The following is a brief message from Director of Advancement & Admissions Zachary Groff, sent out to our friends and supporters on Monday morning, December 23, 2019.
The faculty, staff, and students of Greenville Presbyterian Theological Seminary are keenly aware of God’s provision of a widespread network of supporters, sponsoring church courts, alumni, and friends. If you are reading this note, you are most likely a part of that network. Your prayerful care and concern for the Seminary community is a source of great encouragement to us. We confidently confess, “The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much” (James 5:16). Without your earnest involvement, we would fail in the prosecution of our mission of equipping preachers, pastors, and churchmen for Christ’s Kingdom.
Keeping in mind that the calendar year 2019 deadline for charitable giving is fast approaching, the Seminary’s Advancement Office wants to encourage our friends and like-minded brethren in Christ to consider making a special year-end gift of financial support to our faculty, staff, and students. Toward that end, we have put together some basic instructions (below) for how to make a gift to Greenville Presbyterian Theological Seminary in these final days of the year. Please feel free to send this note to anyone whom you believe to share our commitment to developing ministers who are confessionally Reformed, Christ-exalting, Bible-believing, and sincerely committed to nourishing Christ’s flock.
Last fiscal year (7/1/18-6/30/19), 67% of our overall revenues came from individual donors (compare that to 14.9% from churches, and 15.3% from tuition revenues). Over the past several years, we have gratefully received 20% of our overall annual revenue during the month of December. This year is no exception. This year, we hope to raise a total of $350,000 in the months of November and December. In God’s abundant provision, we are well on our way to hitting that goal (with your help), but we still have a ways to go. Like many other Christian institutions, we rely on generous year-end giving from individuals to sustain our programs throughout the course of the year.
To make a tax-deductible gift for the 2019 calendar year, you may do one of the following before January 1, 2020:
- To make a gift by check – Write out a check made payable to “GPTS,” and send it by mail to GPTS, PO Box 690, Taylors, SC 29687. Please note that your mail must be postmarked no later than 12/31/19 for our Business Office to record it as a tax-deductible gift for the 2019 calendar year. It is worth mentioning that we welcome our local friends and supporters to visit our campus anytime – we would love to see you.
- To make a gift over the phone – Before January 1, 2020, call the Seminary at 864.322.2717, and ask for either Brenda Benson or Zack Groff to make a gift by credit card or electronic funds transfer (EFT). Please note that we no longer accept American Express.
- To make a gift online – Click here for our secure online donation page, and follow the prompts. If you encounter any difficulty, please call the Advancement Office (Zack and Brenda) at 864.322.2717 or send us an email at info@gpts.edu. Again, please note that we no longer accept American Express.
- To make a gift of appreciated stock – Please contact our Advancement Office by calling 864.322.2717 or by email at advancement@gpts.edu for the necessary information.
- To make an IRA Charitable Gift via your Required Minimum Distribution (RMD) – click here for information.
Thank you again for your generous support in the past, for your “effectual fervent prayer” on our behalf, and for encouraging other like-minded brothers and sisters in Christ to consider supporting Greenville Presbyterian Theological Seminary.
For Our Enduring Reformation,
Zachary Groff
Director of Advancement & Admissions
