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Jerry W. Henry '80 M.Div.: Philanthropic Professional

Following graduation from YDS with an M.Div. in 1980, Jerry W. Henry was ordained in the South Carolina Conference of the United Methodist Church and assumed the pulpit of Grace Church in North Augusta, SC. It did not take long for him to make his mark on the national scene when, just three years after graduation, he was named executive secretary for The Fellowship of United Methodists in Worship, Music and Other Arts.

By 1990 he had become an Episcopal layman and, having left the ranks of Methodist clergy, he shifted careers also, into the world of philanthropic fundraising – first as vice president of The Winfield Group, a market research and strategic planning firm for nonprofit organizations and, later, as assistant vice president for institutional advancement at Brenau University in Gainesville, GA, where he worked on two capital campaigns totaling over $30 million.

Henry, a member of the YDS Alumni Board, is now a partner of Alexander Haas Martin & Partners, a national philanthropic strategy and fundraising consulting firm headquartered in Atlanta, where he has worked with numerous faith-based organizations and national clients as the Alliance for Christian Media, the Eastern Band of the Cherokee Indian, the Paul Simon Public Policy Institute at Southern Illinois University, and Ronald McDonald House Charities International.

Henry believes that his career path has benefited from, and has been heavily influenced by, his education at YDS. Said Henry, “My ‘call' to ministry has made several twists and turns over the years. My professional involvement with nonprofit organizations all around the country places me with philanthropic leaders who are doing good work. Basically, they all are trying to have an impact on changing peoples lives for the better, and therefore I see my work as a ministry in the real sense.”

“At its root, ‘philanthropy' is the ‘love of humankind,'” he says. “There is no better work we can do than being engaged in the work of congregations and other non-profit organizations in our communities.” He believes his YDS background serves him especially well when he's helping nonprofits grapple with ethical issues related to donor rights and an organization's transparency of operations.

In gratitude for the education he received at YDS – he was a scholarship student – Henry has made the Divinity School the sole beneficiary of a retirement savings plan upon his death. While Henry's gift is unrestricted in use, it especially pleases him to think that it might help students financially, just as he was helped three decades ago.

Henry hopes others will also consider using retirement accounts as vehicles for supporting YDS and its students. “It's a simple way that anyone can be involved in giving back to YDS,” he said.

“I recognize the responsibility as a graduate of YDS to give something back to the school which gave so much to me. As a member of the alumnal board, I want to encourage others to do the same thing that I'm doing,” Henry noted. “So in one sense I want to be a witness to the fact that anyone of any means can contribute something back to the school.”