Shippensburg University Foundation

What Shippensburg University Foundation does

Shippensburg University Foundation is a private 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization established in 1977 and headquartered at 500 Newburg Road on the Shippensburg University campus in Shippensburg, Pennsylvania. Its sole institutional beneficiary is Shippensburg University, and it operates as the university's centralized private-gift fundraising and asset-management entity, having raised approximately $614M in cumulative support over the past decade and $8.3M in 2024-2025 contributions, including 959 scholarships awarded in the most recent academic year.

The foundation's core activities span annual giving, endowed scholarships, planned giving, event-based fundraising, and two operating subsidiaries: ShipCommons, an off-campus student housing portfolio (College Park Commons and Stone Ridge Commons), and the Bartos Child & Family Center, an on-campus early childhood education program. It runs two flagship 24-hour giving days (ShipGives in April, Giving Tuesday in December) and supports direct student financial aid vehicles including the Student Emergency Fund, Internship Opportunity Fund, and Student Educator Resource Fund. The technology backbone is a standard nonprofit SaaS stack: Blackbaud for secure online donation processing, RAISE for donor relationship management, Double the Donation for corporate matching gift lookup, and Gravyty powering the ShipFunder crowdfunding platform. There is no proprietary technology product; the foundation's "platform" is its donor pipeline, endowment base, and volunteer/ambassador network (notably the Student Advancement Ambassadors phonathon program).

Revenue is generated entirely through charitable contributions across five primary streams: Annual Fund contributions, scholarship and endowment gifts, planned/deferred gifts, event sponsorships, and ancillary programs such as Stewart Hall commemorative brick sales. Pricing is donation-based, with disclosed scholarship endowment tiers ranging from $1,650 (one student/year) to $33,000 (20 students/year) and internship endowments starting at $50,000. The foundation serves five customer segments: alumni (primary), parents, corporate partners, friends of the university, and volunteers, with outreach executed via Facebook, email, direct mail, and in-person events.

Name

Shippensburg University Foundation

Legal name

Shippensburg University Foundation

Website

https://sufoundation.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1977

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

The Shippensburg University Foundation is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit established in 1977 that raises, manages, and deploys private charitable gifts for the sole benefit of Shippensburg University in Pennsylvania, also operating off-campus student housing and an on-campus childcare center.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Higher Education Fundraising & Nonprofit Foundation Services

NAICS

Grantmaking Foundations (813211), Grantmaking and Giving Services (81321), Religious, Grantmaking, Civic, Professional, and Similar Organizations (813)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200)

akta.pro primary industry

Education Grantmaking Foundations (BPAGAKAK)

akta.pro secondary industries

Major Gifts, Planned Giving & Endowment Development (EDALAOAC), Fundraising & Annual Giving (EDALAOAB), College Access, Scholarships & Student Success Nonprofits (BPAGADAE), Advancement Services & Donor Operations (CRM, Gift Processing, Stewardship) (EDALAOAD)

Keywords

• University fundraising
• Planned giving services
• Scholarship endowment management
• Student housing operations
• Nonprofit foundation services

Headquarters

HQ city

Shippensburg

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure, Others

Revenue model

1. Annual Fund Contributions: Annual giving program accepting gifts of all sizes to support Ship's Greatest Needs, the Annual Fund for students, faculty, and programs. Includes alumni participation and parent annual fund campaigns.
2. Scholarship and Endowment Gifts: Designated gifts to establish scholarships, endowments for student support, faculty research, and program enhancement. Includes endowed scholarships and restricted funds.
3. Planned Giving: Deferred giving options including bequests, charitable gift annuities, IRA rollovers, charitable remainder trusts, charitable lead trusts, and other estate planning vehicles that provide long-term support.
4. Brick and Paver Sales: Personalized brick and paver sales for Stewart Hall Pathway Home project, allowing donors to purchase commemorative bricks placed on campus.
5. Event Sponsorships: Corporate and individual sponsorships for events including Jane Goss Memorial Golf Tournament, ShipGives Happy Hours, and Scholarship Dinners.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

Shippensburg University Foundation is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit that raises and manages private gift support for Shippensburg University, offering Annual Fund campaigns, planned giving programs, endowed scholarships, student support funds, commemorative brick sales, and operating off-campus student housing and an early childhood education center. It processes charitable contributions through Blackbaud-powered online giving, manages donor relationships via RAISE software, and stewards donors through events, phonathons, and direct outreach.

Product overview

The Shippensburg University Foundation is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization established in 1977 to increase private gift support for Shippensburg University. Rather than a technology product company, it offers a portfolio of giving programs including annual fund campaigns (Annual Fund with ShipGives and Giving Tuesday giving days), planned giving services, student financial support funds (Emergency Fund, Internship Opportunity Fund, Student Educator Resource Fund), commemorative programs (Stewart Hall brick purchases), and operational services (Student Advancement Ambassador phonathon program, ShipCommons student housing, Bartos Child and Family Center). The Foundation manages funds for academics (College of Arts & Sciences, John L. Grove College of Business, College of Education & Human Services, Wood Honors College), athletics, cultural enhancement, and student support through integrated online giving powered by Blackbaud.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Annual Fund The foundation's core annual giving program that accepts gifts of all sizes to support Shippensburg University's greatest needs, the Annual Fund for students, faculty, and programs. Includes alumni participation and parent annual fund campaigns.
• ShipGives Giving Day Annual 24-hour giving day held in April uniting alumni, faculty, staff, parents, and friends to make collective donations benefiting Ship students and university programs. Recent campaign raised $193,531 from 1,125 gifts.
• Giving Tuesday Annual 24-hour giving day held on the first Tuesday in December, anchoring the foundation's annual giving-day calendar alongside ShipGives.
• Planned Giving Program Gift planning services integrating charitable giving into donors' financial and estate planning, including bequests, charitable gift annuities, IRA rollovers, charitable remainder trusts, and charitable lead trusts.
• Stewart Hall Pathway Home Brick Project Personalized brick purchasing program for the Stewart Hall Pathway Home project, allowing donors to commemorate their Ship experience or honor individuals through bricks placed on campus.
• Student Emergency Fund Emergency financial assistance grants (maximum $500 per semester) for Shippensburg University students facing unexpected hardships such as illness, family emergency, medical issues, or job loss. Established Fall 2020; $168K in grants awarded since inception.
• Internship Opportunity Fund Financial support for Shippensburg University students with unpaid internships in human services, public service, and non-profits. In 2023-2024, supported over 190 students with unpaid internships.
• Student Educator Resource Fund Financial support for Shippensburg University education majors facing out-of-pocket expenses that exceed $3,100 on average during their final three undergraduate years for field placements and student teaching requirements.
• ShipCommons Student Housing Off-campus student housing operated by the Foundation, offering two communities — College Park Commons and Stone Ridge Commons — for Shippensburg University students, with maintenance, leasing, and on-site support staff.
• Bartos Child & Family Center Early childhood education and care program for children ages 12 months to six years, operated as a project of the Shippensburg University Foundation on the Shippensburg University campus at 500 Newburg Road.
• ShipFunder Crowdfunding Platform Crowdfunding platform powered by Gravyty enabling Shippensburg University student projects and specific campaigns to receive direct donations from the Ship Family community.
• Student Advancement Ambassador Program Student employment program supporting the Annual Fund through phone, email, video message, and print outreach to alumni, parents, and friends of the university; uses RAISE software to track donor interactions.

Quantifiable outcome

• 959 scholarships awarded in 2024-2025
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers6 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration3 records

Partnerships

Three partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Alera GroupcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 8 April 2022Rob Lieblein, founder of Alera Group (an independent, national insurance and financial services firm created through merger of 24 companies in 2017), made a generous gift to rename the Grove Forum as the Rob Lieblein and Alera Group Forum at the John L. Grove College of Business. Rob established the Robert J. Lieblein College of Business Scholarship and donated for the forum renovation.
• Bartos Child & Family CenterminorOthersA project of the Shippensburg University Foundation, the Bartos Child and Family Center provides early childhood education and care for children ages 12 months to six years on the Shippensburg University campus. Located at 500 Newburg Road.
• Blackbaud, Inc.coreTechnology or IntegrationBlackbaud provides secure online donation processing for the foundation's website, handling credit card information securely. The foundation uses Blackbaud's donor management services for online giving forms.

Scale indicators9 records

Recent moves10 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Penn State University Development and Alumni Relations: The fundraising and alumni engagement operation of Penn State, a much larger Pennsylvania public university system. Demonstrates the broader Pennsylvania university-foundation model at significantly greater scale, serving as an upper-bound benchmark for program structure.

Direct peers

• East Stroudsburg University Foundation: PASSHE-system university foundation supporting ESU through scholarships, annual fund, and donor engagement. Closely comparable institutional profile to Shippensburg.
• Millersville University Foundation: PASSHE-system university foundation supporting Millersville University students, faculty, and programs. Comparable scale, scholarship programs, annual fund, and planned giving.
• PennWest Foundation: Foundation formed from the consolidation of three PASSHE universities (California, Clarion, Edinboro). Comparable university-foundation model with scholarships, annual fund, and alumni engagement across multiple campuses.
• Lock Haven University Foundation: Foundation for Lock Haven University, another PASSHE institution. Comparable scholarship, annual fund, and donor relations structure serving a similar-sized public university.
• Indiana University of Pennsylvania Foundation: Larger PASSHE-system university foundation supporting IUP. Operates with similar fundraising, scholarship, and donor-stewardship infrastructure across academic and athletic programs.
• Kutztown University Foundation: PASSHE-system foundation supporting Kutztown University. Closely aligned mission of raising private support for a state-system university, with scholarship endowments and annual giving programs.
• Slippery Rock University Foundation: PASSHE-system foundation serving Slippery Rock University. Similar revenue mix from annual giving, planned gifts, and endowment distributions to support students.
• Bloomsburg University Foundation: Foundation for another PASSHE university, providing scholarships, annual fund, and major gift fundraising on behalf of Bloomsburg students and faculty.
• West Chester University Foundation: The fundraising and endowment arm of West Chester University, another PASSHE institution. Directly comparable mission, donor base, scholarship and capital-campaign structure, and stewardship programs.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/122269124505390
• Instagraminstagram.com/shipcommons
• Xx.com/shipcommons

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles18 records

Subsidiaries2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Shippensburg University Foundation