Gift Updates for Fiscal Year 2020

Thanks to an increase in giving from alumni/ae and trustees, Andover Newton experienced an uptick in total giving to the Annual Fund for the third year. In fact, FY20 saw gifts to the Annual Fund grow by 27%.

In May, just after gifts to the Annual Fund crept above the previous year’s total ($269,795), Andover Newton’s Board of Trustees approved a $25,000 matching gift challenge, which encouraged a number of new gifts in the final month of the fiscal year. Including these new gifts and matching fund dollars, the grand total for the Annual Fund was $346,938!

Additionally, Andover Newton launched two scholarship campaigns in which goals were met and exceeded – The Davida Foy Crabtree Scholarship and the Birmingham Drummond Scholarship. More about scholarships, as well as a new scholarship campaign honoring Spirit of the Hill recipient Thomas F. Freeman, can be found in the scholarship updates in this annual report.

During these challenging times, we are grateful for the generosity of those who have committed themselves financially to the success of the seminary. This is a good news story, and we are grateful to share it with all of you who have made such a difference.

And there is still more to do, still farther to go. Andover Newton Seminary has joined Yale Divinity School and Berkeley Divinity School in making scholarships the #1 priority in fundraising. We commit to striving for a goal where all need-based aid is met by the Spring of 2023. We do not want graduates to be encumbered by debt, nor to make career decisions based on paying back loans, instead of answering their sacred call.

Students in the Andover Newton Seminary diploma program do not pay any tuition for joining us in their preparation for ministry, which means that we rely, in part, on the faithful and generous contributions made to the annual fund, as well as those forward-thinking gifts to the endowment. Endowment giving, along with including Andover Newton in your planned giving, ensures a future that remains steadfast in an ongoing commitment to educate inspiring leaders for faith communities.

Gratitude isn’t just a moment of thanksgiving; it is a soul thing. Gratitude for you and for all those saints who recognized the need for well-trained, educated clergy, is a way of being. We don’t just feel grateful; we are grateful. Our gratitude is deeply rooted in who we are as an institution.

Thank you.