Awake

What Awake does

Awake is a 501(c)(3) public charity (EIN: 84-4590798) founded in March 2019 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, that supports survivors of sexual abuse in the Catholic Church and their loved ones. The organization began as a small volunteer group convened by Sara Larson in her Bayview living room, launched officially as Awake Milwaukee in August 2019, achieved 501(c)(3) status in July 2021, and rebranded to simply 'Awake' in January 2024 to reflect its national and international scope. Programming includes Survivor Circles (online peer support groups of 6-8 participants meeting monthly), the Courageous Conversations and Rooted and Rising speaker series, trauma-informed prayer services, annual in-person retreats in Wisconsin, Bridge Dialogues pairing priests with survivors, and a Resources for Priests and Parishes toolkit. All services are provided at no cost to participants.

The technology stack is minimal and entirely off-the-shelf: a Squarespace-hosted website (awakecommunity.org) serves as the central hub for blog content, event registration, and resources, while Zoom is used for Survivor Circles, Courageous Conversations, and leadership gatherings. There are no proprietary apps, no APIs, no AI or ML components, and no disclosed data assets. The organization distributes via Mailchimp email newsletters and maintains social media profiles on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, and YouTube. Awake's revenue model is donation-based, with the organization encouraging recurring monthly gifts; no fees are charged for any program. By March 2026 the organization had expanded from a volunteer-only structure to a small staffed operation led by Executive Director Sara Larson alongside three full-time staff members (Meghan Fiebelkorn, Whitney True Francis, Rebecca Dodge), supported by a Board of Directors, Leadership Team, and Survivor Advisory Panel, with documented programmatic reach extending across the US, Australia, Canada, Kenya, Ireland, South Africa, and Poland.

Name

Awake

Legal name

Awake

Website

https://awakecommunity.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2019

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Awake is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit founded in 2019 in Milwaukee that supports Catholic Church sexual abuse survivors and loved ones through peer support circles, speaker series, retreats, and advocacy, serving a national and international community via free, donation-funded programs.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Milwaukee

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

Revenue model

1. Donations and Charitable Contributions: As a 501(c)(3) public charity (EIN: 84-4590798), Awake relies on donations from supporters. The organization encourages monthly donations and describes itself as supported by donors who are inspired by their work.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Awake is a nonprofit community of abuse survivors, concerned Catholics, and allies that responds to sexual abuse in the Catholic Church. It delivers small online peer support groups (Survivor Circles of 6-8 participants), virtual expert speaker series (Courageous Conversations and Rooted and Rising), trauma-informed prayer services, annual in-person retreats, confidential Bridge Dialogues between priests and survivors, and educational resources for parish leaders.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Survivor Circles Online peer support groups for victim-survivors of sexual abuse in the Catholic Church, with four distinct circles (general survivor, women-only, adults abused as adults, and secondary survivors for family/friends). Groups of 6-8 participants meet monthly via Zoom.
• Courageous Conversations Virtual speaker series featuring expert discussions on trauma, abuse, and healing in faith communities, open to national and international participation.
• Rooted and Rising Speaker series launched in October 2025 featuring mental health professionals presenting practical healing tools for survivors of clerical abuse and those who support them.
• Summer Retreats Annual in-person retreats for abuse survivors offering community building, reflection, and healing in a supportive environment, held at retreat centers in Wisconsin (including a dedicated women's survivor retreat).
• Prayer Services Trauma-sensitive prayer opportunities including Way of the Cross with Survivors, Advent services, rosary services, and seasonal prayer gatherings, offered both in-person and virtually.
• Bridge Dialogues Confidential facilitated conversations bringing together Catholic priests and abuse survivors to foster dialogue and understanding across these communities.
• Awake Blog Educational blog covering clergy abuse, trauma, healing, Church reform, and survivor stories, reaching an international audience across the US, Australia, Canada, Kenya, Ireland, South Africa, and Poland.
• Resources for Priests and Parishes Educational materials and guidance for Catholic clergy and parish leaders on trauma-informed practices, addressing abuse in homilies, and creating trauma-sensitive faith communities.

Named customers4 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

One partnership is on record.

• GRACE (Godly Response to Abuse in the Christian Environment)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 21 November 2024GRACE is an organization that helps Christian churches recognize, prevent, and respond to abuse. Awake partnered with GRACE for Courageous Conversations events, featuring Pete Singer (GRACE Executive Director) as a speaker on trauma-informed practices. Pete Singer shared expertise on trauma, adverse childhood experiences, and creating trauma-sensitive faith communities.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves9 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Emerging players

• FaithTrust Institute: FaithTrust Institute is an interfaith nonprofit addressing sexual and domestic violence through faith community education and training. Comparable to Awake's trauma-informed resources for parishes and clergy, but with a broader interfaith rather than Catholic-specific focus.

Direct peers

• BishopAccountability.org: BishopAccountability documents public records on Catholic clergy sexual abuse and advocates for accountability. While more research/journalism-focused than peer-support-oriented, it shares Awake's survivor justice and Church transparency mission and target audience.
• Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests (SNAP): SNAP is the largest and most established survivor-led advocacy organization for victims of clergy sexual abuse. Directly comparable to Awake in mission (peer support, advocacy, public education) and target constituency (Catholic abuse survivors), with a much larger national and international footprint.
• GRACE (Godly Response to Abuse in the Christian Environment): GRACE helps Christian churches recognize, prevent, and respond to abuse. Awake is already a strategic partner of GRACE for Courageous Conversations; GRACE offers overlapping trauma-informed training, prevention education, and institutional response services to Christian communities including Catholic settings.
• Catholic Whistleblowers: Catholic Whistleblowers supports individuals who report misconduct within the Catholic Church and advocates for systemic accountability. Shares Awake's survivor/insider constituency and reform advocacy positioning, though leans more toward clergy and institutional witnesses.
• Voice of the Faithful: Voice of the Faithful is a lay Catholic organization focused on structural reform and supporting survivors of clergy sexual abuse. Overlaps with Awake's mission of working within the Church for healing and reform, with a longer-tenured donor and volunteer base.

Broad incumbents

• Leadership Roundtable: Leadership Roundtable serves institutional Catholic leaders on governance, management, and safeguarding practices. While it works more upstream with bishops and executives, its safeguarding work overlaps with Awake's Resources for Priests and Parishes and Bridge Dialogues programming.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/@AwakeCommunity-Org
• Facebookm.facebook.com/awakecommunity.org
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/awakecommunity
• Instagraminstagram.com/awakecommunityorg

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles10 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 Awake