SWD-EC-Verband

What SWD-EC-Verband does

SWD-EC-Verband (Südwestdeutscher Jugendverband "Entschieden für Christus") is a registered non-profit Christian youth organization headquartered in Filderstadt, Germany, and one of 17 regional Landesverbände affiliated with the Deutscher EC-Verband. It operates a federated network of 125 local Jugendarbeiten (youth groups) organized across 13 Kreisverbände, reaching more than 11,000 children and youth weekly through 400+ Jungscharen and over 100 teen circles. The organization delivers camps, tours, training events, leadership-development programs, and discipleship resources, and runs the EC-Freizeit- und Schulungszentrum Dobel, a retreat and conference facility in the Black Forest. Programs include traditional children's and youth ministry as well as newer initiatives such as EC Good Gaming, studiEC, and VICTORIOUS, extending reach into gaming, student, and young-adult segments.

The organization's operating model is volunteer-driven: roughly 850 trained Mitarbeitende support delivery alongside a small paid staff that includes Landesjugendreferenten and FSJ/Bundesfreiwilligendienst participants. The technology stack is conventional and operational rather than differentiated, comprising TYPO3 CMS, the ERNA membership system, jCloud hosting, Blessify, and Fundraisingbox for donation processing. Revenue is generated primarily through individual donations and grants (€1.58M raised in 2024, €1.85M targeted for 2025), supplemented by participant fees, camp/event revenue, and rental income from the Dobel facility; the €15K matching campaign with Kreissparkasse Esslingen-Nürtingen illustrates the corporate-partnership channel. Leadership transitions and the addition of a dedicated Kinder- und Jugendschutz role (January 2026), along with Dobel facility renovation (April 2026) and a planned scale-up of the INSPIRE CONFERENCE to 800+ attendees in May 2027, indicate an organization in active capacity expansion within a traditional non-profit governance structure.

Name

SWD-EC-Verband

Legal name

Südwestdeutscher Jugendverband »Entschieden für Christus« (EC) e.V.

Website

https://swdec.de

Company type

Private

Founded year

1904

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

SWD-EC-Verband is a German non-profit Christian youth organization that runs 125 local youth groups across 13 districts, serving 11,000+ children and youth weekly through camps, training events, and ministry programs.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Religious Youth Ministry and Faith-Based Community Services

NAICS

Religious Organizations (8131), Educational Support Services (611710), Child and Youth Services (62411), Educational Support Services (6117)

SIC

Services-Social Services (8300), Services-Membership Organizations (8600), Services-Educational Services (8200)

akta.pro industry

PRIMARYBPAGAJAD

Faith-Based Education & Formation (Seminaries, Religious Schools, Catechesis)

Business & Public Services/Nonprofit, NGO & Social Services/Religious & Faith-Based Organizations

SECONDARYBPAGADAK

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

Business & Public Services/Nonprofit, NGO & Social Services/Education & Youth Development Nonprofits

SECONDARYEDAMALAO

Life Skills & SEL Camps (Confidence, Executive Function, Social Skills)

Education/Supplemental & Enrichment Programs (Arts, STEM, Language)/Summer & Holiday Enrichment Camps (Multi-Activity, Academic)

Keywords

• Youth ministry programs
• Christian youth association
• Youth camps retreats
• Nonprofit youth organization
• Volunteer faith formation

Headquarters

HQ city

Filderstadt

HQ country

Germany

HQ region

Europe

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Donations and Supporter Contributions: The organization is predominantly financed through donations. It operates an EC-Supporter membership model where supporters contribute financially and through prayer. A Blessify donation shop allows targeted giving to specific projects. December donations of 416,000 EUR were received in 2024.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels9 records

Core offering

SWD-EC-Verband delivers faith-based youth ministry through weekly Jungschar (children 6-13) and Teenkreis (13-17) groups in 125 local ministries, supplemented by large-scale camps and events (ProCamp, KonfiCamp, JUFA, TEENNIGHT, INSPIRE), training programs such as Juleica certification, retreat services at the Dobel center, mentoring, and a voluntary social year (FSJ). Programming is delivered almost entirely through volunteer leaders, with professional support from 7 full-time Landesjugendreferenten.

Product overview

SWD-EC-Verband is a Christian youth organization operating as a platform of interconnected programs, events, and digital services. The organization provides youth ministry across 125 local Jugendarbeiten (youth work groups) through 13 regional Kreisverbände (district associations). Core offerings include weekly programs for children (Jungschar), teenagers (Teenkreis), and young adults (Junge Erwachsene), supplemented by major events like ProCamp, KonfiCamp, TEENNIGHT, and the annual JUFA gathering. Digital services include ERNA (internal information portal), jCloud (cloud storage for youth groups), and the Blessify donation platform. The organization also operates the EC-Freizeit- und Schulungszentrum Dobel retreat center and offers training programs including Juleica certification and FSJ (voluntary service year).

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• ERNA: EC-intern-area with important information, forms, and templates for members
• jCloud
• Blessify
• EC-Freizeit- und Schulungszentrum Dobel
• INSPIRE CONFERENCE
• JUFA
• KonfiCamp
• ProCamp
• TEENNIGHT
• DELTA
• EC-MOT
• EC Good Gaming
• studiEC

Products and services

• ProCamp Large regional youth camp for teenagers, attracting hundreds of participants and run annually at the Dobel center and surrounding venues.
• KonfiCamp Confirmation camp event with shows, artists, and community programming for over 800 Konfirmanden, held two weekends in July each year.
• TEENNIGHT Night event for teenagers featuring worship, activities, and spiritual content; draws ~900 teens.
• JUFA Annual gathering of the entire SWD-EC family for worship, talks, and intergenerational fellowship, with sub-events including TEENNIGHT, DELTA, and JUFA-Sonntag.
• INSPIRE / INSPIRE CONFERENCE Multi-day leadership conference for youth workers featuring seminars, worship, and training, with INSPIRE CONFERENCE held periodically as a larger gathering.
• HolyGuacamoly Online streaming format combining theological content with community interaction, held three times per year in partnership with Internationale Hochschule Liebenzell.
• Juleica Kompaktkurs Four-month compact Juleica (Jugendleiter-Card) certification programme for volunteer youth workers, with new cohorts starting in September each year.
• EC-Freizeit- und Schulungszentrum Dobel Retreat and training center in Dobel offering accommodation (including mass accommodation in ZEITRAUM-Haus), event spaces, and facilities for youth camps, seminars, and FSJ placements.
• Freiwilliges Jahr (FSJ) Voluntary social year programme (Freiwilliges Soziales Jahr) placing young people in EC youth ministry roles, with the option of missionary deployment.
• Materialshop (material.swdec.de) Online equipment rental and merchandising storefront offering tents, kitchen equipment, toilet containers, bouncy castles, and merchandise for retreats and camps, with or without an account.
• Blessify Spendenshop Targeted donation platform enabling supporters to allocate funds to specific projects (Dobel center, youth workers, etc.) through Fundraisingbox payment infrastructure.
• Mentoring Program One-to-one mentoring programme connecting young people with experienced mentors for spiritual guidance, supplemented by an online crash-course in mentoring.

Quantifiable outcome

• 11,000+ children and youth reached weekly across 125 Jugendarbeiten in 13 Kreisverbänden
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers6 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles5 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Deutscher EC-VerbandcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerSWD-EC-Verband is one of 17 Landesverbände (regional associations) making up the Deutscher EC-Verband. The umbrella organization sets the strategic direction and grundtexte (core principles) for all member associations across Germany.
• Internationale Hochschule LiebenzellminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerHolyGuacamoly is a joint online project with the Internationale Hochschule Liebenzell, combining theology and community interaction. Professor Prof. Dr. Eduard Ferderer (church history) has been featured as a guest. The format is held three times per year.
• TourLaw – Noll | Hütten | Dukic RechtsanwälteminorOthersTourLaw provided the legal template for the organization's Pauschalreise conditions (travel package terms and conditions), copyright 2024.
• YELLOW TREE (Design Agency)minorImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerYELLOW TREE (yellowtree.de) — Agentur für Design und Kommunikation — is credited for the concept, design, and programming of the organization's website.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Regional players

• Adventjugend in Deutschland: Youth ministry of the Seventh-day Adventist Church in Germany, running Pathfinder-style clubs, camps, and youth leadership training. Comparable in faith-based youth formation model but operating from a different confessional base and slightly different regional density.

Emerging players

• Campus für Christus Deutschland: Student and young-adult Christian ministry operating across German universities. Directly comparable target segment to SWD-EC-Verband's studiEC and Junge Erwachsene programmes but with a more singular focus on university-age participants.
• Jesus Freaks Deutschland: Younger-generation Christian community and youth ministry with comparable small-group and discipleship focus. Partial overlap with SWD-EC-Verband's teen and young adult segments, particularly studiEC and Juleica alumni.

Broad incumbents

• BDKJ (Bund der Deutschen Katholischen Jugend): Largest Catholic youth umbrella in Germany, coordinating diocesan youth organisations and national events comparable in scale to SWD-EC-Verband's regional footprint. Broad incumbent addressing similar youth ministry needs from a Catholic confessional base.
• Deutscher EC-Verband: National umbrella organisation of the 17 EC Landesverbände including SWD-EC-Verband. Operates inter-regional programmes (e.g. Mentoring Online-Crashkurs) and shared digital platforms, setting strategic direction for member associations.

Direct peers

• Royal Rangers (Christliche Pfadfinderschaft): Interdenominational Christian scouting organisation active across German-speaking regions with local groups, camps, and volunteer leaders. Comparable faith-based youth programme model and age-graded structure.
• Kinder- und Jugendwerk der Evangelisch-Freikirchlichen Gemeinden (EJW Bund): National youth association of the Baptist and Brethren churches in Germany. Comparable faith-based youth ministry model with local groups, camps, Juleica training, and confirmation-equivalent programmes.
• Evangelisches Jugendwerk in Württemberg (EJW): Evangelical youth organisation of the Württemberg state church, operating in the same region as SWD-EC-Verband. Comparable weekly groups, confirmation work, camps, and youth leader training (Juleica), making it the closest geographic peer.
• CVJM-Gesamtverband in Deutschland: Germany's largest interdenominational Christian youth association with local groups, camps, and youth leader training. Direct peer operating the same volunteer-led youth ministry model with comparable weekly groups, camp programmes, and Juleica-equivalent training.
• VCP (Verband Christlicher Pfadfinderinnen und Pfadfinder): Christian Scout association in Germany with similar local troop structure, camp-heavy programming, and volunteer leadership model. Directly comparable in operating model and target demographic.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/SuedwestdeutscherJugendverband
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/swd-ec

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles5 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about SWD-EC-Verband