BU I LT O N B E L I E F
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ithout belief, Belmont University would, quite simply, not exist today. Since its beginning, Belmont has been blessed with leaders full of vision and faith. In 1890, Susan Heron and Ida Hood, Belmont’s founders, believed enough in the transformative power of education to risk everything and choose the dilapidated antebellum estate Belle Monte as the grounds for their new school, The Belmont College for Young Women.
“...THE IMPOSSIBLE CAN BECOME POSSIBLE.”
Throughout his tenure as president from 1959–1982, the beloved Dr. Herbert Gabhart helped Belmont rise from the ashes on multiple occasions (at least once, quite literally) to fulfill his belief that “Belmont University is on the shore of the unknown future, of an ocean of unseen miracles. With vision, courage and faith, the impossible can become possible.”
And strong leaders, like current President Dr. Bob Fisher, believed enough to aim for the unthinkable and, some said, the impossible: a historic presidential debate. The Town Hall debate between then Senators Barack Obama and John McCain was hosted on the campus of Belmont University and televised for the entire world to see.
These are but a few examples of how belief, when coupled with vision and hard work, can accomplish amazing things. C A N Y O U I M AG I N E W H AT T H E P OW E R O F BELIEF CAN HELP US AC C O M P L I S H N E X T ?
A CLEAR VISION, AND THE BELIEF T H AT W E C A N AC H I E V E I T.
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onoring the success and blessings experienced since our 1890 founding, and building—not resting—on the belief of those who got us where we are today, Belmont’s vision for the future is to do even more towards our purpose of helping students develop their talents and skills to meet the world’s needs. We aim to serve even more students with all that Belmont has to offer. The most extensive fundraising campaign in the institution’s history was initiated to help turn this vision into reality. Centered on the theme “We Believe” and intended to raise and invest
$300 MILLION, the campaign focuses attention on five areas that are key to the University’s long-term strategic priorities, including:
S C H O L A R S H I P S , FAC U LT Y S U P P O RT, AT H L E T I C S , M I S S I O N S AND ANNUAL GIVING.
With the support of loyal Believers, Belmont will significantly build its endowment and be able to offer and sustain what our students deserve and expect from our institution—world-class facilities, innovative and entrepreneurial thinking, meaningful scholarship support, the best faculty, dynamic and relevant programs and an environment that fosters creative thought in an undeniably Christian community.
C A M PA I G N P R I O R I T Y I
TRANSFORMING LIVES
THROUGH SCHOLARSHIPS
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Belmont education equips individuals for lives of meaning and purpose. We believe every student who wants a Belmont education should be able to afford a Belmont education regardless of their personal financial resources. M I LT O N & D E N I C E J O H N S O N B E L I E V E D in the power of education to transform lives, and now more than 100 Nashville-area students are reaping the benefits. As a teenager Milton worked multiple jobs to help his single mom support their family. Then an academic scholarship to Belmont College paved the way to an accounting degree and rapid career advancement. Today he serves as chairman and CEO of HCA, a Fortune 100 company.
He and his wife, a former teacher, give credit to their educational experiences as the catalyst for their success. They are now “paying it forward” by financially supporting Bridges to Belmont, an initiative designed to enroll qualified, highpotential students from Metro Nashville Public W E WA N T T H E S E Schools who may not have otherwise been STUDENTS TO able to consider Belmont as an option. As Milton K N OW … T H E R E explained, “We want these students to know that ARE NO LIMITS Belmont believes in them— we believe in them—and T O W H AT T H E Y there are no limits to what they can achieve in life.”
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C A N AC H I E V E . . .
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C A M PA I G N P R I O R I T Y I I
ENHANCING ACADEMIC OPPORTUNITIES
THROUGH FAC U LT Y S U P P O RT
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2 1st century workforce requires college graduates to excel in their fields. We believe in attracting the best and the brightest faculty to teach and mentor our students for success. D OY L E & B A R B A R A M A S S E Y R O G E R S B E L I E V E D , and Belmont Law now boasts outstanding bar passage and employment rates. Barbara is a long-time Belmont believer, supporting countless initiatives of the University over the years. But in 2011, she took a unique step and honored her husband by establishing the Doyle Rogers Distinguished Chair of Law, a position filled by former U.S. Attorney General Alberto Gonzales. An endowed “distinguished� chair is a permanent tribute to the person whose name it bears and a prestigious honor to the professor who occupies it. Since his initial appointment as the Doyle Rogers Distinguished Chair, Judge Gonzales has added the title of Dean of Belmont Law to his resume. Under his leadership, the college now boasts a 93 percent Bar pass rate among first-time test takers with 90 percent of the most recent graduating class securing employment within six months.
C A M PA I G N P R I O R I T Y I I I
CHANGING THE WORLD
THROUGH MISSIONS
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world filled with challenges welcomes individuals who are willing to help. We believe our greatest privilege in life is to have the health, intellect and resources to serve someone else.
J I M & S U S A N W R I G H T B E L I E V E D , and more students will now have opportunities to share their faith and serve in the States and abroad. Belmont Trustee Jim Wright and his wife Susan didn’t attend Belmont and no longer live in Nashville. Rather, the couple supports Belmont because of the University’s commitment to stay true to its core as a Christian institution, and their desire to provide the best possible opportunities for students. “Those qualities align with our own beliefs,” they said, “both personally and professionally, of the life God calls us to live.” To that end, the Wrights created the Jim and Susan Wright Missions Endowment in 2016 to provide financial aid to students with demonstrated need in their efforts to participate in missions work sponsored by the University. Frequently, as is the case with many health carerelated missions, the trips are tied to academic pursuits, allowing students to see how WE BELIEVE their chosen field of study can impact places and cultures O U R G R E AT E S T they never before imagined. Most importantly, these trips PRIVILEGE IN LIFE foster students’ spiritual growth alongside the academic, IS TO ... SERVE physical, social and cultural challenges they face in different SOMEONE ELSE. situations at home and abroad.
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C A M PA I G N P R I O R I T Y I V
EMPOWERING
STUDENT AT H L E T E S TO REACH THEIR FULL POTENTIAL
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e cruiting student-athletes who reflect Belmont’s values and can represent the University on a national stage means setting the highest of standards. We believe to see continued success in athletic endeavors means extending scholarships to draw individuals to Belmont who prize commitment in the classroom and the community as well as their chosen sport. RICK BYRD & BETTY WISEMAN B E L I E V E D , and Belmont Athletics is now a national threat in 17 sports while developing future community leaders. Coach Byrd has notched more than 750 career wins, inspired new generations of sweater-vest wearers and dedicated three-plus decades to Belmont men’s basketball. Meanwhile, Betty, though officially retired, continues to devote her time and talents to a campus that was her home for more than half a century as a student, faculty member, coach and athletics administrator. Rick and Betty believed, and their efforts gave birth to a college athletic program unlike any other in the nation. These two didn’t just build contenders and score conference championships—they developed a legacy of noted distinction. To be a Belmont Bruin means to be a campus leader of immense drive, heart and character. It means belonging to a supportive family that boasts 30 Academic All Americans and 48 conference titles, not to mention a department that has claimed its conference academic achievement award 14 of the last 16 years. It means always pursuing excellence as an individual while operating at all times with a team mentality. Believing in Belmont Athletics means giving students with great potential more opportunities for success.
C A M PA I G N P R I O R I T Y V
PROVIDING MORE STUDENT OPPORTUNITIES
T HRO U G H A NNUA L G I VIN G
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ollege isn’t only about classrooms and coursework. For students to be fully engaged in the learning process, they need opportunities to put their education to work. T H A N K S T O T H O U S A N D S O F A LU M N I , PA R E N T S & F R I E N D S W H O B E L I E V E D , students are provided with hands-on experiences and practical applications of subject matter, leading to far greater impact and retention. Whether a student chemist is partnering on lab research with a faculty member or a group of aspiring social entrepreneurs are sharing ideas with local nonprofits, learning can accelerate dramatically thanks to the consistent support Belmont receives from annual giving. Donors who choose to designate their gifts to the University’s Annual Fund are directly supporting the student experience. Annual giving serves as a mechanism to fund activities such as student conferences, special speakers and performances, student competitions, research and more. Annual gifts also enhance the campus learning environment by equipping our science and computer labs, building library collections and maintaining our beautiful and historic grounds. As one example, students from the Massey College of Business compete annually in DECA’s International Career Development Conference, which showcases individual and team excellence across a range of business skills. Recently, out of 27 Belmont students who competed, 20 were judged as international finalists—the best-ever overall showing by a Belmont team and an apt recognition of the strength of the University’s business education.
PUT TING BELIEF IN ACTION
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ith your help, Belmont can grow its endowment and guarantee this institution’s financial health for generations to come, all while empowering more students’ education and expanding the opportunities this University
can provide. There are a number of ways you can put your belief in Belmont in action and support the We Believe campaign.
TRANSFER OF STOCKS, SECURITIES OR CASH ELECTRONIC FUNDS TRANSFER
Donors may enjoy substantial tax
Want to make giving to
appreciated securities to Belmont. A
Belmont a hassle-free, regular
gift of securities may be deducted at
part of your monthly routine?
fair market value on the date of the
Electronic Funds Transfer
transfer to Belmont. Gifts of long-term
is an easy way to give that
appreciated assets (securities owned
allows you to draft fixed
for at least one year and one day)
monthly payments directly
are particularly beneficial in terms of
from your credit card.
tax savings. In addition to receiving
savings by transferring gifts of
a charitable deduction for the full fair market value of such a gift, you completely avoid the capital gains tax and any sales commission that would be payable upon the sale of the security.
GIFTS IN KIND
DIRECT GIFTS Financial gifts may be processed online via credit card, taken by phone or mailed to the University.
PLANNED GIFTS Planned gifts, such as bequests and beneficiary designations, can be made by adding short and simple language to your will or just taking a few minutes to update the beneficiary information on a retirement plan or life
Belmont University accepts gifts-in-kind that are
insurance policy. If you choose
E M P LOY E R M AT C H
appropriate to its mission.
to make a provision for Belmont in your estate plans
Gifts-in-kind may include,
Many employers offer
and you share that information
but are not limited to, works
matching gift programs
with us, you will join a select
of art, scientific equipment,
that could double or even
group of donors as a member
books, real estate, etc.
triple your gift.
of our Covenant Society.
OUR BELIEF T H E B E L M O N T M AT C H
Thanks to a long history of strong financial management and diligent cost control, Belmont is now able to partner with its supporters to leverage their investments in the institution’s future. The University will match endowment contributions between $25,000 and $1.5 million, ‘dollar for dollar,’ doubling the impact of each donor’s commitment. For more information on the matching criteria, visit the Gift Matching page on webelieve.belmont.edu.
W E B E L I E V E T H AT BELMONT UNIVERSITY I S U N I QU E . S P E C I A L .
LIFE-CHANGING. We believe that Belmont qualifies for those superlatives because of the people, past and present, who have invested in creating a culture of academic rigor. Faith. Integrity. Innovation. Compassion. Family. People who have built a University focused on providing transformational education on the foundation of a caring Christian environment. We hope you will join us as together we continue our efforts to take more students “From Here to Anywhere.�
DON’T STOP BELIEVING
If you are considering how best to support the mission of Belmont—what some may eventually call the
For those who have already pledged
miracle of Belmont—we invite you to schedule a visit
or contributed, T H A N K Y O U .
with a member of our Development team. We would
Our gratitude for your support
be honored to discuss with you how to best pair your
cannot be summarized in words. Thank you for celebrating the
own passions and vision with the many incredible
Belmont University journey to date
opportunities available at Belmont University.
and providing the fuel to keep us thriving for generations to come.
CALL 615.460.5517 OR VISIT W E B E L I E V E . B E L M O N T. E D U F O R I N F O R M AT I O N
BELMONT UNIVERSITY • 615.460.5517 W E B E L I E V E . B E L M O N T. E D U