ACN International Aid to the Church in Need

Name

ACN International Aid to the Church in Need

Legal name

ACN International Aid to the Church in Need gGmbH

Website

https://acninternational.org

Company type

Private

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

501–1,000 employees

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Religious Humanitarian Aid

NAICS

Religious Organizations (8131), Grantmaking and Giving Services (81321), Religious, Grantmaking, Civic, Professional, and Similar Organizations (813)

SIC

Services-Social Services (8300)

akta.pro primary industry

Faith-Based Humanitarian Aid & Relief Ministries (BPAGAJAF)

akta.pro secondary industries

Public Charities & Grantmaking Intermediaries (BPAGAKAE), Social Justice & Human Rights Grantmaking Foundations (BPAGAKAN)

Keywords

• Catholic charitable foundation
• Religious freedom advocacy
• Humanitarian pastoral aid
• Persecuted Christians support
• Private donation fundraising

Headquarters

HQ city

Königstein Im Taunus

HQ country

Germany

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Private Donations: ACN relies entirely on private donations from individuals worldwide. The foundation receives no public funding. Donors contribute through the website, national offices, and campaign appeals. Donation data collected includes name, address, country, phone number, email, IP address, ID number (where applicable), and payment information (amount and frequency). Data stored up to 10 years for fundraising purposes.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

ACN International Aid to the Church in Need is a Catholic pontifical foundation that funds pastoral, spiritual, and material aid projects for persecuted and suffering Christians worldwide. It channels private donations into roughly 6,000 projects per year across 150 countries, supporting seminarians, refugees, reconstruction of churches, and country-specific relief efforts, while publishing the annual Religious Freedom Report and running the Million Children Praying prayer campaign.

Product overview

Aid to the Church in Need (ACN) is a single unified charitable mission rather than a technology product platform. The organization offers a portfolio of interconnected aid and support services centered on its core mission of supporting persecuted Christians worldwide. The main service offerings include project funding (averaging 6,000 projects annually across 150 countries), the Religious Freedom Report publication, the Million Children Praying campaign, safeguarding and child protection training programs, seminarian support, and country-specific aid initiatives for regions including Ukraine, Nigeria, Syria, Venezuela, and India. The organization also operates an online donation platform and aid application portal to facilitate contributions and distribute support. These services are unified by ACN's three-pillar approach: Information (sharing testimonies of faith), Prayer (serving the cause of evangelization), and Action (fundraising and project administration).

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Million Children Praying: A campaign encouraging children worldwide to pray the Rosary for persecuted Christians.
• Religious Freedom Report
• RedWeek

Products and services

• Project Funding Services Financial support program that funds pastoral, spiritual, and material aid projects for Christians wherever they are persecuted, oppressed, or in material need; 5,368 projects were funded in 141 countries during 2025.
• Online Donation Platform Multilingual digital fundraising platform (available in English, Spanish, German, French, Italian, and Portuguese) enabling individual donors worldwide to make voluntary contributions to support Christian communities in need.
• Religious Freedom Report Annual publication documenting and reporting on religious freedom violations and the persecution of Christians worldwide.
• Million Children Praying Campaign Global prayer initiative encouraging children to pray the Rosary for persecuted Christians, fostering solidarity and spiritual support.
• Safeguarding Services Child protection and abuse prevention program providing training courses for priests and religious to recognize and prevent abuse of minors and wards, in partnership with the Pontifical Gregorian University's Centre for Child Protection.
• Country-Specific Aid Programs Targeted support initiatives for specific countries including Ukraine, Nigeria, Syria, Lebanon, Venezuela, India, Central African Republic, and Democratic Republic of Congo.
• Seminarian Support Program Financial and spiritual support program for seminarians, supporting their vocational formation and education.
• Aid Application Services Online portal allowing qualified beneficiaries to apply for financial and pastoral support from ACN for their projects.
• Publications Newsletter, reports, and informational materials keeping benefactors informed about persecuted Christians and ACN's activities worldwide.

Quantifiable outcome

• 5,368 projects funded in 141 countries in 2025; average of 6,000 projects per year across 150 countries
• +1 more outcomes

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration9 records

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• Institute of Anthropology Interdisciplinary Studies on Human Dignity and Care (IADC) at the Pontifical Gregorian University, RomecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerACN works closely with the Institute of Anthropology Interdisciplinary Studies on Human Dignity and Care at the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome to offer safeguarding courses worldwide, training priests and religious to recognize and prevent sexual abuse and other forms of abuse of minors and wards. The courses focus on early detection of abuse and teaching effective prevention and response measures.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Catholic Relief Services (CRS): US-based official Catholic overseas relief agency of the US Bishops, analogous to ACN in mission and Catholic-identity funding model. Operates global humanitarian programs funded by private donations and serves persecuted/vulnerable populations across many of the same geographies.
• Caritas Internationalis: The Vatican's worldwide Catholic humanitarian confederation, operating in over 200 countries with similar donor-funded, diocesan-affiliated model. Closest direct comparator in scale, Catholic-identity, and global project footprint.
• Open Doors: International non-profit supporting persecuted Christians worldwide with report, advocacy, and field support. Most direct mission-comparable organization to ACN, though Protestant rather than Catholic in origin.
• Voice of the Martyrs: Non-profit serving persecuted Christians globally through aid, Bibles, and family support. Highly comparable mission and beneficiary population, with overlapping programs in restricted and hostile countries.
• Barnabas Fund: UK-based Christian charity supporting persecuted Christians worldwide with direct aid and advocacy. Comparable niche focus on persecuted Christians and similar geographic priorities (Middle East, Africa, South Asia).
• Missio: Pontifical mission societies of the Catholic Church supporting missionaries and the Church in mission territories. Shares Vatican affiliation and Catholic-identity donor base with ACN.
• Jesuit Refugee Service: International Catholic Jesuit organization serving refugees and forcibly displaced persons in over 50 countries. Comparable Catholic-affiliated, donor-funded humanitarian model with overlapping geographies (Syria, Lebanon, DRC, CAR).
• International Catholic Migration Commission (ICMC): International Catholic organization serving migrants, refugees, and vulnerable populations worldwide. Similar Catholic-identity, donor-funded model, and field presence in countries where ACN also operates.

Broad incumbents

• World Vision International: Global Christian humanitarian organization operating in ~100 countries with child sponsorship and emergency response. Larger scope and broader Christian (not exclusively Catholic) base, but comparable donor-funded model and global project operations.
• Catholic Charities USA: US national network of Catholic social service agencies. Comparable Catholic-identity and donor-funded model, but operates domestically rather than focused on persecuted Christians overseas.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/acn_int
• YouTubeyoutube.com/@ACN-International
• Facebookfacebook.com/acninternationalorg
• Instagraminstagram.com/acn_international
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/acn-international-aid-to-the-church-in-need

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 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 ACN International Aid to the Church in Need