Capital Campaign Committee Chair Jeremy Taylor

Jeremy Taylor

If you thought the early days of a pandemic when our church was struggling even to meet together as a congregation seemed like a funny time to begin a capital campaign, you weren’t alone. The Capital Campaign Committee wrestled with when to begin the campaign, how long it should run, how much to ask for and how to apply funds raised. Our capital needs did not go away or even diminish during the pandemic, but they were kind of put on hold for a while. So, in the end, with guidance from the Council of Elders, we opted to move forward with a much smaller campaign than originally planned.

On November 15, 2020, the committee announced the “Strengthening Foundations” campaign to the congregation with a total goal of raising $2.35 million. By then, a “quiet phase” of the campaign had already been underway for several weeks, as committee members spoke with pastors, elders, deacons, deaconesses and other committee members and church leaders and invited them to participate, and we had raised over $700,000 already. The campaign document the committee created with the help of committee member and consultant Dan Nielson laid out three primary initiatives we hoped to accomplish with this campaign: 1) pay for the purchase of two houses adjacent to church property on Seminary Avenue; 2) construct a new parking lot to provide additional accessible parking for seniors and people with disabilities; and 3) pay down a portion of the church’s existing debt.

During the final seven weeks of the calendar year, the campaign was successful in raising more than three-quarters of the goal. Thanks to the congregation’s generosity, we raised $1,777,033 in pledges and contributions. That was enough to purchase the two properties without acquiring any additional debt.

By the numbers: The “Strengthening Foundations” campaign officially ran for seven weeks, with an initial quiet phase that lasted for another four weeks. A total of 209 pledges were made for $1,345,254, and additional gifts totaling $431,779 were made without pledges. To date, we have received $980,777 of the pledged funds (73 percent).