What The Carver Project does

The Carver Project (TCP) is a Christian nonprofit ministry founded in 2016 by John Inazu at Washington University in St. Louis. Its stated mission is to empower Christian faculty and students to serve and connect university, church, and society. TCP operates as an affiliation of interrelated programs rather than a single product: a Faculty Fellowship on the WashU campus (25 fellows across medicine, law, business, engineering, design, and humanities), student Reading Groups (160+ students across multiple schools), a church partner network (15 local and 1 national partner), and national extensions including the Legal Vocation Fellowship (a 15-month discipleship program for early-career attorneys in 8 U.S. cities) and Newbigin Fellows (extending the faculty model to other universities). Complementary content assets include the CarverCast podcast (two seasons, featuring faculty from Yale, MIT, Harvard, and WashU), Carver Classrooms (free digital mini-courses), the annual Carver Conversation event, and the Carver Connections annual blog series.

TCP is funded primarily through donations, church mission allocations, and foundation grants (including Templeton Religion Trust). All participant-facing programs are free, and there is no fee-for-service or subscription revenue model. The organization has a small core staff (Executive Director, Associate Director, Director of Programs, Director of Communications, Visual Communications, Faculty Coordinator, and Pastoral Care) and draws additional capacity from a faculty advisory board spanning institutions such as Yale, Duke, Princeton Theological Seminary, Notre Dame, the University of Pennsylvania, and Wake Forest. Operations are rooted at Washington University in St. Louis (231 Westgate Avenue, University City, MO, with a secondary contact address at 6199 Waterman Blvd., St. Louis), and the organization explicitly identifies its geographic span as regional (St. Louis / Midwest) plus national (via the Legal Vocation Fellowship and digital content).

Name

The Carver Project

Legal name

The Carver Project

Website

https://carverstl.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2016

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

The Carver Project is a St. Louis-based Christian nonprofit that operates faculty fellowships, student programs, a national legal fellowship, digital courses, and a podcast to connect Christian faculty, students, churches, and society.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Faith-based Ministry & Religious Education

NAICS

Religious Organizations (81311)

SIC

Services-Membership Organizations (8600), Services-Educational Services (8200)

akta.pro primary industry

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

akta.pro secondary industry

Campus Spiritual & Religious Life (EDALAHAI)

Keywords

• Faith-based nonprofit ministry
• Christian faculty fellowship
• Campus ministry programs
• Religious higher education
• Legal vocation formation

Headquarters

HQ city

Missouri City

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, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Donations and Charitable Contributions: TCP operates as a nonprofit organization funded primarily through donations from individuals, church partners, and foundations. The organization accepts charitable contributions to support faculty programming, student engagement, and public events.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

The Carver Project is a faith-based nonprofit ministry that runs formation programs connecting Christian faculty, students, churches, and society. Its offerings include the TCP Faculty Fellowship, Legal Vocation Fellowship, Newbigin Fellows program, student Reading Groups, CarverCast podcast, free Carver Classrooms digital mini-courses, the annual Carver Conversation event, and the Carver Connections blog series. All programs are provided free to participants and funded through donations and foundation grants.

Product overview

The Carver Project is a ministry organization that operates as a collection of interconnected programs rather than a unified software product. Its core offerings include the TCP Faculty Fellowship (empowering Christian faculty across university departments), the CarverCast Podcast (interviews with Christian scholars), Carver Classrooms (free digital mini-courses), the annual Carver Conversation event, Newbigin Fellows (extending Christian faculty community nationally), the Legal Vocation Fellowship (discipleship program for Christian lawyers across 8 cities), student Reading Groups across multiple university schools, and the Carver Connections Blog series. These programs work together to bridge connections between university, church, and society while empowering Christian faculty and students.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• TCP Faculty Fellowship Fellowship program that empowers Christian faculty to integrate faith and academic vocation through faculty dinners, student reading groups, and community engagement across multiple university schools including medicine, law, business, engineering, and design.
• Legal Vocation Fellowship A 15-month discipleship program forming Christian lawyers through teaching from Christian law faculty and senior practitioners. Fellows are drawn from eight cities: Chicago, Houston, Minneapolis, New York City, San Diego, San Francisco, St. Louis, and Washington, D.C.
• Newbigin Fellows A program extending the community of Christian faculty from Washington University to other universities nationally.
• Carver Classrooms Free digital mini-courses designed for churches and individuals across the country, offering teaching from Christian professors in accessible online formats.
• CarverCast Podcast A podcast series featuring conversations with Christian faculty members across various disciplines, exploring the intersection of faith and academic work. Episodes include interviews with scholars from institutions including Yale, MIT, Harvard, and WashU.
• Carver Conversation An annual public event featuring speakers and discussions on topics bridging faith, academia, and society.
• Reading Groups Student reading groups organized across various university schools including Law School, Fox School of Design, Graduate Humanities, International Students, School of Medicine, and Olin School of Business.
• Carver Connections Blog An annual blog series featuring reflections from faculty fellows, staff, students, and ministry partners on topics related to faith and academic vocation.

Quantifiable outcome

• 25 faculty fellows and 75 faculty members involved
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers2 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

Partnerships

30 partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Bonhomme Presbyterian ChurchcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerLocal church partner welcoming university community members in worship and connecting church members to TCP programming.
• Central Presbyterian ChurchcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerLocal church partner participating in TCP's church partnership network.
• The Church of St. Michael and St. GeorgecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerLocal church partner with active TCP community involvement; several faculty and staff attend this church.
• Concordia Lutheran Church KirkwoodcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerLocal church partner in TCP's church partnership network.
• The CrossingcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerLocal church partner participating in TCP's church partnership network.
• Central West End ChurchcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerLocal church partner in TCP's church partnership network.
• Faith OakvillecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerLocal church partner in TCP's church partnership network.
• The Gathering NowcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerLocal church partner in TCP's church partnership network.
• Grace & Peace FellowshipcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerLocal church partner; John Hendrix serves as Ruling Elder at this PCA church.
• Grace United Methodist ChurchcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerLocal church partner in TCP's church partnership network.
• The Journey West CountycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerLocal church partner in TCP's church partnership network.
• One Family ChurchcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerLocal church partner; several TCP staff and faculty attend this church.
• St. Peter's Episcopal ChurchcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerLocal church partner in TCP's church partnership network.
• Rooftop ChurchcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerLocal church partner in TCP's church partnership network.
• The Well 636coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerLocal church partner in TCP's church partnership network.
• Knox Presbyterian ChurchcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerNational church partner in TCP's church partnership network.
• Washington University American Culture StudiescoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerAcademic partner department at Washington University.
• Christianity TodayminorGTM or Marketing PartnerMedia partner providing content and visibility for TCP programming.
• The Veritas ForumminorGTM or Marketing PartnerNational organization co-hosting events and dialogue on faith and learning.
• InterVarsity Christian FellowshipminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCampus ministry partner focused on faculty engagement.
• John C. Danforth Center on Religion and PoliticscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerWashington University center focused on religion and politics; TCP faculty involved in the center.
• The Trinity ForumminorGTM or Marketing PartnerThought leadership organization partnering on events and content.
• Interfaith AmericaminorGTM or Marketing PartnerOrganization promoting interfaith cooperation; aligned mission with TCP.
• Nii Addy (Yale School of Medicine)coreOthersAcademic advisor and TCP founder; Associate Professor of Psychiatry at Yale.
• Catherine Crouch (Swarthmore College)coreOthersAcademic advisor on TCP advisory board; Professor of Physics at Swarthmore College.
• Nicole Stelle Garnett (University of Notre Dame)coreOthersAcademic advisor on TCP advisory board; John P. Murphy Foundation Professor of Law.
• Alexander Hartemink (Duke University)coreOthersAcademic advisor on TCP advisory board; Professor of Computer Science and Biology.
• Nathan O. Hatch (Wake Forest University)coreOthersAcademic advisor on TCP advisory board; President of Wake Forest University.
• Margarita Mooney (Princeton Theological Seminary)coreOthersAcademic advisor on TCP advisory board; Associate Professor of Congregational Studies.
• David Skeel (University of Pennsylvania Law School)coreOthersAcademic advisor on TCP advisory board; S. Samuel Arsht Professor of Corporate Law.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Broad incumbents

• Cru (Campus Crusade for Christ): One of the largest U.S. campus ministries with faculty/staff ministry, global operations, and substantial funding. Competes with TCP for Christian faculty and student attention on university campuses, though Cru is far broader in scope.
• InterVarsity Christian Fellowship: One of the largest U.S. campus ministries operating at hundreds of universities with graduate/faculty ministry (Faculty Commons/PhD/Grad groups). TCP's faculty fellowship and student reading groups operate in overlapping mission territory, but InterVarsity is far larger and more established.

Others

• Christianity Today: Largest evangelical media organization producing editorial content on faith, culture, and vocation. Listed as a TCP media partner; comparable in content production (articles, podcasts) for Christian professionals and academics, though CT operates at much larger scale.

Emerging players

• Christian Faculty Forum: Niche community for evangelical Christian professors at secular and Christian universities. Most directly comparable peer to TCP's TCP Faculty Fellowship in target audience (Christian faculty integrating faith and academic vocation).
• Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary: Seminary providing pastoral training and faculty formation programs (George Stulac, TCP's pastoral care lead, is a Gordon-Conwell D.Min. graduate). Adjacent in training Christian faculty and ministry professionals for academic and pastoral vocations.

Direct peers

• The Trinity Forum: Faith-and-learning organization producing curated reading discussions, podcasts, and leadership formation for Christian professionals. Overlaps directly with TCP's Carver Conversations, CarverCast, and reading group programming; listed as a TCP partner.
• Christian Legal Society: National organization for Christian lawyers and law students, providing fellowship, conferences, and discipleship. Closely comparable to TCP's Legal Vocation Fellowship, which targets the same early-career Christian lawyer audience across multiple cities.
• Coalition for Christian Outreach: Faith-based organization with faculty ministry (Faculty Commons) and student discipleship programs at universities. Overlaps with TCP's faculty fellowship model and serves a similar Christian faculty/student audience on campuses.
• The Veritas Forum: National organization hosting university events and conversations on faith, science, and academic life. Listed as a TCP marketing/community partner; the two share a faith-and-learning dialogue model on campuses, making Veritas a direct peer in the faith-academic programming category.

Regional players

• The Hauenstein Center for Presidential Studies (Grand Valley State): University-based center hosting faith-and-leadership programming, paralleling TCP's faith-and-learning model at WashU. Comparable as a university-affiliated faith-formation initiative but operates regionally rather than with TCP's national LVF footprint.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/Carver_STL

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles8 records

Subsidiaries3 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds2 records

Investors1 record

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 The Carver Project