Campaign Overview

While Andover Newton is on dry ground now, the water is rising for all theological schools and the churches their graduates serve. Now is the time to strengthen the school’s foundation to ensure a vibrant future. Andover Newton is taking a bold stance of hope for faith communities’ ongoing relevance and potential. Philanthropic support will make this vision a reality. Investing in this campaign will make a difference immediately for students and will shift the landscape for students and churches of the future. 

Yale University, in which Andover Newton is embedded, launched its “For Humanity” capital campaign in the fall of 2022. In conjunction Andover Newton introduced “Leading with Love: A Campaign for Andover Newton Seminary,” a $6M fundraising initiative aimed at supporting scholarships, a new endowed faculty chair honoring George Washington Williams, and the development of a new travel seminar called Emmaus Encounters.   

An open door through student financial support: $3M

To assist in eliminating financial barriers for aspiring leaders Andover Newton is collaborating with Yale Divinity School and Berkeley Divinity School (an Episcopal embedded partner at YDS) to provide robust student financial support. The support will allow any student who is qualified and called to enter the Andover Newton program and discern their callings without constant worry over seminary debt.

The extended Andover Newton community emphasized and supported this goal early on in Andover Newton’s time at Yale Along with the named, endowed funds transferred from Massachusetts, Andover Newton raised an additional $1.25M in new endowed scholarship funds between FY 20 and FY ‘22. Supporting finacial aid and student scholarships remains the top giving prirority for Andover Newton. 

For an overvew on the case for scholarships and to review of newly endowed named scholarships, please see the Scholarships home page.  

The George Washington Williams endowed faculty chair to honor the past and shape the future: $2M

Andover Newton has two faculty positions under its direct purview at Yale Divinity School, and only one is currently endowed. The other will not only become endowed through this campaign, but it will be designated to focus on issues relevant to historically marginalized populations and churches. The church must play a role in addressing those issues in our nation, and our students must learn to do meaningful social justice ministry in their churches.

George Washington Williams was Newton Theological Institute’s first African-American graduate. He was a pastor, statesman, historian, and advocate for the freedom of all people. Andover Newton’s Advisory Council committed to match new gifts with $0,50 for each dollar raised. Therefore, this campaign sought to raise $2M new dollars to reach Yale’s threshold for endowing a chair of $3M.

With the very generous support of the Andover Newton community, the George Washington Williams Endowed Faculty Chair was fully funded during the 2024-2025 fiscal year, and in June 2025, Professor Braxton D. Shelley was announced as the inaugural  George Washington Williams Ednowed Faculty Chair.

Emmaus Encounters: Building Community on the Road: $1M

If one were to name a single ministerial competency most needed in the world of alienation and fragmentation, it would be building community. As a residential seminary community, Andover Newton is uniquely situated to create and share new knowledge on hew community is built, and to enable its graduates to create and share new knowledge out into the world.

Travel seminars provide the ideal educational model for teaching students to build relationships within groups and build partnerships beyond them. Andover Newton has employed trave seminars as a form of educating for three decades. Emmaus Encounters: Building Community on the Road will continue this tradition while creating (and sharing with others) new methods for forming leaders who can bring people together.

For the latest on this new travel seminar, please see the  Emmaus Encounters: Building Community on the Road home page.