NEWS & PRESS RELEASES
Record endowment will assist married pastoral students
A retired friend of Baptist Bible College & Seminary has left an estimated $800,000 to a scholarship endowment, money that will be set aside to support married students concentrating on pastoral ministries at the College and Seminary.
The donor, who wishes to remain anonymous, is not married and has no children. Upon her passing, the fund will be the largest scholarship endowment established by an individual at BBC&S.
"It is hard for a married man to complete his education for the ministry," the donor said. "If they have too much debt when they graduate, they might not end up in ministry. I set up this endowment to help them complete their education."
"My pastor is an alum of the school, and I just love him and his family. They minister to our church in so many ways through his preaching and his counseling. I believe our churches need more pastors like him."
The donor worked with BBC Foundation and her financial advisor, also an alumnus of BBC&S, to set up the endowment criteria. The gift was finalized last month. Once funded, the scholarship will be granted to married pastoral students who show a high potential for ministry and carry a low percentage of educational debt.
"I want this scholarship to be awarded to young men who are the most likely to enter ministry. I want to reward those who are good stewards of their finances," she said.
Endowments make a difference
Funds held in scholarship endowments at BBC Foundation are managed with professional money managers in a diversified portfolio. Scholarships are distributed annually at a rate of 4-5% of the value of the endowment, allowing the endowment to grow over time and remain in perpetuity.
To provide more assistance to students, creating new endowments is a key priority at BBC&S.
The donor is funding this endowment through her variable life insurance policy, naming her endowment held with BBC Foundation as the beneficiary. She also built into her agreement the option to annually fund a scholarship utilizing the same criteria as her endowment. Thus, she can choose to help ministry students now with her annual scholarship and has also planned to help future students through her endowment.
"I'm thrilled for this donor and our students," says Mark Robbins, a CPA and President of BBC Foundation. "Her gift will save her estate money in taxes. But more importantly, she is fulfilling a deep desire to help ministry students with their education. After we signed the paperwork, we spent time in prayer asking God to bless this endowment and her life in ways we could not even imagine. Who knows how many future church leaders will be impacted through this gift."
To learn more about setting up an endowment, click here.
To learn more about other planned gifts and their financial benefit, click here.
BBC Foundation assists individuals with biblical retirement and estate planning and builds financial resources for Baptist Bible College & Seminary and other biblically-based ministries. For details, go to www.bbcfoundation.org or call 800.451.8668.
Baptist Bible College & Seminary offers 38 academic programs, from a one-year Bible Certificate to PhDs. Programs are available through the Clarks Summit campus and several distance learning options. To learn more, go to www.bbc.edu or call 570.586.2400.
Posted on: 10/6/2008 9:24:56 AM
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