Giving to CTS

Your Gift Makes It Happen

Whether you are passionate about the need for excellently trained theologians and counselors in our world, creating access to affordable counseling services, or ensuring justice for all by mitigating poverty and challenging systemic issues, you’ve found a partner in CTS. We ensure your valuable resources make maximum impact on our life in common. Together, we can transform our world for good – bringing God’s love, justice, and liberation to the world.

Transform the World

You can be confident that your gift helps transform not only the lives of our graduates but also the lives of those they touch.

Reasons to Give

Protect & Increase Equitable Access to Education

Your gift helps CTS maximize access to high-quality theology and counseling education while minimizing life-altering debt. More than 85% of students at CTS receive scholarship support, and we award more than $1,000,000 in financial aid annually.

Provide Mental Health Services for All

Your gift helps provide affordable and accessible mental health services through the CTS Counseling Center. Each year, we provide more than 12,000 therapy sessions to the community. Our Counseling Center welcomes EVERYONE – regardless of spiritual beliefs, race, gender, sexuality, gender expression, ethnicity, nationality, age, disability, etc.

Disrupt Generational Poverty Through Community Collaboration and Education

Your gift helps the Faith & Action Project convene like-minded community organizations in a collaborative effort to address systemic injustice. It also helps support community education and formation events like the Faith & Action Fall Event and Spring Conference.

Ensure Diversity of Faculty

Your gift makes it possible to attract and retain exceptionally talented and diverse faculty so that students see themselves represented in leadership and learn from the very best.

Champion High-Quality Learning Environments & Field Experiences

Your gift contributes to the physical teaching and learning environment, optimizing academic and social experiences to advance scholarship and formation. In our rapidly changing world, CTS is committed to providing state of the art technology and learning experiences for both in-person and remote learners.

Increase Diversity & Relevance of Programming

Your gift advances leadership development by ensuring CTS provides diverse and relevant course offerings such as An Anti-Racist Gospel?; Theodicy, Trauma, and Grace; and Interfaith Collaboration.

Types of Giving

Philanthropy is a critical part of fulfilling our mission

Giving is fundamental to what happens at CTS—it fuels what we dream for our future as well as how we serve students and our greater community today. Our work relies on gifts made throughout the year, not just when classes are in session. CTS endeavors to inspire donors to give in any or all of the following ways:

Annual Giving

Annual gifts provide immediately available funds for the sustainability and success of the seminary and everything that makes a CTS education distinctive and meaningful.

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Planned Giving

Planned (or deferred) gifts are often gifts of assets that are established now but provide their ultimate benefit for CTS in the future.

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Special and Major Giving

Special and major gifts play an essential role in supporting current needs and creating new opportunities for CTS. Whether during a campaign or as part of an emerging funding priority, special gifts make larger investments in our work a reality.

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Ways to Give

There are a variety of giving options that can help you support CTS. The seminary welcomes gifts of all kinds.
Current gifts are those in which the assets received can be used upon receipt. Deferred gifts are gifts that can be established now for future benefit to CTS. Both current and deferred gifts are important to the viability of CTS.

How to giveContact us
CURRENT GIFTS

Gifts Making a Difference for CTS Today

Cash/Check

Making a gift of cash or check is the easiest and most popular way to give.  Gifts of cash or check are considered complete as of the date of mailing or hand delivery.

Electronic Bank Transfer Instructions

Electronic Bank Transfer (ACH) Gift

Banking Institution:
Huntington National Bank

Account Name:
Christian Theological Seminary

Account Number:
01401226770

Routing Number:
074000078

Credit Card

Gifts by credit card (Mastercard, Visa, Discover, and American Express) provide a convenient and secure way to make a charitable gift.

Online gifts can be made here
Appreciated Securities

Gifts of appreciated stocks, bonds, and mutual funds are attractive charitable giving options offering substantial tax benefits, including current income tax deductions and bypass of capital gains.

Transfer Instructions

Firm
Sanctuary Wealth

Account Number
PT8207177
Christian Theological Seminary
DTC# 0443

Contact
Please contact Amanda Clevenger with notification of your gift at 317-633-1701 or aclevenger@sanctuarywealth.com

Contact us
IRA Charitable Rollover

Donors at least 70½ years of age may directly roll over up to $100,000 from their IRA assets to qualified charities each year.  Some donors choose to make significant gifts or satisfy required minimum distributions by making a direct transfer to CTS.

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Real Estate and Other Tangible Property

Donating real estate, art, jewelry, or other appreciated assets – either now or in the future by will or trust – allows some donors to make gifts that would not otherwise be possible. Gifts of real estate may also provide additional benefits like current income tax deductions and bypass of capital gains. Although these gifts are accepted on a case-by-case basis, their impact can benefit CTS for years to come.

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Deferred Gifts

Gifts Established Today for CTS Tomorrow

Will or Living Trust

Bequests made through a will or living trust are the most common deferred gifts. These gifts are easy to execute, leave a lasting legacy, and benefit our work in the future. Sample bequest language can be found here. 

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Beneficiary Designations

Naming CTS as the beneficiary of an IRA or qualified retirement plan is a tax-advantaged and straightforward way to leave a gift. CTS receives the full fair market value of these gifts and is not subject to the significant federal income or estate tax liabilities experienced by non-charitable entities or individuals. IRAs and qualified retirement plans can also name charitable remainder trusts as beneficiaries.

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Donor Advised Funds

Donor Advised Funds allow you to make charitable gift recommendations during your lifetime and beyond, making it possible for your children to carry on your legacy of giving. 

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Charitable Gift Annuities

Donors who establish a charitable gift annuity with CTS enjoy making a gift that supports our mission, while also providing income for annuitants, donors, or other beneficiaries. These mutually beneficial gifts offer immediate benefits such as current charitable income tax deductions and favorable tax treatment.

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Please see current IRS guidelines and consult with your financial, accounting, or legal advisors before making any gift.  CTS is a qualified 501(c)(3) charitable entity, and gifts are deductible to the fullest extent allowed by law. 

How to Give

Give online

For your convenience, you can make a donation electronically with our easy-to-use online giving option.

Make your gift
Donate by phone at 317-931-2314.

If you prefer, you can call us directly to make a gift by credit card.

Call now
Mail a check payable to:

Christian Theological Seminary
Office of Advancement
1000 West 42nd Street
Indianapolis, IN 46208

Please indicate designation if desired.

Give Appreciated  Securities

If you would like to make a gift of appreciated stocks, bonds, or mutual funds, please contact advancement@cts.edu.

SECURITIES DELIVERY INSTRUCTIONS

Firm
Sanctuary Wealth

Account Number
PT8207177
Christian Theological Seminary
DTC# 0443

Contact
Please contact Amanda Clevenger with notification of your gift at 317-633-1701 or aclevenger@sanctuarywealth.com

Establish a Recurring Gift

Provide seamless and ongoing support for CTS by establishing a recurring gift through your bank account or credit card.  Setting up a recurring gift is simple by going to cts.edu/give.

Initiate a Matching Gift

Multiply the impact of gifts from you or your spouse/partner through company matching gift opportunities.  To find out more, contact your human resources department to see if your or your spouse’s/partner’s employer has a matching gift program.

Remember us in your plans

Providing for CTS in your estate plan establishes a sustainable philanthropic legacy for CTS.  Please connect with us to affirm your future gift's purpose and recognition wishes.

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Endowments

A strong endowment is critical to our long-term strength and sustainability. Our ability to provide rigorous, high-quality theological and counseling education—while also supporting the leaders and programs our communities need most—relies on a healthy endowment.

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Recognizing your generosity

Philanthropy takes many forms at CTS, and gifts of all sizes are both valuable and valued.

We celebrate all our donors, individually and collectively, and we believe that by choosing to give, you are also expressing their faith and confidence in CTS.

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Giving Stories

GivingNewsStudent Life
May 7, 2024

Student Shares Story of Scholarship Impact

Student Shares Story of Scholarship Impact   Ryan Remington, a second-semester Master of Divinity student at CTS, delivered a powerful…
Dr. Mellott with students at the Legacy Giving BreakfastEventsGivingNews
May 1, 2023

Student Gratitude at 1924 Societies Legends of Leadership Breakfast

Student Gratitude at 1924 Societies Legends of Leadership Breakfast   At the recent Legends of Leadership Breakfast held with members…
Two hands raised for receiving.GivingNews
March 1, 2023

Gratitude & Giving by Gayle

I would like to begin this month’s giving and gratitude article with a resounding thank you. During our annual Day…

Contact us

We invite you to join us in advancing the rich legacy of Christian Theological Seminary.

advancement@cts.edu
317.931.2314

Kristin Champa headshot
Kristin Champa
Vice President for Advancement
Kinyatta Coe headshot
Kinyatta Coe
Administrative Assistant to the Vice President for Advancement