Contact Us
Office Hours:
During the school year:
Monday-Friday 9 AM to 9 PM
Summer: Monday-Friday 9 AM to 5 PM
Support Kay Spiritual Life Center
Kindle your heart – Ignite your purpose – Illuminate the world
Kay Spiritual Life Center holds space for everyone to feel welcome, present, and whole. As one of the oldest interfaith centers in higher education in the nation, we continue to kindle hearts by exploring beliefs, values, and faith within a radically welcoming community of communities. We ignite purpose by connecting the intangible matters of heart and soul to academic exploration and the needs of the world. We help form caring and mindful servant leaders grounded in their own sense of meaning and prepare them to illuminate the world. We hope that every person in the American University community can do well and do good.
If you would like to support KSLC’s mission in creating and maintaining a welcoming space for all of our AU community, there are various ways to give. Your generosity ensures that we remain a vibrant, inclusive hub for prayer, meditation, and connection.
Year-Round Giving
If you want to support the core of our department, please consider donating to our Kay Spiritual Life Center Fund. Your gift makes an immediate impact by enriching our community offerings and ensuring we remain a vibrant, inclusive hub for all AU students.
The Kay Spiritual Life Center Fund directly supports the events, initiatives, and community programs that bring our mission to life. Your contribution helps us provide resources for the diverse traditions and groups we serve across campus.
Specialized & Community-Specific Funds
KSLC oversees over 10 distinct funds, many of which are dedicated to specific faith traditions, student communities, and niche programming. If you wish to designate your gift to a specific area, below are descriptions of our most prominent funds.
Kay Spiritual Life Center Fund
This fund directly supports the events, initiatives, and community programs that bring our mission to life. Your contribution helps us provide resources for the diverse traditions and groups we serve across campus.
KSLC Endowment
This fund ensures our facilities remain modern and welcoming. It supports major upgrades to audio/visual equipment, building upgrades, and maintains our dedicated spaces for prayer, programming, and student reflection.
AU Gospel Choir
Supports the programming and activities of our historic AU Gospel Choir as a space for students to find belonging. Beyond a traditional musical ensemble or student organization, the Gospel Choir has built a unique space blending these two spaces together as a musical community of support and celebration.
Robert Bruce Poynter Endowment
The R. Bruce Poynter Endowment is used to support programming that engages our students with their beliefs and the world. These include programs such as the Soup with Substance lunch lecture series, the Poynter Lecture, Table Talks, and service trips. The R. Bruce Poynter Lecture is scheduled to return to campus after a 5-year hiatus in March 2026.
Gary Spiegler Endowment
This fund continues to support specific Jewish programming, including Apple Fest (over 300 participants), Jewish Heritage Month events, and the Shabbat Everywhere program, where individual students and groups could hold their own Shabbat service across the campus.
Dr. Karen Thornton Endowment
In tribute to her service more than two decades of service to the AU Community, the Dr. Karin Thornton Catholic Community Endowment was established in early 2008. This fund is the first of its kind for the Catholic community at AU and supports initiatives as student scholarships, presentations on spiritual formation, the annual retreat, and augmented programming, presented from a Catholic perspective.
AU Buddhists
Support our Buddhist community continue to celebrate, build community, and grow spiritually. Your gift supports KSLC’s continued efforts to make and maintain a space where everyone in the AU community feels welcome.
AU Catholics
Support our Catholic community with education, celebration, and liturgical practice. Your gift supports KSLC’s continued efforts to make and maintain a space where everyone in the AU community feels welcome.
AU Hindus
Support our Hindu community with celebration, spirituality, and community development. Your gift supports KSLC’s continued efforts to make and maintain a space where everyone in the AU community feels welcome.
AU Humanists
Support our Humanist community with celebration, education, and development. Your gift supports KSLC’s continued efforts to make and maintain a space where everyone in the AU community feels welcome.
AU Methodists
Honoring our institutional affiliation with the United Methodist Church, the AU Methodists fund supports the unique traditions and programming that come from the Wesleyan tradition. With a special emphasis on service and engagement with the world, the AU Methodists fund supports students on our campus and in cooperation with the UMC connection around the world.
KSLC Ramadan Fund
Provides essential support and community resources for Muslim students during the sacred month of Ramadan.
AU Giving Day Feb 25–26
The Kay Spiritual Life Center is a welcoming home for reflection, belonging, and connection at AU. Your Giving Day gift helps create inclusive spaces where students can explore their values, find community, and care for their whole selves. Together, we support students as they build purpose and show up for one another.
AU Giving Day is a 36-hour celebration of Eagle spirit and collective impact. Over two days, alumni, parents, students, faculty, staff, and friends come together to support the programs, scholarships, and resources that help every AU student thrive.
This community-wide moment is about participation, momentum, and shared purpose. Every gift, no matter the size, strengthens access to an AU education, fuels opportunity, and provides flexible support where it is needed most across campus.
Mark your calendars for February 25th. You can donate to KSLC using out link below.
Looking Ahead: Giving Tuesday Upcoming Date: December 1, 2026
Each year, KSLC joins the global generosity movement on Giving Tuesday, the first Tuesday after Thanksgiving. It is a wonderful opportunity to kick off the holiday season by supporting the traditions and programs that make the KSLC community feel like home.
How to Give
Gifts to KSLC are processed securely through American University’s central giving system.
Online: Visit the AU Giving Portal and specify your preferred fund.
If you have questions regarding how to support Kay Spiritual Life Center, please contact our offices at kslc@american.edu.