The Million Project

What The Million Project does

The Million Project is a German non-profit organization (The Million Project gUG, registered at Amtsgericht Landau in der Pfalz, HRB 34487) founded in 2024 and headquartered in Germersheim, Rhineland-Palatinate. It operates a community-driven direct-impact philanthropy model where members pay undisclosed monthly fees to participate in democratic voting on project funding allocation. The organization runs 11 branded "Million" initiatives spanning environmental conservation (Million Trees, Million Bees, Million Fish, Million SQM of Corals, Million Kilos of Plastic, Iron Ore Fertilisation, Million Kilometers) and humanitarian causes (Million Children, Million Lights, Million Deeds, Million Members), with a stated 2030 target of 1 million engaged members improving 1 million lives globally.

The technology stack is built on consumer-grade SaaS rather than proprietary infrastructure: the membership and voting platform runs on Wix with Memberspace for member-only access, Stripe for payment processing, Google Analytics for traffic measurement, and VolunteerHub for volunteer coordination. There is no proprietary mobile app, no public API, and no AI/ML components. The organization's differentiation rests on full democratization of philanthropy — members directly vote on project directions and fund allocation — combined with transparency in how contributions are deployed, positioned against traditional charity overhead structures.

The business model combines three revenue streams: recurring monthly membership subscriptions (Stripe-processed), one-time donations or corporate sponsorships, and volunteer in-kind contributions across sales, marketing, fundraising, and community outreach. Go-to-market is community-led, relying on organic social media presence (TikTok, YouTube, Instagram, LinkedIn), email newsletter acquisition, and grassroots referral partnerships with running communities in Germany (Nomovo Runners Berlin, Mergentheim Running Community, Running Club Koblenz, One PM Club) and environmental storytelling organizations. The organization is led by Founder Edward Phillips and Managing Director Ruben Baumann, with a team of 5 employees and a global volunteer network spanning at least 8 countries.

Name

The Million Project

Legal name

The Million Project gUG

Website

https://themillionproject.org

Company type

Private

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

The Million Project is a German non-profit that operates a community-driven philanthropy platform where paying members vote on project funding allocation. Founded in 2024, it runs 11 branded "Million" environmental and humanitarian initiatives targeting 1 million members by 2030.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Non-profit community philanthropy

NAICS

Social Advocacy Organizations (81331), Environment, Conservation and Wildlife Organizations (813312), Grantmaking Foundations (813211)

SIC

Services-Membership Organizations (8600), Services-Social Services (8300)

akta.pro primary industry

Community Foundations (BPAGAKAB)

akta.pro secondary industries

Environmental & Climate Grantmaking Foundations (BPAGAKAM), Environmental Education, Capacity Building & Community Engagement (BPADALAO), Volunteer Program Funding, Scholarships & Fundraising Support (EDAIAGAO)

Keywords

• Community philanthropy platform
• Membership-based donations
• Environmental conservation initiatives
• Volunteer coordination services
• Impact-driven fundraising

Headquarters

HQ city

Germersheim

HQ country

Germany

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. Membership Subscriptions: Members pay a monthly fee to access exclusive features, participate in voting processes, and have direct control over project support. This creates recurring subscription revenue.
2. One-time Donations/Sponsorships: Individual or company sponsors can make one-time donations without any membership requirements. Processed via Stripe payment platform.
3. Volunteer Engagement: Volunteers contribute their skills and time across sales/marketing, fundraising, and community outreach without direct monetary compensation.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

The Million Project is a non-profit direct impact community that runs a members-only platform where paying members vote on which environmental and humanitarian initiatives to fund. It executes a portfolio of branded "Million" projects (Million Trees, Million Bees, Million Fish, Million SQM of Corals, Million Kilos of Plastic, Million Kilometers, Million Lights, Million Children, Million Deeds, Million Members, Iron Ore Fertilisation) using contributions from monthly memberships and one-time donations, coordinated through a global volunteer network.

Product overview

The Million Project operates a community-driven philanthropy platform consisting of a membership-based digital platform (Memberspace/Wix) for democratic participation and voting, alongside volunteer coordination services. The organization runs multiple branded 'Million' impact initiatives spanning environmental conservation (Million Trees, Million Bees, Million Fish, Million SQM of Corals, Million Kilos of Plastic, Iron Ore Fertilisation, Million Kilometers) and humanitarian causes (Million Lights, Million Children, Million Deeds, Million Members). Members pay monthly fees to access exclusive features and vote on project directions, while the platform enables transparent allocation of funds to member-selected initiatives.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Membership Platform Members-only platform enabling democratic participation, voting on project directions, and exclusive member features. Built on Wix Memberspace infrastructure with Stripe payment processing.
• Volunteer Hub Volunteer coordination platform connecting global volunteers with project opportunities across various operational areas including sales/marketing, fundraising, and community outreach.
• Million Trees Environmental reforestation initiative focused on planting one million trees to support climate protection.
• Million Bees Educational program empowering students to protect bee populations through hive initiatives for a sustainable future.
• Million Fish River ecosystem restoration project breeding one million fish to revitalize aquatic biodiversity.
• Million SQM of Corals Ocean conservation initiative planting one million square meters of coral reefs to revive marine ecosystems.
• Million Kilos of Plastic Ocean protection project dedicated to collecting one million kilos of plastic pollution.
• Million Kilometers Activity-based initiative where participants walk, run, or cycle one million kilometers, tracked via Strava integration, converting movement into environmental impact.
• Million Lights Humanitarian initiative installing one million sustainable lights in underserved communities and slums.
• Million Children Child welfare program providing education and care for one million children in underserved areas.
• Million Deeds Community engagement platform inviting participants to document small good actions as part of a global positive change movement.
• Million Members Community growth initiative building a global movement of one million engaged supporters.
• Iron Ore Fertilisation Ocean revitalization project using iron ore powder to create plankton foundations supporting marine ecosystems.

Quantifiable outcome

• 1 million engaged members by 2030
• +1 more outcomes

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration1 record

Feature2 records

Partnerships

Six partnerships are on record, tiered minor.

• Nomovo Runners BerlinminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner organization featured in the Our Partners section. Runners community in Berlin supporting the mission.
• Next Gending MadminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner organization featured in the Our Partners section. Community organization supporting environmental initiatives.
• Remember Our TalesminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner organization featured in the Our Partners section. Storytelling community with environmental focus.
• Mergentheim Running CommunityminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerRunning community partner on Instagram (instagram.com/mergentheimrunningcommunity/) contributing to Million Kilometers project.
• Running Club KoblenzminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerRunning community partner on Instagram (instagram.com/runningclubkoblenz/) supporting physical activity-based fundraising.
• One PM ClubminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner community on Instagram (instagram.com/onepmclub/) with lifestyle and fitness focus aligned with organizational mission.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Emerging players

• Cool Effect: Cool Effect curates and crowdfunds vetted carbon-reduction projects globally, comparable to The Million Project's environmental initiatives (Million Trees, Million SQM of Corals) in both mission and grassroots-donor engagement model.
• Earth Hero: Earth Hero is a climate-action community platform helping individuals discover and support environmental projects, sharing The Million Project's environmental-cause focus and community-driven funding concept at a narrower scope.

Direct peers

• Open Collective: Open Collective provides transparent, community-funded infrastructure for grassroots collectives, sharing The Million Project's emphasis on transparency, recurring membership contributions, and community-controlled allocation of pooled resources.
• GlobalGiving: GlobalGiving is a crowdfunding platform for nonprofits that lets donors choose which vetted projects to fund, with transparent reporting on outcomes — directly mirroring The Million Project's member-voted, transparently-tracked philanthropy model.
• DonorsChoose: DonorsChoose lets individual donors directly fund teacher-posted classroom projects, embodying the same donor-chosen, project-level giving paradigm The Million Project replicates at a global, multi-cause scale.
• Kiva: Kiva enables individuals to pool small contributions toward crowd-funded impact loans for entrepreneurs and communities worldwide, sharing The Million Project's community-driven, distributed-decision-making approach to global impact.

Broad incumbents

• charity: water: charity: water is an established nonprofit built on radical transparency in funding water projects, comparable in mission framing to The Million Project's transparent-funding pitch but focused on a single cause and with a much larger donor base.

Others

• VolunteerMatch: VolunteerMatch is the largest volunteer-engagement matching platform in the US, providing comparable volunteer-coordination infrastructure to The Million Project's VolunteerHub integration and global volunteer program.
• GoFundMe Charity: GoFundMe is a mass-market donation and crowdfunding platform that overlaps with The Million Project's one-time donation and project-funding flows, though it lacks the recurring-membership and member-voting layer.
• Patreon: Patreon is a subscription-membership platform connecting recurring paying supporters to creators, sharing The Million Project's monthly-membership mechanics but applied to creator monetization rather than philanthropic project selection.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xtiktok.com/@themillionproject.org
• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UCjh72QL9F42o1mpBmEjIE1Q
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/the-million-project
• Instagraminstagram.com/themillionproject_org

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 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 The Million Project