IFES

What IFES does

IFES (International Fellowship of Evangelical Students) is a non-profit, faith-based movement founded in 1947 and headquartered in Oxford, United Kingdom, that supports indigenous, locally-led Christian student movements on tertiary education campuses across more than 180 countries. Its primary constituency is university students seeking community, theological formation, and Christian witness on secular campuses; IFES operates through affiliated national movements rather than a centralized top-down structure, with three International Service Centres in Malaysia, the UK, and the USA providing back-office support. Core programmatic areas include pioneering student witness, university evangelism, leadership development, governance strengthening of national movements, and scripture engagement.

The organization's product surface is anchored by a Moodle-based E-Learning Platform (elearning.ifesworld.org) delivering structured courses such as Engaging the University, Governance Development, Indigenous Support Development, Scripture Engagement, Ministry Strategy & Impact, and the Logos and Cosmos Initiative, available in English, Spanish, French, Portuguese, and Russian, with native iOS and Android mobile applications. Content products include a quarterly theological journal (Word & World), a bi-weekly prayer email (Prayerline), the Conexión blog, and a podcast. Supporting infrastructure includes the IFES main website (ifesworld.org), a staff services portal, and PCI-DSS-compliant donation processing via Stripe, WorldPay, and DonateLINQ, with analytics through Google Analytics and HotJar.

IFES is a registered charity in England and Wales (247919) and a limited company (876229); IFES/USA is a 501(c)(3) public charity 509(a)(2); and a non-profit entity is registered in Lausanne, Switzerland. Revenue is generated entirely through donations and charitable giving, with no commercial pricing for products or services; an annual Global Giving Day is the headline fundraising campaign. The movement does not have external institutional investors, parent company, or disclosed ownership structure, and reports no subsidiaries, funding rounds, or M&A activity.

Name

IFES

Legal name

International Fellowship of Evangelical Students

Website

https://ifesworld.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1947

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

101–250 employees

Short description

IFES is a UK-based, 78-year-old non-profit movement that supports locally-led Christian student movements on university campuses across more than 180 countries through training, theological resources, and donations.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Religious Nonprofit Services

NAICS

Religious Organizations (8131), Educational Support Services (611710), Religious, Grantmaking, Civic, Professional, and Similar Organizations (813)

SIC

Services-Membership Organizations (8600)

akta.pro primary industry

Campus Spiritual & Religious Life (EDALAHAI)

akta.pro secondary industry

Christian Colleges with Theological Programs (EDAHAKAG)

Keywords

• Student ministry
• Evangelical fellowship
• Christian education
• Religious nonprofit
• Faith-based training

Headquarters

HQ city

Oxford

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

IFES is a global non-profit that supports evangelical Christian university students through a network of 180+ national member movements, providing theological training, discipleship resources, leadership development programs, and publications. Its offerings include an online e-learning platform, structured course programs (such as Engaging the University and Governance Development), theological journals, podcasts, blogs, and an IFES Services Portal for member movements.

Product overview

IFES operates as a global student ministry movement supporting locally-led Christian student movements in over 180 countries. The product portfolio consists of a main public website (ifesworld.org) serving as the primary information and engagement hub, a Moodle-powered E-Learning Platform (elearning.ifesworld.org) offering structured educational programs, and several publication sub-brands including Prayerline (bi-weekly prayer newsletter), Conexión Blog (reflections and stories), Word & World Journal (theological publication), and the IFES Podcast. The E-Learning Platform is organized into specialized course programs: Engaging the University, Governance Development, Indigenous Support Development, Scripture Engagement, Ministry Strategy & Impact, Logos and Cosmos Initiative, and IFES IT Training. Additional services include the IFES Services Portal for staff resources, a donor portal for contributions, and multi-language support in English, Spanish, French, Portuguese, and Russian.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• IFES E-Learning Platform
• Engaging the University
• Governance Development
• Word & World Journal
• IFES Podcast
• Conexión Blog
• Prayerline
• IFES Services Portal

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration10 records

Feature1 record

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• InterVarsity Christian Fellowship: InterVarsity is one of the largest evangelical campus ministries in North America, organizing student Bible studies, missions conferences (Urbana), and leadership development. Directly comparable to IFES in mission, evangelical theology, and university-student focus, though IFES operates globally while InterVarsity is primarily US/Canada.
• Youth for Christ International: Youth for Christ operates in over 100 countries with a focus on young people including university students, evangelism, and leadership development. Comparable in international federation structure, evangelical mission, and youth/student outreach, with slightly broader age-target beyond just tertiary education.
• Navigators: The Navigators is an international Christian organization focused on discipleship, with significant campus ministry work and a presence in over 100 countries. Comparable in evangelical mission, global footprint, university outreach, and emphasis on Scripture engagement and one-to-one discipleship.
• FOCUS (Fellowship of Catholic University Students): FOCUS is a Catholic outreach to university students in the US and abroad, focused on evangelization, Bible study, and leadership formation. Highly comparable to IFES in target audience (university students), mission structure, and peer-mentorship model, though denominationally distinct (Catholic vs. evangelical).
• Cru (Campus Crusade for Christ): Cru is a major interdenominational evangelical campus ministry operating in over 190 countries with a focus on evangelism, discipleship, and leadership development among university students. Comparable to IFES in global scope, evangelical orientation, and university-student target audience, but with a more centralized US-headquartered structure.

Regional players

• European Christian Student Movement: ECSM coordinates evangelical Christian student work across European countries and is closely linked to IFES Europe. Highly comparable in mission, ecumenical evangelical orientation, and university-student focus, but geographically narrower than IFES's global footprint.
• Student Christian Federation of India (SCFI): SCFI is one of IFES's affiliated national movements in India and a major evangelical student body there. Useful as a direct national-movement peer, demonstrating the locally-led federation model that IFES scales globally.
• Bible Society movements: United Bible Societies and national Bible Societies operate globally with Scripture translation, distribution, and engagement programs, including student-targeted initiatives. Comparable to IFES's Scripture Engagement program and focus on making Scripture accessible, though organized as translation/distribution bodies rather than student movements.

Emerging players

• Haggai International: Haggai International trains Christian leaders (including student/young-adult leaders) for gospel-centered impact worldwide, with a presence across many of the same regions as IFES. Comparable in leadership-development mission and global scope, but focuses on multi-day leadership intensive rather than ongoing campus ministry.
• OMF International: OMF is a large evangelical mission agency focused on East Asia with cross-cultural student/young-professional outreach. Comparable to IFES in evangelical mission orientation, cross-cultural work, and discipleship emphasis, though its primary focus is broader missions rather than university-student ministry specifically.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/ifesworld
• Facebookfacebook.com/ifesworld
• Instagraminstagram.com/ifesworld
• Xx.com/ifesworld
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/international-fellowship-of-evangelical-students

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about IFES