 9 Austrian federal states provide funding and partnership support
• Wiener Netzwerk gegen sexuelle Gewalt an Mädchen, Buben und JugendlichenminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerVienna Network against Sexual Violence targeting girls, boys, and youth
• Netzwerk Kinderrechte (National Coalition)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerIndependent network of 41 child rights organizations and institutions promoting implementation of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child in Austria
• Maybelline New York (Brave Together)minorGTM or Marketing PartnerGlobal initiative supporting people with anxiety and depression. Maybelline supports Rat auf Draht's mental health services and provides a free 10-minute 'Brave Talk' training.
• ProSiebenSat.1 PULS 4 / Studio 71minorGTM or Marketing PartnerMedia partnership for #sicheronline campaign; influencers from PULS 4 and Studio 71 channels supported campaigns against sexual harassment online
• ORF (Licht ins Dunkel)majorGTM or Marketing PartnerLong-standing partnership with Austrian public broadcaster ORF; Licht ins Dunkel charitable program support
• Österreichische Gesundheitskasse (ÖGK)minorGTM or Marketing PartnerAustrian Health Insurance Fund partnership
• InfoscreenminorGTM or Marketing PartnerDigital advertising screens across Austrian public transport

Scale indicators9 records

Recent moves8 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Childline (NSPCC): UK's free, confidential 24/7 helpline and online counseling service for children and young people, run under NSPCC. Operates a near-identical free, anonymous, multi-channel crisis-support model for under-18s.
• Kids Help Phone: Canada's 24/7 e-mental health service for young people, offering phone, text, and live chat counseling. Closely comparable in digital-first youth crisis-support delivery and member of Child Helpline International.
• Telefonseelsorge Österreich: Austrian 24/7 crisis helpline (numbers 142 and 142 online) operated by a church-affiliated nonprofit. Comparable as a domestic Austrian free, anonymous crisis-line operating on a similar volunteer and donation model.
• Crisis Text Line: US-based 24/7 text-based crisis intervention service. Highly comparable in its digital-native, asynchronous chat counseling approach that complements Rat auf Draht's chat berater offering.
• Pro Juventute: Swiss child and youth support organization operating the 147 helpline — the same emergency shortcode used by Rat auf Draht in Austria. Provides 24/7 free, anonymous counseling via phone and chat, making it the closest international functional analogue.
• The Trevor Project: US nonprofit providing 24/7 crisis intervention and suicide prevention services for LGBTQ+ youth via phone, text, and chat. Direct peer in youth crisis triage and suicide-prevention teletherapy.
• Nummer gegen Kummer: Germany's largest child and youth helpline, operating telephone and online chat counseling free of charge via 116111. Operates the same multi-channel helpline model as Rat auf Draht and is a peer in the Child Helpline International and Insafe networks.

Broad incumbents

• SOS-Kinderdorf: Parent organization and Austria's largest child and youth protection organization, providing residential care, family support, and education services. Comparable as the umbrella entity that governs Rat auf Draht and adjacent youth-protection services.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/@rataufdraht
• TikToktiktok.com/@rataufdraht147
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/rat-auf-draht

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 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 Rat auf Draht