This was shared with the congregation ahead of the June 8 parish meeting, along with my report. I encourage you to read it carefully and bookmark it for reference!
Congregation members at the May 10 meeting
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
Since the planning and prioritization meeting on May 10, there have been a lot of questions asked about where we go from here. This document contains a LOT of information, but please read it carefully and keep it handy for reference!
When we say “Capital Campaign,” what does that mean?
It means an organized, formal process of fundraising toward an ambitious goal to support a particular, one-time set of projects. A capital campaign begins with a “quiet phase” in which discussions are held with stakeholders, and potential principal donors are solicited and lead gifts secured. Support from government and foundation grants is also actively explored. On that foundation, the campaign then moves into a public phase in which many smaller donors are invited to participate, in order to complete the journey to the fundraising goal.
In a church context, during the public phase, every member of the parish should expect to be contacted for a sit-down meeting in which we discuss the project and how you might be able to contribute to its eventual success. Remember the old-fashioned “Every Member Canvass”? It’s kind of like that, but for a single identifiable project rather than the congregation’s ongoing operating expenses.
Who is on the Capital Campaign Committee?
Currently, the members of the Capital Campaign Committee are Grace Burson, Bob McLachlan, Helen Haslam, Geoff Dowd, John Rogers (Corporation liaison) and Laura Hill (secretary). If you have gifts and energy to offer to the committee, we would enthusiastically welcome your participation!
One and a half million dollars? That’s a lot!!
It sure is! That figure includes all the projects we reviewed at the May 10 meeting, plus taxes, contingency, and a 10% tithe to outreach. And whether we will be able to reach that ambitious goal is still an open question, one that the Capital Campaign Committee is actively working on.
What if we don’t raise the full $1.5 million? How will we prioritize what needs to get done first?
At the May 10 meeting, the various projects were sorted into four categories, from most to least urgent. In the “most urgent” category is about $400,000 worth of work, including the roof, which really needs to be done for safety reasons and in order to remain in compliance with the terms of our insurance. That “red” category is our first priority; we’ll do this work first, raise the money to cover it, and then see how much further we can get toward the ultimate goal, proceeding along the list we made on May 10 in order from most to least urgent.
We’re advancing the money for the roof from the endowment. Will we pay ourselves back?
Absolutely. As described above, some of this work really must be done as soon as possible (roof, loft windows, basement hall, front door) but we plan to pay ourselves back for all those projects as well as anything further down the list.
Will we have the money actually in the bank in time to pay for the hall and the front door?
Probably not. In a capital campaign, there is a significant delay not only between deciding you need the money and receiving the pledges, but also between receiving the pledges and actually depositing the funds. We may well decide to proceed with additional work on the strength of formal pledges before the full amount is actually transferred into the church’s accounts. This is standard practice in these situations.
We have the huge advantage of being able to pay for necessary work up front out of our endowment funds, so that we aren’t watching the costs go up and up while we try to raise the money to keep up. We can then fundraise to replace that money and keep ourselves on the same solid financial footing that we started.
What is the overall time frame of the campaign?
Any such time frame is very provisional at this point and depends largely on how the process of soliciting lead gifts goes, but we hope to be able to move from the “quiet” to the public portion of the campaign early in 2026. Typically, pledges are paid over a 3-5 year time frame, and we anticipate setting the deadline for the first installment in December of 2026, with the final installments coming in by December of 2030.
What is the process for decision-making about when and how to proceed with each project?
The overall responsibility lies with the Corporation (Incumbent Grace Burson; Eileen Hussey and Ross Hamilton, Wardens; John Rogers and Antoinette Lynch-Joseph, Deputy Wardens), which holds fiduciary authority for the parish’s finances and properties. The Building Projects Committee has also been involved in determining what is the necessary work that needs to be done and presenting it to the congregation. Laura Lunt has also done a tremendous amount of research and solicited many quotes.
We are proposing a process, going forward, whereby the Corporation and the continuing members of the Building Projects Committee (Laura Hill, Marie-Claude Martz, Helen Haslam, and Ross Hamilton, who will remain in this Committee even when he cycles off as Warden), plus Laura Lunt as project manager and Dave Young as building coordinator, manage the overall program of renovations.
As each individual project comes up for implementation, this group will convene subcommittees for those projects from the relevant stakeholders as needed, and report regularly to the congregation. If you want to be involved in this planning and execution process, we would welcome additional input – please let one of the people mentioned above know!
We’re moving ahead with the roof and the windows because we have to. What’s the next project?
The necessary updates to the office and hall (ceiling, lighting, painting, floors). If you’d like to have input on this project, let Grace or Laura Lunt know by the beginning of July!
The congregation will get to vote on this at some point, right?
Yes! At some point in the fall, a Special Vestry will be convened to approve a motion that will formalize the above plan and officially approve the capital campaign.
Everything seems to be happening at once and it’s very confusing.
This is totally understandable! The intersecting processes of the construction business, fundraising, and church procedures each has a long timeframe with many steps, and that means we are frequently moving forward on several fronts at once. A lot of people are working very hard to ensure that we use our resources as efficiently and effectively as possible. The best way to stay informed is to read your weekly parish email with as much attention as possible, and attend parish meetings and other meetings when they’re scheduled!
This sounds exciting but also makes me kind of anxious. Is that normal?
Absolutely. Talking about money in any context, especially one like this, is stressful. We’ll need to be extra patient and gentle with each other as we work together to achieve our goals!
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