Lyceum Institute Endowment Fund

Building the future of education

The Lyceum Institute Endowment Fund seeks to raise $15,000,000 USD by 2031 to establish a secure foundation for the new paradigm of education. Our Endowment began in 2025 with a $100,000 gift.

We have all seen what happens when the institutions of higher learning become hijacked by ideology, and especially when the goals of such ideology displace actual teaching and learning as the goal of the university. But is the solution to start our own schools? To trod the same, worn, crumbling paths? To follow a model that, perhaps, is no longer apt?

Thus we ask: is education nothing more than a preparation for “real life”? Our mainstream institutions seem to think so—while becoming ever-more-detached from reality itself and ever-less-capable of teaching what is real. We at the Lyceum Institute are dedicated to changing the constitution and perception of education by providing a new model. This model holds itself to the principle that education is not extrinsic to the person, but rather belongs to the individual and is realized through his or her intellectual habits. As such, institutions which provide education must view it as an integral part of life itself, rather than a limited course pursued towards a determinate goal.

We believe that this integration can be affected by persistently engaging in three mental activities: inquiring (inquirere); ordering (ordinare); and remembering (memorare). By learning to inquire, we discover what we do not know. By learning to order, we discover what we ought to know, or to know better. And by learning to remember, we may build upon past discoveries toward greater heights of understanding. Developing these activities into intellectual habits sharpens one’s interpretation of all phenomena. Our Faculty serve as expert guides in the virtuous direction of these habits, exhibiting their practice through lectures, guidance in reading and discussion, and in their writings: not only teaching what they know, but seeking out further learning still. By teaching philosophy seminars, Trivium and Language courses, and developing unique programs and opportunities for study that fit diverse schedules and adapt to their content, the Faculty bring students deeper into the habit of thinking.

As a whole, the Lyceum Institute community (including not only enrolled members but also the general public who may participate in individual philosophy seminars) demonstrates an approach to education unconstrained by the limits of time, geography, and cost—superseding the limited and outmoded approach to learning which has become the norm.

Our Benefactors share and support this vision: bolstering our Institute not as a material investment nor to accomplish a short-term goal, but to revitalize genuine, human-focused education for future generations. Through gifts to the Endowment Fund, our Benefactors act as stewards for culture, providing serious students the opportunity to pursue true intellectual flourishing, and liberating minds dedicated to the truth from the oppressive strictures of contemporary academia.

We truly believe that our approach establishes a new paradigm for education, one that goes beyond the university. Benefactors of our cause truly are founders for a new age of learning and understanding.

Discover our vision: Building the Future of Education

We believe that this integration can be affected by persistently engaging in three mental activities: inquiring (inquirere); ordering (ordinare); and remembering (memorare). By learning to inquire, we discover what we do not know. By learning to order, we discover what we ought to know, or to know better. And by learning to remember, we may build upon past discoveries toward greater heights of understanding. Developing these activities into intellectual habits sharpens one’s interpretation of all phenomena. Our Faculty serve as expert guides in the virtuous direction of these habits, exhibiting their practice through lectures, guidance in reading and discussion, and in their writings: not only teaching what they know, but seeking out further learning still. By teaching philosophy seminars, Trivium and Language courses, and developing unique programs and opportunities for study that fit diverse schedules and adapt to their content, the Faculty bring students deeper into the habit of thinking.

As a whole, the Lyceum Institute community (including not only enrolled members but also the general public who may participate in individual philosophy seminars) demonstrates an approach to education unconstrained by the limits of time, geography, and cost—superseding the limited and outmoded approach to learning which has become the norm.

Our Benefactors share and support this vision: bolstering our Institute not as a material investment nor to accomplish a short-term goal, but to revitalize genuine, human-focused education for future generations. Through gifts to the Endowment Fund, our Benefactors act as stewards for culture, providing serious students the opportunity to pursue true intellectual flourishing, and liberating minds dedicated to the truth from the oppressive strictures of contemporary academia.

We truly believe that our approach establishes a new paradigm for education, one that goes beyond the university. Benefactors of our cause truly are founders for a new age of learning and understanding.

Discover our vision: Building the Future of Education

$135,000+ RAISED

A Case for the Future

funding plan

Endowment Inquiry

If you would like to know more about making a gift to the Endowment, please use the form below and a representative of the Lyceum Institute will be in touch.

Our Goals

We are seeking steady, sustainable growth over the next 7 years, across two phases: Establishment (2025 – 2027) and Development (2027 – 2031). By the end of the Development phase, we aim to have grown the Endowment to $15,000,000+, from which we will sustain a fulltime Faculty of 5-10 with a rotating group of Annual Faculty Fellows.

Building this Endowment will give new life to education. We already provide courses in the Trivium, Latin, and Greek, and offer both a wide range of Philosophy Seminars, Reading Circles, Colloquia, Symposia, and more—as we build a community of true seeking, guided by an expert and dedicated faculty. Help us build the foundations deep for the future.

Our long-term aim is to establish the Lyceum as a permanent institution of liberal education: one capable of supporting a stable faculty, welcoming successive generations of students, preserving and extending a living intellectual tradition, and adapting responsibly to conditions not yet foreseen. The Endowment will allow the Institute to plan beyond the limits of annual fundraising, voluntary labor, and short-term programs, providing the financial foundation for teaching, research, publication, fellowship, and the continued development of its community. We seek not unlimited expansion, but institutional maturity: a Lyceum sufficiently secure to endure, sufficiently personal to remain faithful to its educational purpose, and sufficiently well-founded to carry the habits of inquiry, order, and memory far into the future.

funding Plan

Establishment goal

$5M

development goal

$15M

Fulltime Faculty

5-10

Annual Fellows

5+

F.A.Q.

How can I help?

Make a Donation

This initiative is designed not just to sustain, but to dynamically enhance the educational experiences that define the Lyceum. Your contribution—no matter how large or small—will help secure the future of a community dedicated to the rigorous pursuit of wisdom. Just scroll up or use our contact form!

Promote the Lyceum

In a world of noise, honest voices do not always receive the most attention. But consistently professing a belief, stable amidst the chaos, issues a certain harmony. Follow us on social media (links below)—share our posts—email our website to your colleagues—talk about us with your friends, and help our message to resonate.

Leave a Bequest

If you would like to leave a bequest to the Lyceum Institute Endowment Fund, add: “LYCEUM INSTITUTE INCORPORATED, a New York charitable nonstock corporation” to your will or estate-planning documents, including an amount and that you would like it to go to the Endowment Fund. You may also give through the Fidelity Endowed Giving Program.

Contact the Executive Director

Opportunities to help can take countless forms. If donating isn’t an option right now, or you would like to do something more, contact Dr. Brian Kemple, the Executive Director of the Lyceum Institute, and we will explore the ways in which you might provide a non-financial benefit.

Join our public initiatives

Though we principally aim to build our growing community of enrolled members, we also offer regular seminars, reading groups, and general discussion sessions that are open to the public. Explore our website to find other ways in which you can participate in the Lyceum’s intellectual life.

Enroll

Discover what we have to offer for yourself: while it may not be the right format for everyone, the merits of our community and program speak for themselves.

enroll

Endowment Fund