Catholic Newman Community at the University of Rochester

What Catholic Newman Community at the University of Rochester does

The Catholic Newman Community at the University of Rochester is a nonprofit Catholic campus ministry founded in 1963 and headquartered in Rochester, New York, serving approximately 1,800 Catholic students enrolled at the University of Rochester. It operates from the Mack Catholic Center location at 610 Faculty Rd while a new dedicated facility, the Joseph P. Mack '55 Catholic Center and William and Mary Christine Carpenter Catholic Chapel, is under construction with a $7.3 million budget that broke ground on February 24, 2025. Core offerings include sacramental life (Sunday Mass at 10:30am and 7pm, daily Mass, Reconciliation, Eucharistic Adoration, RCIA, and marriage preparation), spiritual formation programming (Kairos Retreats, Rosary Group, Music Ministry, Guided Meditation, and the Building the Faith lecture series), service programs (St. Sebastian Society for student-athletes, Yes Pa prison mentoring at Monroe Correctional Facility, tutoring at Nativity Preparatory Academy, and Stephen Ministry peer support), and community gatherings such as weekly Newman Nite and monthly Third Sunday Supper. The organization has won three national awards for student programming and operates with approximately 11 employees (including a Director, Interim Director, Campus Ministers, Office Manager, and Regional Finance Director) plus 75+ student leaders facilitating nearly 100 programs each semester.

The business model is purely donation-driven, with approximately 85% of operating support coming from alumni, parents, and friends. Revenue streams include annual appeals, a Day of Giving campaign coordinated with the University of Rochester's annual giving program, George Eastman Circle membership (over 80 members), a planned giving program through the Wilson Society, and an active capital campaign for the building project that had attracted over 450 donors as of early 2025. The organization's University of Rochester annual fundraising goal for FY2023-2024 was $242K, with an additional $35K Day of Giving goal and a $1.5M cash-gift target for the building project by May 2024. The technology footprint consists of a WordPress website, YouTube livestreaming of Mass services, online registration forms, email newsletters, and student-led organic social media. The ministry shares a service model with Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT) Newman Catholic Community under a single Interim Director of Campus Ministry and operates under the clerical authority of the Diocese of Rochester, with diocesan leadership appointing directors and providing safe-environment compliance.

Name

Catholic Newman Community at the University of Rochester

Legal name

Catholic Newman Community at the University of Rochester

Website

https://urnewman.org

Company type

Private

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

The Catholic Newman Community at the University of Rochester is a nonprofit Catholic campus ministry serving approximately 1,800 Catholic students with weekly Mass, faith formation, service programs, and community events, funded primarily by alumni and parent donations and currently constructing a $7.3 million Catholic center.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Campus Ministry Services

NAICS

Religious Organizations (8131)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200)

akta.pro primary industry

Local Congregations & Worship Communities (Churches, Mosques, Temples, Synagogues) (BPAGAJAA)

akta.pro secondary industry

Campus Spiritual & Religious Life (EDALAHAI)

Keywords

• Catholic campus ministry
• Sacramental services
• Faith formation
• Retreat programs
• Student religious education

Headquarters

HQ city

Rochester

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Others

Revenue model

1. Annual Appeals and Donations: Regular donation appeals to alumni, parents, and supporters to fund ongoing ministry operations and student programs.
2. Building Project Fundraising: Capital campaign to raise funds for the $7.3 million Joseph P. Mack Catholic Center and William and Mary Christine Carpenter Catholic Chapel.
3. George Eastman Circle Membership: University of Rochester annual giving society membership with over 80 members supporting Newman, counted as recurring annual donations.
4. Day of Giving: Annual fundraising campaign during University of Rochester's Day of Giving event.
5. Wilson Society (Planned Giving): Estate planning and legacy gifts through University of Rochester's planned giving program.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

The Catholic Newman Community at the University of Rochester is a Catholic campus ministry that provides sacramental services (Mass, Reconciliation, Adoration), spiritual formation programs (retreats, Bible studies, faith sharing groups), service opportunities (prison ministry, tutoring, Stephen Ministry support), and community-building events to approximately 1,800 Catholic students on the University of Rochester campus. The organization operates free of charge and is funded primarily through donations from alumni, parents, and friends. Founded in 1963, it is constructing the Joseph P. Mack Catholic Center, a $7.3 million facility to centralize its ministries.

Product overview

The Catholic Newman Community at the University of Rochester operates as a single unified campus ministry offering rather than a platform-plus-modules architecture. Its core offerings center on Mass and Sacraments (including Sunday Mass, Reconciliation, Eucharistic Adoration, RCIA, and Marriage preparation), a Spiritual Life program (featuring Adoration, Rosary, Music Ministry, Kairos Retreats, and lecture series), and various Service programs including the St. Sebastian Society, Yes Pa prison mentoring, and Stephen Ministry peer support. Community-building occurs through Newman Nite and Third Sunday Supper gatherings. A major Building Project—the $7.3 million Joseph P. Mack Catholic Center and William and Mary Carpenter Catholic Chapel—provides a permanent home. Publications include weekly Bulletins and annual reports. Livestream services extend reach via YouTube. The organization has won 3 national awards for student programming and engages over 75 student leaders facilitating nearly 100 programs.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Sunday Mass and Daily Mass

Quantifiable outcome

• Over 200 students attend one of two Sunday Masses regularly out of 1,800+ Catholic students
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers6 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Eight partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• University of RochestercoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 24 February 2025President Sarah Mangelsdorf participated in groundbreaking ceremony. Building project MOU between Newman and UR. Newman operates within University Interfaith Chapel. Access to George Eastman Circle annual giving program.
• Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerShared services model between UR and RIT Newman Catholic Communities. Jennifer Hughes serves as Interim Director of Campus Ministry for both institutions. Joint retreat, social, and leadership programming. Bus transportation provided between campuses for Mass and events.
• Diocese of RochestercoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerFr. Brian Cool was appointed by Bishop John S. Bonnici. Diocese provides clerical oversight and sacramental authorization. Laurie Martin serves as Finance Director for Diocese, supporting Newman finances. Safe environment resources and policies provided through Diocese.
• George Eastman CircleminorOthersUniversity of Rochester's annual giving society with over 80 members supporting Catholic Newman Community through designated donations to the Dean's Fund for Newman.
• Wilson SocietyminorOthersUniversity of Rochester's planned giving vehicle enabling donors to include Newman in estate plans as a legacy gift.
• La CasaminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerOrganization providing resources to migrant farmworkers in Monroe County. Newman Cup basketball tournament raises funds annually for La Casa through St. Sebastian Society.
• Monroe Correctional FacilityminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPrison facility where St. Sebastian Society members teach the YesPa character education program to inmates, based on the Fred Sarkis book 'Prisoner of the Truck'.
• Nativity Preparatory AcademyminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerLocal middle school where St. Sebastian Society members provide tutoring services as part of community outreach.

Scale indicators12 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Cornell Catholic Community: Newman-style Catholic campus ministry serving Catholic students at Cornell University, an Upstate New York peer institution. Operates with a near-identical service and program model (Mass, sacraments, formation, retreats) to serve a comparable denominational student population.
• RIT Catholic Newman Community: The explicitly partnered Catholic Newman Community serving Rochester Institute of Technology; shares staff (Interim Director, Office Manager, Finance Director) and runs joint programming with the URochester Newman Community, making it the closest operational peer.
• Syracuse University Catholic Center: Catholic campus ministry at Syracuse University, another major Upstate New York Catholic-minority-serving institution. Operates a similar Newman-style model of weekly Mass, sacraments, retreats, and student-led programming for a comparable Catholic student population.

Others

• InterVarsity Christian Fellowship: National evangelical Protestant campus ministry organization operating staff-led chapters at hundreds of U.S. universities including U of R. Functionally parallel to Newman in mission (campus spiritual formation, student leadership, retreats) but denominational scope is broader and faith tradition different.

Broad incumbents

• Georgetown University Campus Ministry: Catholic and Jesuit campus ministry at Georgetown offering daily Mass, sacraments, retreats, faith formation, and student leadership programming; comparable functional offering to Newman within a larger institutional context.
• Marquette University Campus Ministry: Catholic, Jesuit campus ministry offering Mass, Reconciliation, retreats (including Kairos-style programs), and service-immersion opportunities — closely parallels Newman's program mix but at a larger Catholic-majority institutional scale.
• University of Notre Dame Campus Ministry: Larger and longer-established Catholic campus ministry embedded within a Catholic-majority university. While at materially greater scale, it is directly comparable in function (Mass, sacraments, formation, retreats, service programs) and serves as a benchmark for institutional Catholic campus ministry.
• Boston College Center for Student Formation: Catholic-centered campus ministry and formation program at another Jesuit institution, with comparable Mass/sacramental programming, Ignatian retreats, and student leadership development for a Catholic-majority undergraduate population.
• Villanova University Campus Ministry: Augustinian Catholic campus ministry delivering Mass, sacraments, retreats, and service programs within a Catholic-rooted university — comparable functional offering despite larger scale and different sponsoring order.

Emerging players

• Hillel at University of Rochester: Jewish campus ministry that serves as the non-Catholic counterpart within the same University of Rochester Interfaith Chapel footprint. Same constituency, same campus, parallel faith-based community model focused on student religious life and identity — making it the closest same-campus functional peer.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/@catholicnewmancommunityatt2319
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/urnewman

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles6 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about Catholic Newman Community at the University of Rochester