Sustainable Faith

What Sustainable Faith does

Sustainable Faith is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit founded in 2008 by Dave Nixon and headquartered in Redding, California. It delivers cohort-based spiritual formation training to Christian pastors, ministry leaders, church planters, and lay leaders, with a flagship two-year School of Spiritual Direction certificate program, a 16-month School of Neighborhood Life cohort, a School of Ignatian Spirituality, and a Supervision Training program. The organization trains hundreds of spiritual directors annually using a faculty of 40+ instructors and runs cohorts across more than two dozen North American cities plus sites in the United Kingdom and European Union.

The underlying technology stack is intentionally light: remote and in-person cohort delivery conducted over standard video conferencing, supported by a public website and donation infrastructure. No proprietary platform, AI/ML capability, or data product is evident in the input. The Richmont Graduate University partnership adds an academic-credit overlay on existing curriculum.

Revenue is generated from two streams: per-program tuition, with published fees ranging from approximately $600 to $2,800 depending on program length and scope, and tax-deductible donations processed in part through Network for Good, including cryptocurrency gifts. The customer base is a long tail of individual participants rather than institutional anchor clients, and supplementary scholarships (including an Equity Scholarship targeting participants from marginalized identity groups) extend addressable reach.

Name

Sustainable Faith

Legal name

Sustainable Faith

Website

https://sustainablefaith.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2008

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Sustainable Faith is a Redding, California-based nonprofit founded in 2008 that runs cohort-based spiritual formation training programs (School of Spiritual Direction, School of Neighborhood Life, School of Ignatian Spirituality, Supervision Training) for pastors, ministry leaders, church planters, and lay leaders across North America and the UK/EU, funded by tuition and donations.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Spiritual Formation Training

NAICS

Educational Services (611), Colleges, Universities, and Professional Schools (6113)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200)

akta.pro primary industry

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

akta.pro secondary industries

Seminaries (Graduate Theology & Ministry) (EDAHAKAA), Denominational Theological Colleges (e.g., Catholic, Orthodox, Protestant, Evangelical) (EDAHAKAM)

Keywords

• Spiritual direction training
• Spiritual formation programs
• Church planter training
• Ignatian spirituality certification
• Pastoral ministry development

Headquarters

HQ city

Columbus

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Educational Program Tuition: Sustainable Faith generates revenue primarily through tuition fees for its training programs including the School of Spiritual Direction (Primer, Year 1, Year 2, Year 3), School of Ignatian Spirituality, School of Neighborhood Life, and Supervision Training. Programs range from $600 to $2,800 per participant with deposit requirements.
2. Donations and Charitable Giving: The organization accepts donations through Network for Good online platform, stock transfers, and Bitcoin cryptocurrency donations. EIN 26-1451153 is provided for tax-deductible contributions.
3. Affiliate Spiritual Director Network: Spiritual directors pay $125 per year to join the affiliate network, which includes one supervision session with a Sustainable Faith supervisor and listing on the website for directee referrals.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

Sustainable Faith delivers cohort-based training programs for pastors, church planters, and lay leaders in spiritual direction, Ignatian spirituality, neighborhood-based church planting, and supervision of spiritual directors. Programs are offered in-person across North American cities, online, and hybrid formats, with tuition ranging from $600 to $2,800 per participant.

Product overview

Sustainable Faith is a ministry organization offering a portfolio of training programs and spiritual formation services. The core offerings include three schools: the School of Spiritual Direction (a 2-year certificate program with Primer, Year 1, Year 2, and Year 3 options), the School of Neighborhood Life (a 16-month cohort for church planters), and the School of Ignatian Spirituality (training for Ignatian directors). Additional programs include Supervision Training and networks for connecting spiritual directors and supervisors. The organization also offers the Ignatian Exercises in both 18th and 19th Annotation formats and publishes Commons Revival. Services are delivered through in-person cohorts across North American cities and online/hybrid formats, with donations accepted via an online giving platform.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• School of Spiritual Direction: A 2-year certificate program that prepares students to serve as spiritual directors, with options for Primer, Year 1, Year 2, and Year 3 postgraduate levels.
• School of Neighborhood Life
• School of Ignatian Spirituality
• Commons Revival
• Supervision Training

Products and services

• School of Spiritual Direction A two-year certificate program that prepares students to serve as spiritual directors, featuring a Primer year for preparation, Year 1, Year 2, and a Year 3 postgraduate option for ongoing professional development.
• School of Neighborhood Life A 16-month cohort-based journey to accelerate the planting of neighborhood and parish style communities of faith, guiding leaders in reimagining church around faithful presence in their neighborhoods.
• School of Ignatian Spirituality Training program that prepares experienced spiritual directors to accompany individuals and groups through the 18th and 19th Annotations of the Ignatian Exercises, consisting of 4 two-day modules over 9 months.
• Supervision Training A year-long cohort learning experience training new supervisors using a contemplative, evocative model, consisting of opening and closing two-day teaching modules with fieldwork and individual supervision sessions.
• Spiritual Director Network (Affiliate Program) Network of experienced spiritual directors who have discerned a specific call to serve pastors, ministry leaders, and missionaries, offering one-on-one spiritual direction sessions through an annual affiliate membership ($125/year).
• Supervisor Network Affiliate supervisors who are seasoned spiritual directors specifically trained to encourage and enhance the professional and personal development of other directors through contemplative supervision.
• Ignatian Exercises (18th and 19th Annotations) Guided spiritual retreat programs: the 18th Annotation is a condensed 10-week format while the 19th Annotation is a 9-month retreat accompanied by a trained Ignatian spiritual director.

Named customers3 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature2 records

Partnerships

Two partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Network for GoodcoreGTM or Marketing PartnerNetwork for Good is the online giving platform used by Sustainable Faith to process donations. The platform enables one-time and recurring gifts in USD for supporters of the organization's mission to train spiritual directors and resource church leaders.
• Richmont Graduate UniversityminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerRichmont Graduate University offers Sustainable Faith's spiritual direction graduates the opportunity to receive a year of free credits toward a Master of Arts Degree in Spiritual Formation and Direction. This partnership enables graduates to continue their education with recognized academic credentials.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Renovaré: Renovaré is a Christian spiritual formation organization offering the Renovaré Institute for Spiritual Formation, which trains pastors and lay leaders in contemplative and classical spiritual disciplines. It is a direct peer to Sustainable Faith's School of Spiritual Direction and shares the same ecosystem of instructors, cohorts, and formation curricula for ministry leaders.
• Transforming Center: Transforming Center runs two-year cohorts (TCT) for spiritual leaders focused on sustaining ministry over the long haul, very similar in structure, audience, and learn-by-doing pedagogy to Sustainable Faith's 2-year certificate program for spiritual directors.
• Apprentice Institute (3DM): 3DM / Apprentice Institute trains church planters, leaders, and 'apprentices' through cohort-based discipleship and mission-shaped formation programs, directly comparable to Sustainable Faith's School of Neighborhood Life for missional community planting.
• Hesychia School for Spiritual Directors: Hesychia School is a contemplative, cohort-based program training spiritual directors in the Christian tradition; it competes head-to-head with the Sustainable Faith School of Spiritual Direction for the same pool of pastors and lay leaders seeking certification.

Broad incumbents

• Fuller Theological Seminary: Fuller offers graduate-level spiritual formation and Doctor of Ministry tracks that overlap with Sustainable Faith's certificate pathways (its alumni sit on Sustainable Faith's faculty) and represents a broader incumbent option for accredited credentials in the same space.
• Trinity School for Ministry: Trinity is an Anglican/Episcopal seminary offering formation and ministry training programs that overlap with Sustainable Faith's audience and curriculum, especially for cohort-based spiritual formation and direction.
• Richmont Graduate University: Richmont is an accredited graduate school in spiritual formation and direction and is explicitly partnered with Sustainable Faith to grant credit toward its M.A.; it is both a partner and a broader incumbent in the same training market.

Emerging players

• Vibrant Faith: Vibrant Faith provides faith formation resources and training for church leaders and congregations, addressing overlapping ministry leadership needs with Sustainable Faith but from a congregational programming rather than 1:1 spiritual direction angle.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/sustainfaith
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/sustainable-faith

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles6 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 Sustainable Faith