Fortune Media Names Ascension to “Best Small Workplaces” List for 2nd Year in a Row
The leader in Catholic Faith Formation ranked #52, the only Catholic company to be named.
Fortune magazine has selected Ascension for the 2025 Fortune Best Small Workplaces™ List. This is Ascension’s 2nd time being named to this prestigious list, this year coming in at #52. Earning a spot means that Ascension is one of the best companies to work for in the country. Ascension is the only Catholic company to have received this honor.
“Being named to Fortune’s Best Small Workplaces for the second year in a row is an incredible honor,” comments Ascension President and CEO, Jonathan Strate. “This recognition belongs to every person at Ascension whose generosity, creativity, and thoughtfulness make this such a special place to work. I’m deeply grateful to walk alongside such dedicated colleagues, and I couldn’t be prouder of the culture we’ve built together at Ascension.”
Members of the Ascension Team, 2024
The Best Small Workplaces list is highly competitive, and compiled in collaboration between Fortune Media and Great Place to Work. To determine the list, Great Place To Work analyzed the survey responses of nearly 32,000 employees from Great Place To Work Certified™ companies with 10 to 99 U.S. employees.
“Small and medium businesses can compete with anyone for talent when they build an irresistible culture,” says Michael C. Bush, CEO at Great Place To Work. “These companies make the most of their strategic advantages as smaller organizations, ensuring every employee feels recognized for their contributions and rewarded with their fair share of the benefits of success.”
Survey responses reflect a comprehensive picture of the workplace experience. Honorees were selected based on their ability to offer positive outcomes for employees regardless of job role, race, gender, work status, or other demographic identifier.
Ascension CEO Jonathan Strate with the team during all-company event at Cathedral Basilica of Ss. Peter and Paul in Philadelphia, 2024
5 Years of Award-Winning Corporate Culture for Ascension
Ascension has received repeated honorifics for its work culture since 2021, including:
Ascension employees report that the “people” and the “mission” are two of the best reasons to work for this internationally recognized Catholic publisher. The company produces the #1 religion podcast in the world, The Bible in a Year (with Fr. Mike Schmitz)™, and has hit #1 on the Apple Podcasting charts in all categories 4 times.
About Ascension
Ascension is a multimedia network and the leader in Catholic faith formation and digital content. Over the past 25 years, Ascension has helped nurture the faith of more than 20 million Catholics through award-winning books, the chart-topping Bible in a Year (with Fr. Mike Schmitz)® podcast, more than 50 unique faith formation programs, and Ascension Presents, which hosts one of the largest Catholic YouTube channels in English.
About the Fortune Best Small Workplaces List
Great Place To Work selected the 2025 Fortune Best Small Workplaces List by surveying companies employing 8.4 million people in the U.S., with 1.3 million confidential responses received. Of those, nearly 32,000 responses were received from employees at companies eligible for the Best Small Workplaces list and this ranking is based on that feedback. Company scores are derived from 60 employee experience questions within the Great Place To Work® Trust Index™ Survey. Read the full methodology.
To get on this list next year, start here.
About Fortune
Fortune upholds a legacy of award-winning writing and trusted reporting for executives who want to make business better. Independently owned, with a global perspective and digital agility, Fortune tells the stories of a new generation of innovators, builders, and risk takers. Online and in print, Fortune measures corporate performance through rigorous benchmarks and holds companies accountable. Fortune creates communities by convening true thought leaders and iconoclasts — those who shape industry, commerce, and society — through powerful and prestigious lists, events, and conferences, such as the iconic Fortune 500, the CEO Initiative, and Most Powerful Women. For more information, visit fortune.com.