What Petrus does

Petrus Development is a College Station, Texas-based consulting and training firm that has served Catholic nonprofit organizations exclusively since 2005. It works with parishes, campus ministries, Catholic high schools and universities, pro-life and service apostolates, and dioceses, and reports helping clients raise more than $500M cumulatively across "hundreds" of Catholic ministries. Its customer base is predominantly small-budget organizations whose staff and clergy typically lack formal fundraising training, which the company addresses with a teach-to-fish philosophy of building self-sustaining development programs.

The company's offering follows a platform-plus-services model. The product surface includes Petrus Academy self-paced courses ($39–$129), the 10-week cohort-based Basic Online Advancement Training (BOAT) at $1,499 per organization, RAISE Regional in-person workshops ($59–$89), the recurring Harbor membership at $99/month with up to three team seats, and higher-touch services for fundraising coaching, feasibility studies, and capital-campaign consulting. Delivery runs on a Kajabi-powered online learning platform; Pete AI, a proprietary generative AI assistant with Catholic guardrails and organizational voice-matching, is integrated into the Harbor membership and represents the company's most differentiated technology component. Go-to-market combines community-led content (blog, multiple podcasts, newsletter to 4,000+ Catholic fundraising professionals), free virtual events, paid in-person workshops, and direct enterprise consulting sales.

The business is a privately held LLC owned by President Andrew N. Robison (in role since 2017), with no disclosed outside funding. Operations are US-focused but the markets-served metadata lists Canada, the UK, Australia, and Germany. The competitive position rests on vertical specialization, an all-Catholic consultant team, and a multi-tier pricing funnel that converts free content into low-cost courses, cohort programs, recurring membership, and ultimately campaign engagements.

Name

Petrus

Legal name

Petrus Development LLC

Website

https://petrusdevelopment.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2005

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

College Station

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Training Courses & Programs: Revenue from self-paced on-demand courses ($39-$129 one-time purchase), the cohort-based BOAT program ($1,499), and the monthly Harbor membership ($99/month). These represent the primary consumer-facing digital revenue streams.
2. RAISE Regional Workshops: Revenue from in-person regional workshops priced at $59 (early bird) to $89 (regular), with registration limited per event. Additional registration fees per individual attendee.
3. Fundraising Coaching & Consulting: Revenue from direct fundraising coaching and consulting engagements for Catholic organizations, including feasibility studies and capital campaign services. These are likely premium, quote-based engagements.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

Petrus Development provides fundraising consulting, training, and education services exclusively for Catholic nonprofit organizations. The company sells cohort-based training programs (BOAT), a monthly membership (The Harbor) with AI-powered tools (Pete AI), self-paced courses (Petrus Academy), in-person regional workshops (RAISE), and premium consulting engagements including fundraising coaching, feasibility studies, and capital campaign services.

Product overview

Petrus Development offers a comprehensive suite of Catholic fundraising solutions organized as a platform-plus-services model. The core offerings include BOAT (Basic Online Advancement Training), a 10-week cohort-based foundational course; The Harbor, a monthly membership providing live coaching, Pete AI access, and practical resources; Petrus Academy with self-paced courses on topics like grant writing, online giving, and parish finances; and RAISE Regional Workshops providing in-person training. Additional services include fundraising coaching, feasibility studies, and capital campaign consulting. Pete AI serves as the company's AI-powered tool integrated into The Harbor for generating donor communications with Catholic-specific guidance.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• BOAT (Basic Online Advancement Training): A 10-week, cohort-based online course for organizations starting a fundraising program or onboarding new fundraisers. Cohorts begin in January, May, July, and October. Cost: $1,500.
• The Harbor
• RAISE Regional Workshops
• Petrus Academy
• How to Fundraise Podcast

Products and services

• Basic Online Advancement Training (BOAT) A 10-week, cohort-based online course that guides Catholic nonprofit organizations through building a self-sustaining development office, including 50+ video lessons across 12 modules, samples and templates, live cohort sessions, and a 60-minute strategy session with a fundraising coach. Also serves as onboarding training for new fundraisers.
• The Harbor A monthly membership program for Catholic fundraising teams providing live coaching and Q&A sessions, Major Gift Momentum sessions, professional-level Pete AI access, practical resources and templates, a growing course library, and community access for up to 3 team members.
• Petrus Academy A portfolio of self-paced and signature cohort-based fundraising courses for Catholic nonprofits covering topics such as Spirituality of Fundraising, Grant Writing, Online Giving, Monthly Giving, Giving Days, Parish Finances, Budget and Goal Setting, and Beginner Fundraising. Individual courses priced at $39 to $129.
• RAISE Regional Workshops One-day in-person fundraising workshops held in cities across the United States, including expert-led sessions, networking, a workbook, a basic training video, and a follow-up 30-minute consultation. Topics include Principles of Fundraising, Major Gifts, Capital Campaigns, and Planned Giving.
• Fundraising Coaching One-on-one and team coaching services provided by experienced Petrus consultants to help Catholic nonprofit organizations take next steps in their fundraising efforts with tailored direction and guidance, particularly for organizations ready to engage with donors face-to-face to ask for transformational gifts.
• Feasibility Studies Campaign planning studies that help Catholic nonprofit organizations determine readiness for launching a successful capital campaign through comprehensive assessment and analysis, including stakeholder interviews and donor readiness evaluation.
• Capital Campaigns End-to-end capital campaign consulting services covering all aspects of successful campaigns including feasibility studies, volunteer recruitment and management, special events, campaign literature and donor recognition, and major gift solicitations.
• Pete AI Petrus's proprietary AI assistant built with Catholic guardrails, designed to help Catholic fundraisers draft donor emails, thank-yous, appeals, scripts, and work through strategy questions. Members can upload samples and documents to help Pete AI match organizational voice, and the tool retains memory across sessions.

Quantifiable outcome

• Raised over $500M for Catholic organizations
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers6 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

AI capability3 records

Feature1 record

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• Prenger Solutions GroupminorGTM or Marketing PartnerPrenger Solutions Group (Catholic Social Media) is a partner whose offerings are promoted as special discounts to BOAT program members. BOAT registrants receive access to special offers from Prenger Solutions Group, including their Catholic Social Media product. This is a marketing/affiliate-style partnership rather than a deep integration.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Emerging players

• Gravyty: AI-powered fundraising tools for higher education and nonprofit advancement teams — comparable to Petrus's Pete AI as a fundraising-specific generative AI assistant.
• Kindsight (formerly DonorSearch AI): Fundraising intelligence platform with AI-driven prospect research and donor scoring — adjacent to Petrus's fundraising enablement stack, especially for advancement teams.

Broad incumbents

• Classy (by GoFundMe Pro): Established online fundraising platform serving thousands of nonprofits with donation forms, events, and peer-to-peer — a broader incumbent competing for Catholic nonprofit technology budgets alongside Petrus.

Direct peers

• Graham-Pelton: Fundraising and nonprofit consulting firm providing campaign counsel, development coaching, and executive search to nonprofit and faith-based clients — overlapping with Petrus's consulting, coaching, and feasibility study services for Catholic and broader nonprofit audiences.
• CCS Fundraising: Large-scale fundraising consulting firm serving nonprofit and faith-based organizations with feasibility studies, capital campaigns, and development coaching — directly comparable in service line to Petrus's coaching, feasibility study, and capital campaign offerings.
• Johnson, Grossnickle and Associates: Nonprofit fundraising consulting firm specializing in capital campaigns, feasibility studies, and development coaching for faith-based and community organizations — a direct competitor in Petrus's Catholic consulting niche.
• Ruffalo Noel Levitz: Provider of fundraising, enrollment, and student-success solutions for higher education and nonprofit institutions — directly comparable to Petrus's campus-ministry and university fundraising practice, including major gifts and annual giving programs.
• Network for Good: All-in-one fundraising platform for nonprofits including donation pages, CRM, and coaching — competing for the same Catholic nonprofit customers with a software-plus-services model.
• DonorPerfect: Nonprofit fundraising software offering donor management, online giving, and event tools — comparable to Petrus as a complementary/competing solution in the same buyer workflow.
• Bloomerang: Donor management and fundraising CRM platform serving thousands of nonprofits — competing for the same Catholic nonprofit customers with software-enabled fundraising support rather than consulting.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/embed/TuHTIRlqAzk
• Xx.com/petrusorg
• Facebookfacebook.com/petrusdevelopment

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles7 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 Petrus