Yonkers, NY
Generous donors gave more than $127,000 to support seminarians through St. Vladimir’s Orthodox Theological Seminary (SVOTS)’s 2020 Giving Tuesday campaign. The campaign for Giving Tuesday, which fell on December 1 this year, raised more than $122,000 over the following week, with another $5,000 in pledges expected to arrive in the coming days.
This Giving Tuesday, the Seminary set a goal of raising $125,000—the cost SVOTS faces each year to educate just two of its many seminarians. While the cost to educate each student at St. Vladimir’s is the lowest among the three accredited Orthodox seminaries in North America, the amount still requires a significant amount of funds to be raised for the entire student body every academic year.
“We are so grateful to everyone who stepped up in such a big way to support seminarians,” said SVOTS President Very Rev. Dr. Chad Hatfield. “It was wonderful to see such generosity in spite of the difficult economic times people are living through.
“With the ongoing shortage of clergy and other vocations in the Orthodox Church in North America, your support for the education and training of future Church leaders at St. Vladimir’s is as important as ever.”
The Seminary is also paying forward some of donors’ generosity. Every year, SVOTS selects a nonprofit partner for Giving Tuesday and tithes 10% of whatever is raised to that partner. In 2020, SVOTS partnered with Reconciliation Services in Kansas City, MO, led by St. Vladimir’s Alumnus Fr. Justin Mathews (Class of ’07).
Saint Vladimir’s Seminary is a registered 501(c)3 nonprofit organization, and is not funded by any church institution or by the government. The Seminary relies on the generosity of donors each year to raise funds to operate the Seminary and train seminarians.
To make a donation to St. Vladimir’s Seminary at any time, visit SVOTS.edu.
