How can your gift be used?

Southeastern Fund
The Southeastern Fund provides support for the ongoing operational needs of the seminary. It is a central component of our operating budget, providing the President needed resources to lead with confidence as he embraces new opportunities and steers us clear of unforeseen challenges. When you support the Southeastern Fund, you are expressing confidence in the Lord Jesus Christ and what He can accomplish as He works in every facet of this seminary—our faculty, our staff, our students, our student missionaries, our library, our campus . . . everything! 
 
Capital Projects
With a growing student and faculty population and some buildings more than a century old, we welcome gifts to construct new facilities and modernize existing ones. Patterson Hall stands as a recent example of the exceptional quality and fiscal discipline we demand of ourselves when taking on such projects. Opportunities for continued campus improvement abound. For example, the library could be greatly enhanced by a renovation designed to accommodate new volumes and update lighting, technology, climate control, and electrical features. While buildings and technology do not save people, they are a vital part of equipping students to engage an ever-changing world with the unchanging gospel of Jesus Christ.

Memorial Gifts
You may designate any gift in memory of a loved one. The family of the deceased will be notified of such gifts.

Restricted & Unrestricted Gifts
Southeastern is pleased to use your gift in the way you designate. You may restrict the use of your gift to any department for any Christ-honoring purpose you deem appropriate, provided that the Seminary is equipped to accomplish the purpose of your gift. Gifts donated to support a specific student are not tax-deductible as provided by law. You may, however, contribute to an overall mission-trip fund which supports many students, including the student you have in mind.

You may also make an unrestricted gift to support Southeastern (the Southeastern Fund). Unrestricted gifts are absolutely critical to the overall health of the Seminary because they enable the Seminary’s leadership to be creative as they constantly seek to take advantage of opportunities to be on the front lines of making disciples of all nations in all contexts. 
 
Endowments
Endowment funds are created for the purpose of generating a stream of income in perpetuity. Such funds may be created for a variety of purposes. By spending only a portion of the income from the endowment funds and reinvesting remaining earnings for future growth, Southeastern is able to provide inflation-adjusted support for scholarships, professorships, and other programs for as long as Southeastern exists. You may establish your own named endowment or add to an existing endowment fund.

Named Endowments: Minimum Named Endowment Levels
There are about as many opportunities to create an endowment fund as there are ideas about how to support Southeastern in fulfilling its mission, “Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary seeks to glorify the Lord Jesus Christ by equipping students to serve the church and fulfill the Great Commission (Matthew 28:19–20).”

The following list provides the minimum gift amount needed to establish a named endowment fund (e.g. The Bailey Smith Chair of Evangelism) in various categories of support.

Academic Area: $2.5 million
Southeastern’s success is directly linked to the strength of her academic areas. A healthy seminary must be strong in every major area of theological inquiry. By endowing an academic area, (e.g., New Testament studies), you will enhance our ability to support faculty as they launch out into new areas of study, write about their findings, and bring their scholarship to our students in a way that impacts people in the pew for the Kingdom of God.

We must never stop growing in our knowledge of God and His Word. A gift to name an academic area at Southeastern would make an immediate, lasting, and transforming impact upon the area’s global reach. Such a gift would enable Southeastern to attract visiting professors, support faculty in continuing education and research, provide enhanced library resources, and secure a reliable source of funds for pursuing whatever Christ-honoring opportunities the Lord provides. An academic area may be named for the donor or someone the donor wishes to honor.

Academic Chair: $1.5 million
Southeastern’s professors are on the front lines of equipping students to serve the church and fulfill the Great Commission. An endowed chair is not bestowed hastily. Endowed chairs provide an opportunity to recognize accomplished scholars who demonstrate excellence in teaching, scholarship, and the overall work of equipping students. An endowed chair constitutes a time-honored way to recruit and retain scholars who the Lord has particularly gifted as teachers and Biblical scholars.
 
By providing funds to endow an academic chair, donors can make a prominent and permanent investment in Southeastern. Donors may designate their gifts for an academic chair in any area of study offered at Southeastern. Academic chairs established with gift funds may be named for the donor or someone the donor wishes to honor.

Distinguished Professorship: $1 million
An endowed distinguished professorship enables Southeastern to provide an appropriate level of support for members of the faculty who have demonstrated a strong commitment to Biblical scholarship. Distinguished professorships help us retain outstanding members of our faculty and attract others who are considering an opportunity to serve the Lord at Southeastern.

Donors may designate their gifts for a distinguished professorship in any area of study. Distinguished professorships established with gift funds may be named for the donor or someone the donor wishes to honor. Distinguished professorships may be converted to an academic chair later if subsequent gifts bring the total amount donated to $1.5M.

Professorship: $750,000
An endowed professorship enables Southeastern to supplement support for members of the faculty who exhibit excellence in teaching and scholarship. Professorships help us recognize the early contributions of members of our faculty and attract others who are considering an opportunity to serve the Lord at Southeastern.
 
Donors may designate their gifts for a professorship in any area of study at Southeastern.  Professorships established with gift funds may be named for the donor or someone the donor wishes to honor. Professorships may be converted to a distinguished professorship or academic chair at a later date if subsequent gifts bring the total amount donated to $1M or $1.5M respectively.

Visiting Professorship: $500,000
An endowed visiting professorship enables Southeastern to host outstanding scholars from other institutions to teach on a short-term basis. A visiting professorship is beneficial in several ways. It can be helpful in recruiting new faculty members. Often, a professor will desire to join Southeastern’s faculty after becoming familiar with our campus and our students. Furthermore, a visiting professorship exposes our students to some of the brightest, Christ-exalting scholars teaching at places other than Southeastern. Finally, even when visiting professors do not join Southeastern permanently, they invariably discover opportunities to collaborate with Southeastern’s faculty on areas of mutual theological interest, and they spread the good news about this seminary when they return to their campuses. Visiting professorships established with gift funds may be named for the donor or someone the donor wishes to honor.

Conference Endowment: $250,000
Southeastern is uniquely positioned to offer a host of exceptional academic, apologetic, and pastor conferences. With our proximity to an international airport, we can reasonably expect to attract the world’s best. With faculty who are especially gifted in articulating, defending, and advancing the cause of Christ in a credible and Christ-like way, we must afford them opportunities to bring their scholarship to bear on others in a way that only a conference can. A conference endowment would provide funds to significantly defray the costs (speaker fees, lodging, and etc.) associated with hosting an annual conference.  Endowed conferences may be named for the donor or someone the donor wishes to honor.

Full Scholarship (Graduate or Undergraduate): $100,000
A full scholarship provides a student with full-tuition for one year and significantly defrays the cost of a student’s education-related expenses. Generally, a student’s direct education-related expenses range from $4,000 to $5,000 each year. Scholarships often make the difference in whether a student can afford to attend and remain at Southeastern. Full scholarships may be named for the donor or someone the donor wishes to honor.
 
Endowed Lectureship: $50,000
At Southeastern, we want to expose our students to exceptional scholars, linguists, missionaries, pastors, and theologians as well as leading cultural and opinion leaders of our day. An endowed lectureship may be named for the donor or for someone the donor wishes to honor.

Partial Scholarship (Graduate or Undergraduate): $25,000
A partial scholarship provides support to help defray the cost of a student’s education-related expenses, which generally range from $4–5,000 each year. Scholarships often make the difference in whether a student can afford to attend and remain at Southeastern. Partial scholarships may be named for the donor or someone the donor wishes to honor. 

Mission-Trip Scholarship Fund:  $25,000
An endowed, mission-trip scholarship provides a way for donors to encourage undergraduate or graduate students to consider God’s call to be a part of fulfilling His Great Commission. Often, God works through a short-term mission trip, a disaster relief effort, or church-planting opportunity to clarify His direction in a student’s life. Mission-trip scholarship funds may be named for the donor or someone the donor wishes to honor.

Library Resource Fund: $25,000
As the student and faculty populations increase, the library must be equipped to supply the resources necessary for both graduate and undergraduate programs. Donors may support a named library resource fund and enhance the library’s ability to purchase books, journals, and periodicals. Over the last 20 years, the cost of academic books and journals has far outpaced the general rate of inflation, making the demands on our library particularly acute. A library resource fund may be named for the donor or someone the donor wishes to honor.

For donors who want to support Southeastern’s endowment with a gift of $10,000 or more, we welcome gifts or faith commitments to any of the general endowed funds listed below.

The Southeastern Endowment
The Southeastern Endowment is the endowed counterpart to the Southeastern Fund.  Because it is an endowed fund, it is less susceptible to shifts in the national economy, providing a reliable stream of income with which the President can confidently make long-term investments in the future of Southeastern. Like the Southeastern fund, this endowment touches every facet of the Seminary, our faculty, our staff, our students, our student missionaries, our library, and our campus. When you support the Southeastern Endowment, you are making an investment in Southeastern’s ability to impact the world for Christ both now and for generations to come.

The Faculty Excellence Endowment
The faculty Excellence Endowment will provide a base of support for bringing our faculty salaries up to a scale which enables them to appropriately support their families. We also hope to increase the salary scale to better reflect the rate of pay at other evangelical seminaries across the US. This endowment is essential to our efforts to recruit and retain the sharpest minds in their respective fields and to ensure we are giving our students the very best in theological and undergraduate training.

The Graduate Scholarship Endowment
The Seminary Scholarship Endowment will help defray the cost of attending seminary. The expenses associated with a seminary education are not limited to tuition, books, and fees.  Taking classes takes time—time in the library, time in study, and time in class. Finding an employer who will work with changing class schedules can prove challenging. When the student does find such employment, s/he often cannot earn a high enough wage to adequately provide for the family. The Southeastern Fund helps diligent students with both the direct and indirect expenses associated with pursuing a master’s degree at Southeastern.

The Undergraduate Scholarship Endowment
The College Scholarship Endowment will help defray the costs of attending college. An endowed undergraduate scholarship fund serves two primary purposes. First, it helps eliminate the financial barriers that can prevent God-called men and women from attending Southeastern College at Wake Forest. Second, the availability of scholarship funds can be an important factor in recruiting exceptional students for the challenging undergraduate programs unique to our college.

Missions Scholarship Endowment
The Missions Scholarship Endowment provides a way for donors to encourage both college and seminary students to consider God’s call to be a part of fulfilling His Great Commission. Often, God works through a short-term mission trip, a disaster relief effort, or church-planting opportunity to clarify His direction in a student’s life. When you invest in the Missions Scholarship Endowment, you are standing with students as they travel around the world or to a disaster-ridden city in the US to share the hope that can only be known in hearing the life-transforming truth of the gospel.