What Ventilen Danmark does

Ventilen Danmark is a voluntary, social youth non-profit organization headquartered in Copenhagen that operates a nationwide network of 24 local offerings across 23 Danish cities to combat loneliness among young people aged 15-30. Founded as Lyspunktet in 1993 and formalized as Ventilen Danmark in 1999, the organization runs mødesteder (meeting places), 12-week gruppeforløb (group programs), the KOMsammen sub-brand combining healthy food and exercise with community building, the Ventilen Fortæller presentation program for educational institutions, and the Netwerk school-based program that has reached nearly 40,000 students and 2,500 teachers since 2012. The organization is delivered primarily through a peer-support methodology in which 275+ trained volunteers aged 17-35 facilitate activities under psychologist supervision, leveraging a digital infrastructure built on WordPress and WooCommerce for webshop, marketing, and content delivery.

The organization is financed through a diversified mix of Danish government funding, foundation grants (Alm. Brand Foreningen 1792, VELUX FONDEN, Nordea-fonden, Lauritzen Fonden, Mary Fonden), private donations, membership fees (75 kr/year), knowledge/training sales to educational institutions, event participation fees (250 kr), and merchandise sales. The business model is freemium for end users: all direct services for lonely youth are free, while membership, events, and merchandise generate modest supplementary revenue. The secretariat consists of 9 full-time staff plus 6 student employees and 1 intern, with a volunteer-led national board governance structure overseen by a Director (Simone Bodholdt) and Chairperson (Adam Renner Weichel). All mødesteder and KOMsammen programs are accredited by RådgivningsDanmark (2024-2028).

Strategic positioning centers on the organization's claimed uniqueness as the only Danish organization exclusively focused on youth loneliness through peer-to-peer methodology, with documented outcomes including 70% of participants feeling less lonely after attending mødesteder and 90% reporting a sense of community in KOMsammen programs. Recent strategic activity has emphasized geographic reinvestment (Herning and Viborg reopenings in 2026), high-visibility awareness partnerships (Call me, C.L. Seifert, Frejas Knit), and policy advocacy through the Ensomhedsmanifest campaign. The addressable market is substantial, with 19% of Danish young people aged 16-24 and over 114,600 individuals reporting serious loneliness, against a backdrop of growing Danish public concern about youth mental health.

Name

Ventilen Danmark

Legal name

Ventilen Danmark

Website

https://ventilen.dk

Company type

Private

Founded year

1999

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Ventilen Danmark is a Danish non-profit operating 24 youth-led community meeting places, group programs, and school presentations across Denmark to combat loneliness among 15-30 year-olds through peer-to-peer volunteer support, financed by government funding, foundation grants, donations, and modest membership and merchandise revenue.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Youth Social Services

NAICS

Child and Youth Services (62411)

SIC

Services-Social Services (8300)

akta.pro primary industry

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

akta.pro secondary industry

Behavioral Health & MTSS/RTI Tiered SEL Supports (EDAKAMAE)

Keywords

• Youth loneliness support
• Peer support programs
• Community meeting places
• Social youth services
• Group intervention programs

Headquarters

HQ city

Copenhagen

HQ country

Denmark

HQ region

Europe

Offices25 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Government/State Funding: Statslige midler - government funding is a primary source of revenue for the organization.
2. Sale of Knowledge and Training: Indtægter fra salg af viden - revenues from selling knowledge, presentations, and training materials to educational institutions.
3. Membership Fees: Medlemskab costs 75 kr per year. Members support the organization and receive benefits.
4. Private Donations and Member Support: Støtte fra private donorer og medlemmer - support from private donors and members through regular or one-time donations.
5. Foundation Grants: Donationer fra fonde til projekter og drift - donations from foundations for specific projects and operational costs. Examples include Alm. Brand Foreningen 1792 (three-year grant), VELUX FONDEN, Nordea-fondens pulje, Lauritzen Fonden, and Mary Fonden.
6. Event Participation Fees: Some national events like efterårstur and sommertur charge 250 kr participation fee to cover costs.
7. Webshop Sales: Sales of merchandise through webshop including clothing and other items.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels7 records

Marketing channels11 records

Core offering

Ventilen Danmark operates a national network of 24 local youth community spaces and structured 12-week group programs across 23 Danish cities, supporting young people aged 15-30 who experience loneliness through peer-to-peer support, activity-based social skill building, and shared-meal and exercise programs. It also delivers paid educational presentations and school-based community-building programs for educational institutions and municipalities, and sells branded merchandise through an online webshop.

Product overview

Ventilen Danmark is a voluntary social youth organization that operates a network of 25 local offerings across 23 Danish cities. The core offerings include mødesteder (meeting places) for young people aged 15-25 and gruppeforløb (group programs) for ages 15-30, both providing supervised, activity-based environments where lonely youth can build social skills. The specialized KOMsammen sub-brand adds healthy food and exercise components. Nationally, Ventilen Fortæller delivers presentations about youth loneliness at educational institutions, while Netwerk provides school-based programs for class community building. The organization also operates a WooCommerce-powered webshop and organizes annual national events including the Efterårstur. All local offerings are accredited by RådgivningsDanmark.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• KOMsammen: Tilbud med fokus på kost og motion sammen for unge der føler sig ensomme. Findes i København, Odense, Holbæk, Slagelse, Randers, Silkeborg og Svendborg.
• Netwerk
• Ventilen Fortæller

Products and services

• Mødesteder (Meeting Places)

Quantifiable outcome

• 70% of young people feel less lonely after attending Ventilen's meeting places
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers6 records

Segments4 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

Five partnerships are on record, tiered minor and core.

• C.L. SeifertminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2026C.L. Seifert, the original student cap producer since 1865, partnered with Ventilen for the 'klip-i-huen' campaign to raise awareness about youth loneliness during graduation season. The collaboration includes a special '1' cut in student caps symbolizing 1 in 6 young people experiencing loneliness.
• Frejas KnitminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2026Ventilen collaborated with Frejas Knit to release a knitting pattern as part of awareness and community-building activities.
• Call mecoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2025Strategic partnership with telco company Call me to create awareness about the growing problem of youth loneliness and break the taboo. Joint research conducted among nearly 2,000 young Danes about wellbeing and loneliness.
• RådgivningsDanmarkcoreOthers · 1 January 2024RådgivningsDanmark provides accreditation to Ventilen's meeting places and KOMsammen programs, confirming they meet industry standards for quality and professionalism. Accreditation valid until 2028.
• Idé & CocoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 1993Ventilen started as a social project supported by Idé & Co's project station. The first meeting place opened in Copenhagen in 1993 under the name Lyspunktet.

Scale indicators10 records

Recent moves9 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Mind (UK): Large UK mental health charity with extensive youth-facing information, peer support programs, and policy work. Relevant comparator for a national youth-mental-health nonprofit operating in the loneliness/wellbeing space at greater scale.
• Børns Vilkår: Denmark's leading children's rights and welfare NGO, providing helpline, counseling and advocacy services for children and young people. Operates in overlapping Danish youth wellbeing territory but with a broader child-welfare rather than loneliness-specific mandate.
• Red Barnet (Save the Children Denmark): Major Danish children's rights organization running youth support, school programs, and policy advocacy. Comparable as a Danish nonprofit working with vulnerable youth through community programs and school-based interventions, though with a broader child-protection mandate.

Direct peers

• TUBA: Danish NGO offering counseling and group-based support for young people aged 14–35 growing up in families with alcohol or substance abuse problems. Comparable Danish peer-support nonprofit model targeting at-risk youth through local offerings.
• YoungMinds (UK): UK charity focused on children and young people's mental health, combining direct support, school-based programs, and policy advocacy. Mirrors Ventilen's blended model of peer/community support plus school (Netwerk) penetration.
• The Mix (UK): UK charity providing multi-channel support (web, chat, telephone, community programs) for under-25s on wellbeing issues including loneliness. Comparable as a youth-targeted support organization addressing loneliness and social isolation.
• Headspace (Australia): Australia's national youth mental-health foundation providing both in-person centers and digital support for 12–25-year-olds. Directly comparable to Ventilen's combination of physical meeting places, peer-led support, and school-linked prevention work for lonely/at-risk youth.
• Jigsaw (Ireland): Ireland's national centre of excellence for youth mental health, offering community-based support, schools programs, and clinician-led services for 12–25-year-olds. Comparable peer-led, community-delivered youth mental health model.

Others

• RådgivningsDanmark: Danish umbrella accreditation body for free social-counseling offerings (including Ventilen's accredited programs). Relevant ecosystem counterpart as both quality gatekeeper and peer network of accredited social-service organizations.

Emerging players

• The Trevor Project: US nonprofit providing crisis intervention and peer-support for LGBTQ+ young people via phone, text, and chat. Comparable as a youth-peer-support model with strong outcome evidence and digital-first distribution.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/ventilendanmark
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/ventilen-danmark
• Instagraminstagram.dk/ventilendanmark

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 Ventilen Danmark