Theological center welcomes vital grants

Donations will help ITC meet some of facility’s pressing needs.

The Interdenominational Theological Center has received a $10,000 contribution from Elizabeth Baptist Church in Atlanta.

The check was presented to ITC President Maisha Handy during HBCU Sunday, according to a post on the center’s Facebook page.

Earlier this year, ITC was one of 37 private HBCUs expected to receive a share of a pooled endowment fund as part of a major $100 million unrestricted grant. The money is coming to the UNCF (United Negro College Fund) through a grant from the Lilly Endowment. At the time, ITC said it was the largest single contribution in the institution’s history, according to its social media.

It’s unclear when the funds will be distributed. A UNCF spokesman said it may not be until 2025.

Still, both gifts are welcome news for the historic institution, which has been struggling financially.

The center consists of Gammon Theological Seminary, Charles H. Mason Theological Seminary, Phillips

School of Theology, Turner School of Theology and a fellowship.

The UNCF contribution could help on an annual basis to reach the institution’s budget “and we’re grateful,” said Calvin E. Booker Sr., chairman of the center’s board of trustees, said in a previous interview.

Booker said the school needs about $4 million a year, once everything is streamlined.

“We do have a plan in place to make it sustainable,” he said in the interview. “We have over $12 million worth of assets in buildings and land but we are cash broke.”

The Rev. Maisha I. K. Handy, ITC’s interim president, said in a previous interview the center needed about $2.5 million to regain its financial footing through the current fiscal year, which ends June 30. Handy is the first woman to lead the institution and has aggressively sought to raise funds for the institution.

ITC’s footprint in Black churches and communities has been an important one. Its graduates have gone on to lead Black churches, hold top positions in mainline Christian denominations, become chaplains and hold leadership roles in nonprofits and communities.