The Fund for Lenoir-Rhyne


Your financial support helps to bridge the gap between the actual cost of educating a student and the comprehensive fee. No matter the size, every gift truly counts.

The Fund for Lenoir-Rhyne provides critical support for every student, affecting all areas of campus life from scholarships to faculty support to facilities and student life. Because of your gifts, students receive a well-rounded LR education with opportunities that extend well beyond the classroom. With your financial support, Bears know no limits.

Your gifts help prepare students for the future, equipping them with the skills and knowledge to lead and serve in their communities. It provides the flexibility to respond to changing circumstances and to take advantage of new opportunities.

Every gift, no matter where it’s directed, makes an impact for our Bears, right away. A student’s LR experience starts with you. You make their individual journeys here possible, and we are grateful for your support.

Show your support for LR students and pay it forward for the next generation with your gift today.

Make an Online Gift

Gift Designations

  • University’s Greatest Needs

    Funds directed to support the university’s greatest needs give LR the flexibility to meet our evolving needs as they arise throughout a given academic year. Your gift allows us to do more for our students, their faculty and staff mentors, and the programs that define the distinctive LR experience.

  • Merit and Need-Based Scholarships

    LR awards an astonishing $38 million in scholarship support each year – an accessible and affordable education is at the heart of our commitment to students, year in and year out. By supporting scholarship needs, your gift allows us to open doors for current and future Bears to choose LR and know they are supported by a network of Bear alumni and friends who are rooting for their success.

  • Athletics

    Athletics at LR are second to none, providing exceptional student-athlete experiences and a game-day environment that rivals any in the nation. Current-use athletic funding supports all 23 teams. In addition to general, unrestricted athletic support, donors can designate their gift to any one of our teams to support their individual and specific needs.

  • Campus and Community Life

    LR is known for its strong campus community that blends the residential and commuter student experience. From student clubs to religious and spiritual life, Campus Activities Board to Student Government Association, funds to this area help develop programming that leads to a rich and engaging time on campus for every student.

  • Diversity, Equity and Inclusion

    LR is committed to being the most welcoming and inclusive community we can be. Gifts to support diversity, equity and inclusion efforts provide funding for campus-wide initiatives, events and speakers that help invite conversation, promote acceptance, and value and celebrate the differences that make us stronger as one community.

  • Fine and Performing Arts

    LR’s fine and performing arts programs provide opportunities for the campus and broader community to come together and examine the world through a new lens. From the renowned Visiting Writers Series to the chorale, band and theater programs that serve countless students, the fine and performing arts add depth and beauty to our community.

  • Innovative Teaching and Learning

    Academic excellence is at the heart of who we are as a university. Funds that support innovative teaching and learning provide important financial resources for our faculty and academic departments to do more for our students, in the classroom and beyond. New technology, experiential learning opportunities and innovative teaching methods allow us to offer cutting-edge curricula that prepare students for lives of service and leadership in their communities.

  • LTSS New Life Fund

    Lutheran Theological Southern Seminary, located on our Columbia, South Carolina campus,  is focused on preparing the next generation of leaders for ministry in a Christ-centered, ecumenical context. Gifts to the New Life Fund support the annual needs of our seminary by providing academic support, mentorship and fieldwork opportunities that prepare our students to lead in a ministerial context — in a congregation or otherwise.

  • Student Success

    Everything we do is built on enabling our students to succeed. Funds to this area support the programming and initiatives that help LR attract, engage, retain and graduate our students. The services we offer reach our students in every corner of their life as a Bear — from an engaging first-year experience to ongoing support services in the Lohr Learning Commons, Center for Vocation and Purpose or Alex Lee Career and Professional Development Center.

    Your gifts help our students take full advantage of their time on campus and develop their talents so they are fully prepared to make an impact on the world.

  • Other

    Is there an area of campus life you are passionate about that you don’t see listed here? We want to help you support it. Reach out to us and let us know how we can help you make an impact for our students today. Your generosity does not go unnoticed, and your gift – no matter the size – enables the LR experience to continue.

Angel McLendon

My LR scholarship helped me both financially and personally. The donors of LR have truly blessed me, and I think LR donors are amazing people with big hearts.

Angel McLendon '20, Instructional Studies

Annual Scholarships


Annual scholarships are a great way to make an immediate impact because students receive 100 percent of the funding now. Unlike endowments, these gifts to the annual fund are entirely expendable and are awarded right away. While unrestricted scholarship support can happen at any level, a named annual scholarship requires a giving commitment at the specified amount each year, for no fewer than four years.

There are two funding options for annual scholarships:

  • $30,000—can be paid at once or over four years ($7,500 per year)
    Donors can name and designate their annual scholarship to an area of campus most meaningful to them.
  • $10,000—can be paid at once or over four years ($2,500 per year)
    Donors can name their annual scholarship. Donor is not able to designate their gift—this is awarded to students with demonstrated financial need only.

How to Create a Scholarship


The number one reason students don’t see Lenoir-Rhyne as a viable possibility is a concern around financial aid. Thanks to the generosity of university donors, more than 1,327 students were able to attend LR because of a generous scholarship package.

To learn more about how you can set up an endowed scholarship or annual scholarship, please download our Bears Helping Bears information sheet.

Scholarships Information Sheet

Additional Recognition


All donors with a named scholarship are invited to our annual scholarship luncheon to get to know their student recipients.

Additionally, scholarship donors are inducted into the President’s Society and are invited to numerous stewardship events throughout the year.