Capital Campaign 2008, Honoring the Past, Preparing for the Future

CAMPAIGN HOME PAGE *Last Update: 10/12/08*
PLEDGES
10/12/08 CONSTRUCTION UPDATE Note from the Pastor: The Financial Planning Committee met on Monday evening [October 6] and would like to share with you the following report. As of now, we have $930,000 in gifts and pledges. Of this, we have received $188,000 in cash. In these troubled times, this is a fantastic testimony of your love and commitment to our parish community. As you will recall, we set out to raise $1,234,000.00 and we have fallen short of the mark by $300,000.00. As a result, the committee is discussing how we can trim our original plans and still provide all the essential parts that we promised you. One suggestion that was made was to consider "phasing in" the project. In other words, doing what we have the money to do, paying for it, and then moving on to the next part. The positive of this is that we will save on having to pay interest on borrowed money. The negative is that the whole thing won't happen at once but be spread out over a period of time. Another suggestion was to simplify what we had originally planned to do by doing some of the work ourselves and by cutting out some of the non-essentials, at least for now. We always dream of having the Cadillac (the top of the line) in whatever we do, but sometimes we realize that realistically we can get along very well with a good Chevrolet. (I've done it for years.) Over the next month, we are going to explore these various options and hope to have a parish meeting in November to present the findings to you and get your input. In the meantime, please continue to pray for the success of this project undertaken for the good of our parish, and please continue your pledged support as we try to better serve one another's needs. Thank you once more for your faithful and generous support.
9/21/08 CAMPAIGN UPDATE We met with the Contract Manager and the architect on Wednesday evening. They presented a revised budged which is still higher than we would like it to be. One of the ways in which this cost can be lowered at least a bit is by having some of the work done by volunteers from the parish. This was presented in the original appeal as "in kind donations" which means donations made of time and talent either instead of or in addition to the financial pledges that have been made. Such work as demolition, painting, maybe even some work in the kitchen are examples of things that we could probably do ourselves. Soon we will be looking for commitments from some of you who said you would be interested in supporting the project in this way and looking to broaden the base by recruiting others. Watch the bulletin for further news about this.
9/7/08 CAMPAIGN UPDATE Thank you to all who are paying their pledges. We are waiting for firm figures from the architect and contractor before we can move forward with the project. We hope to have these figures for you by next weekend.
8/31/08 CAMPAIGN UPDATE Our total so far is $928,500.00 from 439 givers. We are also grateful to all of you who are paying your pledges or are using the yellow envelopes that are in the church pews. Every donation helps.
8/24/08 CAMPAIGN UPDATE Thank you to all who are paying their pledges. Our total so far is $921,850.00 from 434 donors. We are also grateful to all of you who are using the yellow envelopes that are in the church pews. Every donation helps. CONSTRUCTION UPDATE Last Wednesday (August 20), We met with the construction manager, Matt Colangelo of Colangelo and sons. He was here the other morning with some subcontractors looking at the hall and its needs, and he is supposed to have what they call a first cut budget for us to see on Monday evening (August 25). From there we decide on how much of the work in the hall we will actually be able to do. He will then prepare a final budget and we will begin. The proposed date for beginning this project is September 15 with everything being finished - except the elevator - by Christmas.The reason for this is that the elevator has to be custom made and it takes between 12 and 14 weeks to to it. Of course, this presupposes no major "snafus." So, if you want something to pray for, here it is!
8/9/08 CAMPAIGN UPDATE We received two more pledges to the Capital Funds Campaign this week. As of now, we have received gifts and pledges totaling $927,627.00 from 433 donors. Again, we offer our sincere gratitude to all of you who ar supporting this campaign. Soon we will begin to see the fruit of our sacrifices.
8/3/08 CAMPAIGN UPDATE The Capital Funds committee met on Monday evening. At that time we had received gifts and pledges totaling $915,827.00 from 431 donors. During the next two weeks, we will be following up with some of you who may not have been contacted or others who may still be considering your gift to see if you have made a decision. We hope that you will join us in making this project a success. CONSTRUCTION UPDATE I am please to announce that we have chosen J. Colangelo Construction Company of West Boylston to be the construction manager for the renovation project. They were the lowest bidders for this phase of the work. Over the next two weeks they will be working with our architect, Jordan O'Connor and Associates, to prepare a first bid for the actual construction work and submitting it to us for our consideration. It is estimated that the actual work will take about 12 to 14 weeks once construction is begun. Before that can begin, there is a preparation stage which involves getting the proper permits for the work, soliciting bids from the sub-contractors, and preparing a final budget which is acceptable to us and to the Diocesan Bank (DEF), who will be lending us the money. The quicker this is done, the quicker we can proceed. Keep all of this in your prayers over the next few weeks.
7/27/08 CAMPAIGN UPDATE The Capital Funds committee met on Monday evening. At that time we had received gifts and pledges totaling $914,589.00 from 431 donors . During the next two weeks, we will be following up with some of you who may not have been contacted or others who may still be considering your gift to see if you have made a decision. We hope that you will join us in making this project a success. Thank you again to those who are supporting the campaign and to those who are using the yellow envelopes to make donations whether weekly or monthly. Every gift large or small is appreciated. CONSTRUCTION UPDATE We have received bids for the position of Construction manager from five companies. We will interview the three lowest bidders this week to clarify their proposals and will then make a choice. Once that choice is made, the construction company will submit bids for the cost of the work and also give us an idea of how much use we will have of the hall during construction.
7/20/08 CAMPAIGN UPDATE The Capital Funds committee met on Monday evening. At that time we had received gifts and pledges totaling $912,789.00 from 417 donors . During the next two weeks, we will be following up with some of you who may not have been contacted or others who may still be considering your gift to see if you have made a decision. We hope that you will join us in making this project a success. Thank you again to those who are supporting the campaign and to those who are using the yellow envelopes to make donations whether weekly or monthly. Every gift large or small is appreciated.
7/13/08 CAMPAIGN UPDATE The Capital Funds campaign continues to grow little by little. Thank you to all of you who have been paying your pledges and who have been making weekly or monthly donations by using the yellow envelopes. All this helps us to build up a cash on hand (actually in the bank) which is one of the things the DEF [Diocesan Expansion Fund] looks at in granting a loan. Some people made verbal pledges when they were called and have not confirmed those pledges by sending back their pledge card. We need these cards to have an accurate figure of how much we have actually raised. We have collected over $900,000.00 in gifts and pledges. Thank you, once more, for your support.
6/29/08 CAMPAIGN UPDATE We have collected $900,538.00 in gifts and pledges for our capital funds drive to help pay for the renewal of the parish hall and the work done to the roof of the church. Again thank you to all who have contributed. In order to do all the work we need to try to reach of proposed goal. Your gift, whether large or small, will help make this possible. If you have not made a gift please consider doing so. Call the office or take a brochure from church for information.
6/15/08 CAMPAIGN UPDATE We are drawing to the end of our formal Capital Funds Campaign to make our parish church and hall accessible to all members of the parish family. As of Monday evening we have received pledges totaling $900,538.00 from more than 354 donors. A few gifts have been received since then but have not been counted yet. Our goal is $1,234,000.00. We still need the help of those who have not yet made a pledge. This project will benefit all the parish members, the elderly, those who use the food pantry, our children who attend Faith Formation and all who use our facilities.
6/1/08 CAMPAIGN UPDATE We are drawing to the end of our Capital Funds Campaign to make our parish church and hall accessible to all members of the parish family. As of Monday evening we have received pledges totaling $885,258.00 from 354 donors . Our goal is $1,234,000.00. We are tremendously grateful for your generous support of this project to renew our parish property. We still need the support of the rest of you to finish strong. If you made a verbal pledge, please send in your pledge card to the office or drop it in the collection basket.
5/25/08 CAMPAIGN UPDATE As of Monday evening, we have received pledges totaling$864,667.00 from 334 donors. This puts us at 70% of our goal of $1,234,000.00. We are tremendously grateful for your generous support of this project to renew our parish property. We still need the support of the rest of you to finish strong. Again, if you made a verbal pledge, please send in your pledge card to the office or drop it in the collection basket.
5/18/08 CAMPAIGN UPDATE As of Monday evening we have received pledges totaling $822,128.00 from 273 donors towards our goal of $1,234,000.00. This is a wonderful testimony of your appreciation of the gifts which God has bestowed on each of us. We are grateful for your generous support of this campaign. We need the support of the rest of you to finish strong If you made a verbal pledge, please send in your pledge card to the office or drop it in the collection basket. 5/11/08 CAMPAIGN UPDATE As of Wednesday afternoon, we have received pledges totaling $756,410.00 from 251 donors. This is approximately 66% of our goal of $1,234,000.00. We are grateful for your generosity to this campaign. It is a wonderful sign of your faith in the future of our parish. If you made a verbal pledge, please send in your pledge card to the office or drop it in the collection basket. We need to keep official records. 5/4/08 CAMPAIGN UPDATE As of Wednesday afternoon, we have received pledges totaling $663,350.00 from 223 donors. This is approximately 55% of our goal of $ 1,234,000.00. Again we are grateful for your generosity to this campaign. If you made a verbal pledge, please send in your pledge card to the office or drop it in the collection basket. We need to keep official records. We also remind you that you can memorialize your pledge to your deceased loved ones. If you did not do this when you sent in your pledge card and would like to do so please call the office and we will take care of it for you. Thank you for your generous support. 4/27/08 CAMPAIGN UPDATE As of Wednesday afternoon, We have received pledges totaling $555,480.00. This is almost half way to our goal. Thank you to all who have donated so generously. We are so very grateful for your support and commitment to the future of our parish. Committee members will be continuing to call as the week goes on to answer your questions. Don’t forget to send in your pledge cards, to sign them which is necessary, and to mark how you wish to pay your pledge. All of this is necessary for us to keep accurate records. Thanks again. 4/20/08 CAMPAIGN UPDATE The Capital Fund Campaign is off to a wonderful start. As of Wednesday night we have received $280,000.00 from 51 Gifts. Our committee members are working hard at trying to contact all of you to answer your questions and aid you in any way that they can. We’re on our way to building a Resurrection Church. If you didn’t receive the campaign material, speak to one of the volunteers at the door today or call the office and we will send it along to you. If you lost yours, we have extras. There is some confusion and questions that have come up that I would like to try to answer. One is that some members of the parish are putting one check into the basket to cover both what they want to give to the campaign and what they want to give to the regular parish collection. Since these two accounts are being kept completely separate, we would ask you to tell us how much you want to go to each. You can do this either by making a notation on your check or by inserting a small note in your envelope or better yet to write two separate checks. Since we never pass the basket twice in our parish, this is the only way that your money will go where you want it to go. Beginning in May, there will be a special envelope in your monthly packet for the Capital Campaign and extra ones in the pews and at the doors of the church. 4/13/08 CAMPAIGN KICKOFF Some details about the Capital Funds Campaign Today we kick off the Capital Funds Campaign to raise the funds necessary to make our church and hall handicapped accessible and welcoming to all the members of our parish family. All of you should have received a mailing from us in the last day or two with a cover letter from our Bishop expressing his support of what we are doing, a brochure explaining the project, a pledge card, and a Thoughtful Giving Guide. What we begin today is the result of fourteen months of planning, investigating, discerning and most importantly praying over what is best for our parish. As you have been invited to be involved in every step of this process, you are now invited to join us in making the plan come to fruition. I will be speaking to you today about this exciting step in the history of our parish family life and after Holy Communion our parish chairman, Paul Mina,will address some comments for your reflection. There are a couple of things which I would like to point out. One is that you can make your gift in memory of a deceased loved one if you wish. There is a space on the back of the pledge card for you to do this. Usually when this is done we put up some kind of memorial. Doing that makes the ones who have gone before us, those who are our mothers and fathers in faith, to be part of the present step in the history of our parish . The second point is that we have all kinds of ways for you to make your gift. Due to the miracles of the electronic age, the parish now has the capabilities to make use of credit card and direct withdrawal. Some people find this a much easier way to meet their obligations. There will also be an envelope including in the monthly envelopes for your convenience starting in May. If you have any questions about these things, there will embers of the committee at the doors of the church or you can ask the parish volunteer who will be calling you this week. The words that St. Paul wrote to the Philippians sum up well my feelings as we begin this campaign. “I am confident of this, that the One who began this good work in you will continue to bring it to completion until the day of Christ Jesus”. Let us pray that this will happen.