GREAT EXPECTATIONS: FUND-RAISING PROSPECTS FOR THEOLOGICAL SCHOOLS

By Sharon L. Miller, Anthony R. Ruger, Barbara G. Wheeler.

This report looks at the special challenges and opportunities that theological schools face in fund-raising. Analysis of data from schools that are members of The Association of Theological Schools show the growth, and in some cases decline, of donations over the last twenty years. As denominational and local church support of seminaries has declined, schools have become much more dependent on donations from individuals. Finding and befriending those donors has become central to a school’s mission and survival.

Institutions frequently mount special or capital campaigns to raise funds for their physical plant or to build their endowment. How much can a school hope to raise in such a campaign? Using data from eighty schools that have engaged in campaigns some parameters are given that may prove useful for a school’s initial predictions.

Finally, through case studies of seminaries, this report suggests factors that contribute to a school’s successful fund-raising.

Auburn Studies, No. 14, August 2009
ISBN: 0-9747358-4-1


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