St Columba's Episcopal Church

What St Columba's Episcopal Church does

St. Columba's Episcopal Church is a 501(c)(3) religious nonprofit founded in 1874 in the Tenleytown neighborhood of Northwest Washington, D.C., and a parish within the Episcopal Diocese of Washington. The church operates from a single campus at 4201 Albemarle St., NW, which includes the 1927 stone chapel, a Flentrop organ (installed 1981, expanded 2003), worship spaces, offices, a nursery school, and a columbarium. It is described as one of the largest and wealthiest parishes in the Diocese of Washington.

The church delivers worship services (Traditional Eucharist, Wee Worship for preschoolers, and music-led services), comprehensive faith formation programs for children, youth, and adults, life-event sacraments (baptisms, weddings, funerals), pastoral care, and a portfolio of social-justice ministries including the Water Ministry, Refugee Response Ministry, Grate Patrol, and participation in the Washington Interfaith Network. It also operates St. Columba's Nursery School as a legally integral subsidiary. The underlying technology is a standard commercial stack: Realm/OnRealm member portal, Castos podcast hosting, Stripe for online giving, YouTube livestreaming, and Zoom for virtual meetings—there is no proprietary technology or AI/ML component.

The business model is voluntary member contributions rather than pricing: the 2021 parish budget exceeded $3 million, funded through annual pledges, weekly tithes, capital campaign contributions (most notably the $2.4M Live God's Love renovation), donor-advised fund gifts, and nursery school tuition. GTM is community-led—drawing members through worship, formation, and service programs, supported by digital channels (website, podcasts, YouTube, social media) and interfaith partnerships.

Name

St Columba's Episcopal Church

Legal name

St. Columba's Episcopal Church

Website

https://columba.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1874

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

St. Columba's Episcopal Church is a 150-year-old Episcopal parish in Tenleytown, Washington, D.C., offering worship, faith formation, pastoral care, social-justice ministries, and an on-site nursery school, funded by member pledges and donations.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Religious Organization / Episcopal Parish

NAICS

Religious Organizations (8131), Educational Services (611), Elementary and Secondary Schools (6111)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200)

akta.pro primary industry

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

Keywords

• Religious worship services
• Faith formation
• Pastoral care
• Community outreach
• Early childhood education

Headquarters

HQ city

Washington

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Tithes and Offerings: Voluntary financial contributions from members during worship services, either weekly or on special occasions
2. Annual Pledges: Members make annual financial pledges to support the operational budget, paid incrementally throughout the year through recurring gifts or one-time payments
3. Capital Campaign Contributions: Special fundraising campaigns for building projects, such as the Live God's Love capital campaign funding the $2.4 million renovation
4. Donor Advised Fund Gifts: Acceptance of charitable distributions from donor advised funds for current giving or endowed purposes
5. Nursery School Tuition: Revenue from St. Columba's Nursery School, which is legally part of the church and included in audited financial statements

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels9 records

Core offering

St. Columba's Episcopal Church is an inclusive Christian congregation that delivers weekly worship services (Traditional Eucharist and Wee Worship for young children), comprehensive faith-formation programming for all ages, sacramental life-event services (baptisms, weddings, funerals), pastoral care, and a broad portfolio of social-justice ministries (anti-racism, refugee resettlement, Water Ministry for the unhoused, environmental advocacy). It also operates St. Columba's Nursery School for early childhood education, with all programs accessible in person at the Tenleytown campus and digitally via live stream, podcasts, and the Realm member portal.

Product overview

St. Columba's Episcopal Church offers a comprehensive portfolio of religious and community services organized around worship, faith formation, social justice, and pastoral care. The church provides in-person and digital worship experiences including Traditional Eucharist, children's Wee Worship, and choir-led services. Digital offerings include the Realm member portal for parish management, YouTube livestreaming, and podcast content. Social justice ministries encompass refugee response, homelessness support through the Water Ministry, anti-racism initiatives, and environmental advocacy. The church also operates a nursery school and provides life event services including baptism, weddings, and funerals.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Sunday Worship Services
• Faith Formation Programs for Adults
• Children and Youth Faith Formation
• Social Justice and Outreach Ministries
• Life Events (Sacramental Services)
• St. Columba's Nursery School
• Realm Member Portal
• Livestream and Podcast Content
• Online Giving Platform

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

Feature4 records

Partnerships

Eight partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Washington Interfaith Network (WIN)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerSt. Columba's is one of over 45 congregations from all eight DC wards comprising WIN, a non-partisan citizen-powered social justice organization. The church participates in WIN's affordable housing advocacy, environmental equity work, and community organizing efforts. The WIN Core Team at St. Columba's builds organizing capacity by creating opportunities for social justice education and getting to know neighbors.
• The Salvation Army National Capital Area CommandcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerSt. Columba's partners with The Salvation Army for the Second Tuesday Grate Patrol, serving meals to homeless and needy individuals at seven-plus downtown locations from the Salvation Army's canteen van. The Grate Patrol has been delivering evening meals 365 days a year for over 20 years, with St. C's joining 24 other faith, business, and civic groups in this partnership.
• Friendship PlacecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerSt. Columba's was a founding partner in creating Friendship Place, a non-profit addressing homelessness in Northwest Washington. Today, Friendship Place offers housing assistance, street outreach, shelter support, job placement, and medical/psychiatric services throughout the DC Metro area. The church supports through snack bag ministry (40 bags on Tuesdays and Thursdays) and a parishioner serving on the board.
• Loaves and FishesminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerSt. Columbans join forces with Loaves and Fishes to prepare and serve meals to approximately 200 homeless men, women, and children at St. Stephen and the Incarnation.
• Emma's TorchminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership with Emma's Torch, an organization that provides culinary training and employment support for refugees. St. Columba's sponsored Afghan refugee Maryam Amini in a 10-week paid culinary internship through this organization to help her gain employment.
• State Department's Sponsor Circle ProgramcoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorThe Refugee Response Ministry submitted an application with the State Department's Sponsor Circle Program, launched October 2021 to encourage organizations to provide direct resettlement support to Afghans in communities throughout the United States.
• Bethesda African Cemetery CoalitionminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerSt. Columba's Stirring the Waters ministry participates in the Bethesda African Cemetery Coalition, working to preserve Moses Cemetery from destruction through community outreach and legal advocacy.
• Undesign the RedlineminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerSt. Columba's hosted and promoted the Undesign the Redline exhibit (April-July 2024 at Cleveland Park Library), educating neighbors about the history of racial and economic segregation in Northwest DC.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves8 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Washington National Cathedral: Episcopal cathedral and the seat of the Diocese of Washington, located in NW DC. Directly comparable as a large, well-resourced Episcopal parish operating extensive worship, music, formation, and outreach ministries in the same metropolitan area.
• St. John's Episcopal Church, Georgetown: Historic Episcopal parish in Georgetown, Washington, DC. Comparable as a similarly affluent, program-rich mainline Episcopal congregation with a long history, music program, and community outreach.
• All Souls Memorial Church (Episcopal): Episcopal parish in NW Washington, DC with similar worship, formation, and justice-oriented ministry programming. Comparable in scale and demographic profile to St. Columba's.
• St. Alban's Episcopal Church, NW DC: The original parent mission of St. Columba's, founded in 1874. Directly comparable as a long-established Episcopal parish in NW Washington with overlapping clergy lineage and parallel program offerings.
• St. Paul's Episcopal Church, Foggy Bottom: Historic downtown DC Episcopal parish with comparable Sunday worship, formation, and outreach programs. Operates within the same Diocese of Washington and serves a similar urban professional demographic.
• Church of the Epiphany (Episcopal): Episcopal parish in downtown Washington DC with comparable worship, music, and social outreach programs. Operates in the same Diocese of Washington and serves a similar metropolitan community.

Others

• Washington Hebrew Congregation: Large non-Orthodox Jewish congregation in NW Washington DC. Comparable as a similarly large, well-resourced DC-area house of worship serving an affluent professional demographic with extensive education, social action, and lifecycle programming.
• Sixth & I Historic Synagogue: Historic downtown DC Jewish congregation with comparable programming for young urban professionals, social-justice engagement, and cultural events. Comparable as a non-Christian faith community competing for similar DC membership.

Broad incumbents

• St. Bartholomew's Church (St. Bart's) NYC: Large, well-endowed Episcopal parish in Midtown Manhattan with comparable music, formation, and community programs. Comparable as an established, program-rich urban Episcopal parish but at a larger scale and broader portfolio.
• Trinity Church Wall Street: One of the largest and most historic Episcopal parishes in the US, based in NYC. Operates a far broader portfolio of real estate, grants, and programs, but is structurally comparable as a large, well-capitalized mainline Episcopal congregation with extensive outreach.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/@StColumbasEpiscopalChurch
• Facebookfacebook.com/StColumbaDC
• Instagraminstagram.com/stcolumbas.dc
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/st-columba-episcopal

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles19 records

Subsidiaries1 record

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 St Columba's Episcopal Church