First Parish In Needham

What First Parish In Needham does

First Parish in Needham Unitarian Universalist is a nonprofit religious congregation headquartered at 23 Dedham Avenue in Needham, Massachusetts, serving the MetroWest region. The congregation delivers weekly Sunday worship services at 10:30 am both in-person and online via YouTube livestream, a structured children's and youth religious exploration program (nursery through grade 12 including Our Whole Lives sexuality education), adult continuing education and the Lane Lyceum speaker series, Small Group Ministry, multiple music ensembles (First Parish Choir, SongSquad Children's Choir, Singers, Players), pastoral care, and an active social action program covering food insecurity, immigration ministry, voting rights, and environmental justice. The congregation holds four Unitarian Universalist Association certifications: Welcoming Congregation (LGBTQ+ inclusive), Green Sanctuary, Level 2 Sanctuary Supporting Congregation, and 8th Principle Congregation.

The organization operates two notable sub-brands: Homegrown Coffeehouse, a folk/jazz/bluegrass concert venue launched in 1983 that is recognized as one of the top folk venues in New England approaching 40 seasons; and Lane Lyceum, an ongoing educational speaker series named for Rev. Ed Lane. Its technology stack is built entirely on third-party SaaS platforms — Realm for member sign-in and donation management, YouTube for livestream, Zoom for virtual meetings, Google Forms for registration, and Brown Paper Tickets for concert ticketing — with no proprietary technology or AI components.

The revenue model is a hybrid of recurring member donations and pledges (the primary stream), one-time facility rental fees for weddings, receptions, and events in the Sanctuary, Parish Hall, and other spaces, and transaction-fee concert ticket revenue from Homegrown Coffeehouse. Event rentals are priced on a pay-as-you-go basis with a 50% deposit; members receive rental discounts. The paid staff of 6 supports an operation heavily reliant on ~25+ volunteer committees covering worship, religious education, social action, music, stewardship, membership, and other functions. Strategic governance rests with an elected Parish Committee, and Rev. Catie Scudera has served as Lead Minister since 2014.

Name

First Parish In Needham

Legal name

First Parish in Needham Unitarian Universalist

Website

https://uuneedham.org

Company type

Private

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

First Parish in Needham is a Unitarian Universalist congregation in Needham, Massachusetts offering Sunday worship, children's and adult religious education, pastoral care, the Homegrown Coffeehouse folk venue, and facility rentals, funded primarily by member pledges and donations.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Religious Congregational Services

NAICS

Religious Organizations (8131)

akta.pro industry

PRIMARYBPAGAJAG

Faith-Based Social Services & Community Outreach (Food Pantries, Shelters, Counseling)

Business & Public Services/Nonprofit, NGO & Social Services/Religious & Faith-Based Organizations

Keywords

• Unitarian universalist worship
• Religious education programs
• Community fellowship services
• Faith community gatherings
• Congregational life programs

Headquarters

HQ city

Needham, Massachusetts

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Others, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Member Donations and Pledges: Primary revenue source from congregation members through annual pledge drives and regular giving, supporting the church's operating budget and mission.
2. Facility Rentals: Revenue from renting spaces including the Sanctuary, Parish Hall, Parlor, Conference Room, Music Room, and Nursery for weddings, receptions, concerts, meetings, and other events.
3. Homegrown Coffeehouse Concert Revenue: Ticket sales for folk, jazz, and bluegrass concerts at the on-site coffeehouse venue. General admission ranges from $23-$28, with student/senior discounts available.
4. Special Events and Programs: Revenue from Lane Lyceum events, workshops, and special programming.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

First Parish in Needham is a Unitarian Universalist congregation that provides Sunday worship services, lifespan religious education for children and adults, multigenerational community programs, pastoral care, and social action initiatives. The parish also rents its historic meetinghouse and performance space to outside groups and hosts a public concert series. Its operations are sustained by member pledges, donations, and facility-use fees.

Product overview

First Parish in Needham is a Unitarian Universalist congregation offering a comprehensive set of programs and services centered on worship, religious education, community building, and social action. The church operates Sunday worship services (in-person and online via YouTube), children's and youth religious exploration programs, multiple music ensembles, and the Homegrown Coffeehouse concert series. Adult education includes the Lane Lyceum speaker series, Small Group Ministry, continuing education workshops, and support groups. The church also offers facilities rental for weddings, events, and community gatherings, and runs various social action initiatives addressing poverty, environmental justice, and civic engagement.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Homegrown Coffeehouse: A folk music venue launched in 1983 that presents nearly 40 seasons of folk, jazz, and pop performers
• Lane Lyceum

Products and services

• Sunday Worship Services

Named customers1 record

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration6 records

Partnerships

Six partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Greater Boston Interfaith Organization (GBIO)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerFirst Parish Parish Committee voted unanimously to sign onto GBIO's 'Not with Our Money, Citizens!' campaign addressing ethical concerns about banking institutions. The church is working with GBIO and the De-ICE Citizens Bank Coalition to address the ethics of where they keep and invest money.
• First UU Society of NewtoncoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership with First UU Society of Newton to co-host the Our Whole Lives (OWL) sexuality education program for grades 7-9. Programs run September to December at partnering congregations.
• Quinobequin Summer Service Consortium (UU Wellesley Hills and First Church & Parish in Dedham)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerInaugural inter-congregational summer Sunday service consortium between First Parish, UU Wellesley Hills, and First Church & Parish in Dedham (UU). congregations share hosting duties for summer services from June 28-September 6.
• De-ICE Citizens Bank CoalitionminorGTM or Marketing PartnerCoalition working with GBIO to collect pledges from organizations to move money from Citizens Bank if meaningful changes are not made regarding financing of detention centers.
• Needham CommunityminorGTM or Marketing PartnerOngoing partnership with Needham Community through support for the NCC Food Pantry, Pride events, and other community social action initiatives.
• Church of the Larger FellowshipminorGTM or Marketing PartnerVirtual UU congregation resource linked for families seeking UU community without a home congregation, especially for RE@Home resources.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Unitarian Universalist Wellesley Hills: Partner in the Quinobequin Summer Service Consortium; an adjacent MetroWest UU parish with comparable size, programming mix, and member demographics.
• First Church & Parish in Dedham (UU): Third member of the Quinobequin Summer Service Consortium and nearby UU parish with similar worship, religious education, and community-outreach programming for suburban Boston families.
• First Parish in Concord (UU): Historic UU parish in a comparable suburban-Boston-area town with multigenerational programming, religious education, and music programs of similar scope.
• First Religious Society of Carlisle: Suburban-Boston-area UU congregation of similar size with worship, RE, and pastoral-care programming serving a comparable family demographic.
• Winchester Unitarian Society: Suburban Boston UU society where Rev. Scudera previously served as student and summer minister; comparable congregational size, programming mix, and inclusive UU positioning.
• Old Ship Church, Hingham: Historic Unitarian Universalist congregation on the South Shore of Massachusetts; comparable suburban MA UU parish serving families with similar programming (worship, RE, music, social action).
• Church of the Larger Fellowship (CLF): Virtual UUA-affiliated UU congregation that First Parish links families to; broadly comparable UU religious community but delivered online rather than at a physical parish.
• Arlington Street Church (Boston): Center-city UU congregation where Rev. Scudera previously served as intern minister; comparable UU worship, music, and social-justice orientation in a Boston-metro context.
• First Unitarian Universalist Society of Newton: Neighboring UU congregation and explicit co-host partner for the Our Whole Lives program; serves a comparable suburban Boston demographic with similar worship, RE, and social-action programming.

Regional players

• First Unitarian Universalist Church of Berks County: Mid-Atlantic UU church operating a comparable mix of Sunday worship, religious education, and small-group ministry; relevant for benchmarking programming model but geographically distinct from the MetroWest Boston market.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xtwitter.com/uuneedham
• YouTubeyoutube.com/@uuneedhamservices
• Facebookfacebook.com/uuneedham
• Instagraminstagram.com/uuneedham
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/first-parish-in-needham

Compliance4 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles5 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about First Parish In Needham