New York · Nonprofit
AUBURN THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY
AUBURN THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY (New York) receives grants from 112 organizations whose IRS filings report $19,859,311 to it, the largest being THE SUSAN THOMPSON BUFFETT FOUNDATION ($3,107,996). 50 of them have funded it in more than one year.
- Revenue FY2025
- $3.5M
- Funders on record
- 112
- Grants received
- $20M
- Net assets
- $18M
What Auburn Theological Seminary does
Mission
Auburn Theological Seminary identifies and strengthens leaders from the pulpit to the public square to build community, bridge divides, pursue justice, and heal the world.
As stated on its FY2025 Form 990.
Programs
Leadership developmentjanet prindle seidler center for prophetic leadership:this is the umbrella for leadership formation that is healing-centered and deeply rooted in spiritual traditions. The janet prindle seidler center for prophetic leadership aims to equip leaders to be grounded in their respective traditions, equipped to build community and bridge divides, and connected to other leaders. The main program within the center is the emerging leaders program.(continued on schedule o)emerging leaders program:- focused on emerging faith leaders (ages 18-35) equipping them from a christian-rooted seminary for a multi-faith world. The program is open to all faith traditions. Participants are selected through an application process and gathered in cohorts.- format: begins with in-person intensive in a u.s. Community, followed by virtual sessions.- practical focus: conflict navigation, community building, dialogues across difference, social justice, and leadership skills.- cost: for selected fellows, travel, lodging, meals, and program materials are currently covered under grant funding, though in future years that model will shift as the largest grant funding comes to a close in 2028.…
$862,327 spent$23,097 earned by the program59% of program spendingResearch- auburn has a center for research (formerly center for the study of theological education). The center was established and endowed in 2007 in partnership with lilly endowment inc. To gather, analyze, and research trends in theological education, focused primarily on the 270+ accredited theological schools through the association of theological schools (ats).- auburn has conducted studies about theological education since the late 1970s, establishing its journal, auburn studies, in 1993 with all issues being logged on auburn's website, as well as indexed with atla, the american theological library association. (continued on schedule o)- the research is empirical: auburn conducts studies on student debt, trends in continuing education, trustee engagement, and other challenges facing theological institutions.wheeler fellows:- to accomplish this research, auburn selects scholars (wheeler fellows) each year to carry out rigorous research into theological education.- fellows are identified and selected through nomination process from partners in the field based on research questions outlined in auburn's mandate.auburn studies:- auburn's publication that since 1993 has provided…
$217,847 spentof which $5,500 as grants15% of program spendingStorytelling & narrative change- auburn believes in the power of story to heal and transform. Auburn runs programs that help leaders examine and reshape religious narratives that may cause division, trauma, or alienation.- auburn's programming focuses on virtual gatherings (currently titled dean's lectures) and storytelling circle gatherings.dean's lecture series:- virtual lectures featuring storytellers, faith leaders, and cultural figures (authors, activists) who explore themes of healing, theology, and social justice. (continued on schedule o)storytelling circles:- in-person or virtual gatherings, including with indigenous communities, focused on shared histories, trauma, and reconciliation.letters to the future:- a project where community members write hopeful, healing "letters" envisioning a future rooted in justice and love.
$380,264 spentof which $21,000 as grants26% of program spending
The 3 programs described on its FY2024 Form 990, listed largest first by expense. Program spending in total: $1,460,438.
The organization over time
Each line starts at 100 in 2017, so what you read is the shape rather than the size: 150 means half as much again as 2017, 50 means half. The number beside each label in the key is where it ended. The shaded band is where the middle 50% of its peers' revenue would sit, given their growth.
Balance sheet
Total assets and total liabilities at each year end, in dollars. The largest one-year move in total assets was 2021 to 2022, from $28M to $22M (−22%).
How it's funded, over time
Each bar is one year's revenue split into where it came from, and every bar is the same height — these are shares, not amounts, so a year that raised twice as much looks the same size. Hover a bar for the split.
Government-grant reliance: 2021 0% · 2022 30%. Grants only. Government contracts and fees sit inside program revenue.
60% of AUBURN THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY’s revenue is contributions — more donation-reliant than the typical peer (48% for the typical peer).
Surplus & reserves
Operating surplus or deficit each year, and months of liquidity in hand. 7 of the last 9 reported years ran a deficit.
reserve
Leadership and staff
The officers, directors, trustees and key employees listed on each return. Joined and no longer listed compare each filing with the year before, matching people by surname and first initial; a year after a gap, or a roster under three people, has no comparison.
Board chair
Derrick Mcqueen
Chair
As listed on its FY2025 Form 990.
Who funds it, year by year
2017 → 2023: the base broadened from 25 funders to 34 funders, grant income rose $1.0M → $2.5M.
31 of 112 of your funders are donor-advised or pass-through sponsors (tagged DAF) — 26% of grant dollars received. That money is really individual donors directing a sponsor; the institutions to cultivate are the non-DAF funders.
From the IRS filings of AUBURN THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY’s funders (the co-funder graph). Top 30 of 112 funders by total. Association, not causation. Trends are read to FY2023, the last fiscal year that has finished arriving. FY2024–FY2026 are still being filed and are shown unshaded; they do not move any figure on this page.
How concentrated its funding is
AUBURN THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY has a broad base — no single funder exceeds 16% of grant income, and it takes 6 funders to reach half.
the vertical line marks half of all grant income — 6 funders to its left
30% of the income these shares are computed over arrives through pass-through sponsors or from payers whose filings do not say what kind of payment it is. Concentration is still measured over all of it, because the money is real; what it does not support is a claim about how many institutions have chosen to fund AUBURN THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY.
Largest funder’s share by year: 2017 25% · 2018 16% · 2019 26% · 2020 17% · 2021 22% · 2022 20% · 2023 20% — diversifying over time.
“Effective funders” = inverse Herfindahl index (1 / Σ shareᵢ²) — the number of equal-sized funders that would give the same concentration. Trends are read to FY2023, the last fiscal year that has finished arriving. FY2024–FY2026 are still being filed and are shown unshaded; they do not move any figure on this page.
How long its funders stay
40% of AUBURN THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY's funders are still giving 3 years after their first grant; 45% give in more than one year at all.
Share of funders still giving k years after their first recorded grant, pooled across every acquisition cohort. A funder counts as retained in a year only if it made a grant that year. Measured to FY2023, the last fiscal year that has finished arriving — a funder cannot be counted as lapsed in a year most filers have not reached.
Where its funders are
AUBURN THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY draws 73% of its grant income from funders outside New York, across 22 states in all.
In-state vs out-of-state, by year
Funder states come from each funder’s own filing. $5.2M arriving through sponsors registered in 16 states is excluded from the map and the split above: a sponsor holds money on a donor’s behalf, so its registered address would place those dollars somewhere no donor need ever have been. Trends are read to FY2023, the last fiscal year that has finished arriving. FY2024–FY2026 are still being filed and are shown unshaded; they do not move any figure on this page.
Against its field
AUBURN THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY runs a healthier operating margin than three-quarters of the 9,398 education nonprofits its size.
this organization peer median middle 50% of peers· 9,398 education nonprofits $1M–$10M, FY2025
Organizations like AUBURN THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY
Organizations whose mission and program text most resemble this one, by semantic similarity over every organization in the US filings — the closest peers, and often the clearest route to shared or prospective funders.
In New York
Nationally
Read directly from this organization’s own Form 990, as neutral context.
Where the money goes
49% of spending goes to programs.
Governance
Public support
61%
Share of support from the public (Schedule A) — the basis for its public-charity status.
Footprint & structure
Files a return copy in 26 states
Part of a family of 1 related entity
- Lida Marshall Trust · corp_trust
Screen this organization
A dated, signed PDF of the compliance screen for AUBURN THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY: IRS status (Business Master File, Publication 78, auto-revocation), the OFAC sanctions lists, the Internal Revenue Bulletin, and California registration, with the Rev. Proc. 2018-32 §8.01 reliance elements stated element by element. Generated from the current files at the moment you download it.
Screens are triage, not determinations; a source that cannot be read reports not screened, never clear. Screen this nonprofit · How the screen works · on the API as GET /api/screening/{ein}?format=pdf
Questions and answers
- Who funds AUBURN THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY?
- AUBURN THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY (New York) receives grants from 112 organizations whose IRS filings report $19,859,311 to it, the largest being THE SUSAN THOMPSON BUFFETT FOUNDATION ($3,107,996). 50 of them have funded it in more than one year.
- How many funders does AUBURN THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY have?
- IRS filings report 112 organizations giving $19,859,311 in grants to AUBURN THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY, 50 of which have funded it in more than one year.
- Who is the largest funder of AUBURN THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY?
- THE SUSAN THOMPSON BUFFETT FOUNDATION is the largest funder on record, with $3,107,996 in grants. The full list of funders is on this page.
- How can an organization like AUBURN THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY find more funders?
- Start with the funders already giving here, then look at the foundations that back similar organizations in New York. The funding by cause and by state pages list the largest funders for a given area and how to approach them.
These figures are read directly from IRS Form 990 / 990-PF e-file XML: this organization’s own return for FY2025 (financials across 2017–2025), and the filings of 112 funders that report grants to it. “On record” means captured in the filings we have parsed — a funder that does not e-file, or whose grant detail is not itemized, will not appear. Filings run roughly 12–24 months behind. Trends on this page end at FY2023, the last fiscal year that has finished arriving; later years are shown and marked, and move no figure. Data on this page was exported October 14, 2026. What this page cannot tell you · view filing