What Korus Connect does

Korus Connect, legally The Council for Christian Education in Schools Ltd, is a Victorian non-profit headquartered in Surrey Hills, Australia. Founded in 1945 and now in its 80th year of operation, the organization delivers school chaplaincy programs, Special Religious Instruction (SRI) in public schools, Community Connectors wellbeing initiatives, and accredited Education & Training services across the state of Victoria. It serves schools, students, families, and broader community members through a mix of embedded and program-based services.

The organization's four core service lines operate with distinct go-to-market mechanics. School chaplaincy and SRI are delivered through school-level contracts and government education partnerships, placing trained staff and volunteers into Victorian schools. The Community Connectors initiative is a community-facing wellbeing program supported through research partnerships such as the 2021 collaboration with Huber Social and the 2019 VicHealth funding relationship. Education & Training operates as an accredited training stream delivered in partnership with a registered training organization, providing credentialed pathways for chaplains and community workers. Program impact is supported by a research collaboration with the University of Western Australia and CMA board-internship governance engagement.

The revenue model is multi-stream non-profit economics combining contracted chaplaincy service fees paid by participating schools, government and philanthropic grants (notably VicHealth), individual donations and church-network fundraising, and training-program income from accredited delivery. Customer-facing commercial activity is donation- and contract-driven rather than transaction-based, and customer relationships are concentrated within Victoria with no disclosed geographic expansion.

Name

Korus Connect

Legal name

The Council for Christian Education in Schools Ltd

Website

https://korusconnect.org.au

Company type

Private

Founded year

1945

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Korus Connect is a Victorian non-profit providing school chaplaincy, Special Religious Instruction, Community Connectors wellbeing programs, and accredited training to schools, students, and families across Victoria, Australia.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Pastoral Care and Community Wellbeing

NAICS

Educational Services (611), Other Schools and Instruction (6116), Educational Support Services (61171), Educational Support Services (611710)

SIC

Services-Social Services (8300), Services-Educational Services (8200), Services-Membership Organizations (8600)

akta.pro primary industry

Campus Spiritual & Religious Life (EDALAHAI)

akta.pro secondary industry

Interfaith & Ecumenical Councils and Dialogue Organizations (BPAGAJAJ)

Keywords

• School chaplaincy services
• Pastoral care training
• Community wellbeing programs
• Religious instruction services
• Volunteer chaplain training

Headquarters

HQ city

Surrey Hills

HQ country

Australia

HQ region

Oceania

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Donations and Fundraising: Korus Connect relies heavily on donations from individuals, churches, and community members to fund their programs. The organization encourages one-time donations, monthly partnerships, direct deposits, cheques, and bequests. Funds raised are allocated to advertised or communicated purposes, with donors notified if reallocation is necessary.
2. School Chaplaincy Services: Korus Connect provides chaplaincy services to schools, with chaplains employed as workers providing wraparound wellbeing support. Schools benefit from a stress-free service where Korus Connect supports both the school and the chaplain.
3. Education and Training Programs: Korus Connect offers accredited vocational level chaplaincy skills training and professional development modules. They partner with other ministry and training organisations to provide ongoing professional development and formal training to support volunteers and professionals.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Korus Connect provides school chaplaincy, Special Religious Instruction (SRI), community connector programs, and accredited vocational chaplaincy training. The organization places trained chaplains in Victorian schools to deliver wraparound wellbeing support to students, staff, and parents, and deploys community connectors into local hubs (shopping centres, aged care facilities, community spaces) to address social isolation and build community connection.

Product overview

Korus Connect operates as a community services organization offering a coordinated suite of programs focused on chaplaincy, community support, and education. The core offerings include School Chaplaincy providing wraparound wellbeing support to schools, Community Connectors deployed in local hubs, and Special Religious Instruction. Supporting these are Education & Training programs including accredited chaplaincy training, Holistic Care workshops, School Ready and Community Ready training. Digital resources are provided through the Korus Lounge (for chaplains and connectors) and SRI Lounge (for SRI instructors).

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• School Chaplaincy

Quantifiable outcome

• Community members engaged with community connector activities have 29% higher wellbeing than those not involved
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers3 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

Four partnerships are on record, tiered core and supporting.

• Huber SocialcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2021Korus Connect partnered with Huber Social to conduct research measuring the social value and wellbeing impact of the Community Connector Initiative. Huber Social worked with Korus Connect staff and participants to evaluate outcomes and compare data with the Global Wellbeing Database, providing evidence of the program's positive impact on community wellbeing.
• CMA (Christian Management Australia)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerKorus Connect partners with CMA to deliver The Board Internship program, which equips young Christians under 35 for future board service through immersion in a working board environment. The program matches interns with host organizations for one year with networking, training, and mentorship.
• Registered Training Organisation (RTO)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerKorus Connect partners with an accredited Registered Training Organisation to deliver vocational level chaplaincy skills training, providing successful candidates with statements of attainment in relevant units.
• University of Western AustraliasupportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerUWA conducted research validating the significant impact chaplains have across all areas of student wellbeing using The NEST framework created by ARACY (Australian Research Alliance for Children and Youth).

Scale indicators6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Emerging players

• ReachOut Australia: ReachOut Australia is a digital youth mental health service providing online counselling, wellbeing resources, and school support programs. Comparable on addressing student wellbeing and loneliness, competing for school wellbeing budgets but with secular positioning versus Korus Connect's faith-based framing.

Direct peers

• Fusion Australia: Fusion Australia is a youth-focused community development organization that deploys workers into schools and communities for wellbeing support, paralleling Korus Connect's chaplaincy and community connector model with similar faith-based DNA.
• YouthCARE (Catholic Education WA): YouthCARE delivers school chaplaincy and pastoral care services across Western Australian Catholic and government schools. Directly comparable as a faith-based school chaplaincy provider in a single Australian state, paralleling Korus Connect's Victorian chaplaincy focus.
• Scripture Union Australia: Scripture Union Australia runs Christian religious education, school ministry, and youth chaplaincy programs across Australian states. Directly comparable to Korus Connect on SRI in schools, youth pastoral care, and faith-based volunteer mobilization.

Broad incumbents

• headspace (National Youth Mental Health Foundation): headspace is the Australian government's flagship youth mental health provider with 150+ centres delivering counselling and wellbeing services to 12-25 year olds. Directly competes for school wellbeing contracts and adolescent mental health funding that Korus Connect's chaplaincy program also targets.
• Salvation Army Australia: The Salvation Army delivers mission-driven community, welfare, and chaplaincy services across Australia including youth programs and disaster response. Overlaps with Korus Connect on faith-based community wellbeing and chaplaincy, but at national/international scale with government funding.
• St Vincent de Paul Society Australia: St Vincent de Paul is a Catholic faith-based welfare organization delivering home visitation, community support, and social assistance nationally. Comparable on faith-driven community wellbeing and volunteer-driven service delivery, with similar donation-funding model.
• Baptist Care Australia: Baptist Care delivers faith-based community services including aged care, family support, and youth programs across multiple states. Comparable as a faith-anchored social services provider with overlap on community wellbeing, but operating at significantly larger scale.
• Anglicare Australia: Anglicare is one of Australia's largest faith-based community service networks delivering wellbeing, family, and aged-care programs nationally. Comparable as a broader faith-anchored social services incumbent that overlaps with Korus Connect's community wellbeing mission but at much greater scale and geographic reach.
• Uniting (UnitingCare): Uniting (formerly UnitingCare) is a large faith-based community services network in NSW/ACT/VIC operating aged care, family services, and community programs. Comparable on the faith-based social services model and overlapping on community wellbeing and pastoral care delivery.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/korusconnect
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/korusconnect

Compliance2 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

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 Korus Connect