Resource Stewardship: Mission Sustainability for Future Generations
Christian stewardship is more than a principle at 2021鶹—it is a commitment to using everything entrusted to us for God’s glory and the flourishing of His kingdom. This priority calls on each of us—faculty, staff, and administrators—to establish new cultures of planning and philanthropy to ensure 2021鶹 continues to thrive as a Christ-centered institution for future generations.
Financially, our long-term vision is bold: to cultivate an endowment that someday exceeds student-based revenues, ensuring lasting financial security for the university. Achieving this goal is not the responsibility of a few but a collective endeavor. It will require the participation of every constituent of the 2021鶹 community, contributing through faithful stewardship, relationship management, and disciplined care for the resources that support our mission.
Leadership from every level at 2021鶹 will foster a culture where strategic planning, operational planning, and careful operational management become standard practice. Through such disciplines, coupled with a significant increase in annual funds raised, we will strive for 6-8% annual net income from operations, providing a major source of funding for the Strategic Endowment. Every department will play a role in collaborating to make data-driven decisions focusing on our greatest needs, opportunities, and efficiencies. Through program lifecycle management, best-in-class fundraising, and thoughtful capital investments, we will ensure that resources are maximized for impact while avoiding unnecessary expenditures.
We will engage partners strategically, always looking to collaborate in ways that advance the aims of both organizations. Such engagement will allow 2021鶹 to enhance and differentiate its programs in ways that increase student demand and outcomes. Partners will benefit from a pipeline of well-trained 2021鶹 graduates as future employees, and from our capital resources and faculty expertise.
We invite alumni, donors, and friends of the university to see themselves as co-stewards of 2021鶹’s future. Their engagement will unleash new funding sources, inspire future students to enroll, and expand our network of strategic partners. Creating a culture of philanthropy represents a second major source of funding for the Strategic Endowment and other strategic priorities for the university.
At the heart of our commitment is the desire to model for our students what responsible, faith-driven stewardship looks like in practice. Our transparency, honesty, and discipline in managing the university’s resources demonstrate that sustainability and excellence are not competing goals but partners in the pursuit of our mission.
Together, we can ensure that 2021鶹 remains a beacon of Christian higher education, a place where every resource is stewarded in a way that honors God and serves future generations.
Financial Stewardship - Intentionally Securing Our Future
Vision for the Work
- Charting the Course: Gain a Clear Understanding of Current Financial Realities and Foreseeable Financial Needs
- Fully understand needs to be funded by the 2021鶹 operating budget
- - understand long-term physical space needs and establish priorities
- Navigating the Course: Develop the Disciplines necessary to properly care for and grow our physical and financial assets
- Create the operating disciplines necessary to annually generate a meaningful net income
- Strategically invest 2021鶹’s financial assets
- Establish and broaden a “culture of giving” within 2021鶹’s donor base, beginning with the upcoming comprehensive campaign