Scaling social impact: Fundraising for intergenerational inclusion

Vollpension is a Viennese café and social business where at least 50% of employees are retirees whose pensions don’t cover their living costs. By baking cakes a few hours a week, they supplement their income and improve their financial security—while also benefiting from an intergenerational community that strengthens their mental wellbeing.

After more than 10 years in Vienna, the founding team sought to expand to two new cities and brought me on to design their fundraising strategy.

Project Overview

Client: Vollpension Generationendialog GmbH

My role: Fundraising Lead

Timeline: June–August 2025 (Crowdfunding); September–November 2025 (Crowdinvesting)

My Role

Developed the overall fundraising concept and communication strategy

Advised the production and communications teams

Designed a two-stage campaign: “Stammgast” crowdfunding, followed by crowdinvesting

Our strategy

Hospitality has faced financial hardship since COVID, making traditional investors and banks hesitant to support cafés and restaurants. To build social proof, we first invited locals in Salzburg and Graz to become “Stammgäste” (regulars) before any permanent location opened.

For a minimum of €20, supporters could purchase consumption vouchers to be redeemed over 5–10 visits—creating both guaranteed demand and a strong public signal of stability.

In under six weeks, more than 500 people in each city joined as regulars, enabling us to move forward with the next stage of fundraising and support Vollpension’s expansion. We are now finalising preparations for the crowdinvesting campaign.

Sustainability in action

In a world that prioritises productivity over connection, Vollpension puts human needs at the centre. By employing seniors, the business directly advances SDG 1 (No Poverty) and SDG 3 (Good Health and Wellbeing), making the wellbeing of its senior employees non-negotiable.

What I learned

  • Launching the campaign alongside local pop-up cafés was crucial. Offline engagement accelerated success – community-building is much harder without physical presence.

  • We used glass balls as symbols of the growing Stammgast community: in person, supporters could drop one into a cylinder; online, we replicated the effect digitally. The nostalgic imagery helped cement a sense of belonging and pride.

Team

Lukas Kloiber – Social content production

Raphaela Andorfer – Online marketing

Simon Gruber – Campaign video production