Serve The City International

What Serve The City International does

Serve The City International is a Brussels-headquartered, Belgium-registered non-profit association that coordinates a global volunteer movement supporting local social, environmental, and humanitarian projects. Founded in 2005 by Carlton Deal as an outreach from a church-planting initiative, the organization operates a federated model in which volunteer city chapters in more than 40 countries deliver kindness-driven acts of service — including food distribution, refugee support (SAVE program), loneliness intervention (NOAH friendship matching), mental health programming, environmental clean-ups, and integration services such as the French Language and Culture Exchange run by Serve the City Paris. The international office (1-10 employees) provides branding standards, training, and coordination through annual forums, regional gatherings, and events like Global Volunteer Day (celebrated in 18+ cities across five continents) and Big Volunteer Days/Weeks.

Name

Serve The City International

Legal name

Serve the City International

Website

https://servethecity.net

Company type

Private

Founded year

2005

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Nonprofit Volunteer Mobilization

NAICS

Civic and Social Organizations (813410), Community Food and Housing, and Emergency and Other Relief Services (6242), Emergency and Other Relief Services (624230), Community Food Services (624210)

SIC

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

akta.pro primary industry

Community Development & Social Impact Programs (EDAIAGAA)

akta.pro secondary industries

Environmental Conservation & Sustainability Volunteering (EDAIAGAB), In-Country Placement, Homestay & On-Ground Coordination Services (EDAIAGAM), Disaster Relief & Humanitarian Aid Volunteering (EDAIAGAF)

Keywords

• Volunteer mobilization
• Humanitarian aid
• Nonprofit programs
• Community service
• Charity coordination

Headquarters

HQ city

Brussels

HQ country

Belgium

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Donations: Individual donors can donate online, via bank transfer, or fundraise for the organization. The organization relies on charitable contributions from individuals who support their mission of mobilizing volunteers to help people in need.
2. Corporate Partnerships: Partnerships with corporations like UPS Foundation Europe where corporate employees volunteer their time and the company provides support. These partnerships reinforce volunteer impact through employee volunteering programs.

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels10 records

Core offering

Serve The City International is a global volunteer movement that mobilizes individuals through a worldwide network of city-based chapters to carry out social, environmental, and humanitarian projects. It coordinates volunteer engagement with underserved populations (homeless, elderly, refugees) and offers structured programs (NOAH friendship program, SAVE refugee volunteer program, French Language and Culture Exchange) alongside recurring volunteer events and an Annual International Forum.

Product overview

Serve The City International is a global volunteer movement, not a technology company with traditional software products. The organization coordinates volunteer activities across multiple cities worldwide through programmatic initiatives including the NOAH friendship-matching program, French Language and Culture Exchange, Big Volunteer Days, food distribution programs, refugee support services (SAVE programme), and mental health awareness initiatives. These are charitable programs and volunteer coordination services rather than software products or modules.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• NOAH: A friendship platform connecting people in cities through one-on-one matching (NOAH friends) and group activities (NOAH clubs) to combat loneliness.
• SAVE
• Serving Stories
• French Language and Culture Exchange

Products and services

• NOAH Friendship Program A friendship and companionship program that matches volunteers with isolated individuals to provide regular social connection and support.
• SAVE Refugee Volunteer Program A volunteer program dedicated to engaging refugees and displaced persons through practical service and community support activities delivered by city chapters.
• French Language and Culture Exchange (Paris) A Paris-based program offering French language and cultural exchange opportunities to volunteers and participants, supporting integration and cross-cultural connection.
• Corporate Volunteer Engagement Programs Structured corporate volunteer programs that enable companies and their employees to participate in community service projects through Serve The City chapters.
• Global Volunteer Day / Big Volunteer Days and Weeks Recurring city and global coordinated volunteer events that mobilize large groups of volunteers for community service projects within a defined day or week.

Quantifiable outcome

• Nearly 1 million lives impacted since 2005
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers5 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

Feature1 record

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• UPS Foundation EuropecoreGTM or Marketing Partner · 26 June 2023Serve the City International partnered with UPS Foundation Europe to reinforce volunteer impact during UPS Volunteering Month 2023. 130 UPS staff members contributed nearly 300 hours of volunteer time, supporting refugee children, homeless, migrants, asylum seekers, elderly, nurses and hospital staff, and lower income individuals across Germany, France, Ireland, Portugal and Belgium. A total of 906 care packages and 276 meals were prepared and distributed, reaching 887 beneficiaries.

Scale indicators8 records

Recent moves10 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Voluntary Service Overseas (VSO): International volunteer-sending organization that places volunteers in community development, social, and humanitarian projects across multiple continents, comparable in mission, global footprint, and volunteer-deployment model.
• Points of Light: Global volunteer mobilization network that aggregates and supports volunteer service across cities and corporate partners, mirroring Serve the City's model of mobilizing individual volunteers and forming corporate volunteering partnerships at scale.
• Cross-Cultural Solutions: International non-profit that runs short-term volunteer programs in community development and social service projects across multiple countries, comparable in service focus, international volunteer placement, and community impact model.
• AFS Intercultural Programs: International non-profit operating volunteer-driven intercultural and community-service programs through a global network of chapters, comparable in mission, decentralized structure, and grassroots volunteer engagement.
• AIESEC: Global youth-led network running international volunteering and cross-cultural service programs through local chapters, sharing Serve the City's chapter-based, youth-engaged, cross-border volunteer-deployment model.
• Global Volunteers: International non-profit that mobilizes volunteers for community development, refugee, and humanitarian projects across multiple countries, closely comparable in mission, short-term volunteer deployment, and multi-country delivery model.

Broad incumbents

• Habitat for Humanity International: Large, established international volunteer-driven nonprofit that mobilizes volunteers for community service projects across many countries, with a similar decentralized local-affiliate model and corporate volunteer engagement.
• United Nations Volunteers (UNV): Global UN program that mobilizes volunteers for sustainable development and humanitarian work worldwide, comparable in international volunteer mobilization, multi-country reach, and partnership-driven delivery.
• International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC): World's largest humanitarian volunteer network, active in nearly every country and operating through national societies that deliver relief, social services, and disaster response, comparable in global scale, decentralized structure, and volunteer-driven humanitarian mission.

Emerging players

• VolunteerMatch: Online platform that connects individual volunteers with non-profit opportunities, comparable as a volunteer-mobilization channel, though operating more as a digital marketplace than a chapter-based service delivery organization.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/serve_the_city
• Facebookfacebook.com/servethecity
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/serve-the-city

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles5 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 Serve The City International