Raising the Roof

Raising the Roof

St Joseph’s College Chapel Fundraising Campaign

Introduction

While many schools claim to be different, at St Joseph’s College we really are, because we live our values rather than just listing them. Our vision at St Joseph’s is ‘Being our Best’. We therefore enable and equip our students to be the best they can be, in every aspect of life, wherever their interests and abilities lie. Moreover, we choose to achieve this within a caring and supportive, high achieving community, guided by Christian values and working together as a team, to the benefit of everyone in the community.

Our ethos and culture are clearly attractive to our students and their families. St Joseph’s is very much on a rising curve, with increasing pupil numbers and excellent academic achievement. This is matched by our students’ outstanding performance, attainment and participation across sport and the arts.

As the College grows and develops, we are keen to provide the breadth and quality of facilities necessary to help our students perform to the best of their abilities across and beyond the curriculum. Whilst we have achieved a great deal since purchasing the freehold of the campus in January 2014, there is still much we would wish to do. Our ambitions for the next three academic years, as listed in our Strategic Development Plan, include one particularly urgent priority: the renovation and enhancement of the chapel, the heart of our community.

St Joseph’s today is in a sound financial position, underpinned by a consistent, though not excessive, operating surplus. However, as a College without financial endowments we are not a wealthy school. Whilst we are able to fund a significant proportion of the costs required to carry out the Chapel project from existing College resources, in order to realise the full amount required we must undertake a fundraising campaign. We hope this will be generously supported by our community, both past and present, and all those who appreciate the value of everything associated with St Joseph’s College.

Please read about our plans and help us as generously as you can.

Mrs Danielle Clarke Principal

Mr Perry Glading Chair of Governors

What We Have Done

St Joseph’s has invested nearly £15 million within the last 10 years on the purchase of the campus freehold and various capital projects, including but not limited to those listed below.

PROJECT YEAR COST

New Prep School

2007

£4m

Refurbished boarding house – Goldrood

2007

£300k

Refurbishment of the refectories

2012

£100k

Floodlit astro, tennis and netball courts, new changing rooms and shower block

2014 £2m

New Sixth Form Centre 2016 £1mNew Technology Centre 2016 £100kRecording studio 2016 £50kNew fitness suite 2017 £100kRefurbishment of maths and MFL teaching block 2017 £100kThe ARC 2018 £100k

What We Are Doing Now

The building works for our new cricket pavilion are already underway. As well as a superb sports facility, this will provide the College community with improved changing and catering facilities.

What We Need To Do Next

Our next, urgent objective is the renovation and enhancement of the Chapel. This is estimated to cost £750,000 and will be the primary focus of our fundraising campaign.

In the Future

Other priorities in our Strategic Development Plan include the upgrading and renovation of current boarding accommodation, a new boarding house and improved sports facilities. Longer term ambitions include a new theatre and performing arts centre and a dance studio.

The Chapel Project

The Chapel is an iconic and impressive building that lies at the very heart of our community, in both a physical and spiritual sense. Unfortunately, flaws in its construction, together with an absence of functioning guttering and poor quality glazing on the cupola, have led to significant water ingress over a protracted period. This has caused serious structural damage, which led to the closure of the Chapel in February 2017 for safety reasons.

Whilst we have been eager to get on with the refurbishment programme for a considerable time, the architectural nature of the building, together with a recent anonymous request to Historic England to have the building listed, have prevented us from moving forward. With Historic England’s decision not to list the Chapel, we now have a detailed, fully costed plan ready for implementation. We have also recently received a Certificate of Lawfulness for the planned works from the Local Authority.

The project, when completed, will provide a water-tight, well-lit, heated and comfortable space in which our community can gather. As well as providing a space for religious worship, it will be a focal point and facility for a wide range of activities, enhancing our community ethos, which is strongly rooted in Christian values. The Chapel will also be used for whole school assemblies, services, concerts, performances, debates and lectures, and as a community facility for weddings, christenings, Holy Communion, carol services and funerals.

How Much We Need To Raise

The total cost of the Chapel project is estimated at £750,000. The College can fund up to £300,000, which leaves us with a balance of £450,000 to be found – this is the minimum sum we are seeking to raise from the campaign.

If, as we hope, we can raise a total of £550,000 from the campaign, this will enable us to fund, and bring to fruition earlier, some of the other planned capital projects as outlined in our Strategic Development Plan.

Although this is an ambitious target, we believe that it is achievable with the generous and enthusiastic support of our friends and community, past and present, both in the UK and overseas.

Naming Opportunities and In Memoriam Gifts

The Campaign offers a number of opportunities for donors to associate their names or those of their family with particular aspects of our project.

Some examples are listed below; others are available from the Principal’s office. Equally, requests for anonymity will be strictly honoured.

Chapel Heating £50,000 Chapel Lighting £50,000 Audio Visual Enhancement £25,000 Named Pews - 10 available at

Named Seats

Supporters donating a gross total of £300 or more will be offered a seat in their name or the name of a loved one in the form of a brass plaque.

Tax Efficient Giving

St Joseph’s College is a charitable trust (Registered charity number 1051588). This means we can reclaim tax on all donations that UK taxpayers made by covenant or Gift Aid, increasing the value of the gift to the College and decreasing the cost to the donor.

The best ways of giving for UK taxpayers are generally:

• By spreading payments using a deed of covenant

• One or more lump sum gifts

• Through a company

• Through a tax-exempt charitable trust

• By direct transfer of assets, such as stocks, shares, property and works of art.

Covenanted Gift Aid

Giving by covenant is the most effective way, for the majority of people, provided they are UK taxpayers, to give their support. Covenanted Gift Aid enables the College to predict future income with a high degree of certainty, whilst enabling significant sums to be given by way of relatively modest monthly or annual contributions.

A covenant enables you to spread the cost of your gift over a number of years and the College to reclaim the income tax you have already paid. With basic rate income tax at 20%, for every £100 you donate by Covenant, St Joseph’s will receive an extra £25 at no extra cost to you. Higher rate tax payers can also claim the relief outlined overleaf.

Single Gift Aid

For those able to make a significant lump sum payment, or unable to covenant, giving by Gift Aid is the tax efficient way of contributing one or more lump sum gifts. The tax advantages are the same as for Gift Aid covenants.

Higher Rate Tax Relief or Additional Rate Relief

If you are a higher rate taxpayer, you can claim higher rate relief. This relief is calculated at the difference between the basic rate and the higher rate of income tax on the gross value of the gift and significantly reduces the cost to the donor.

For example, a payment of £40,000 by Gift Aid will be worth £50,000 to the Campaign after tax recovery and will cost a 45%* tax payer only £27,500. (*the current top rate of UK income tax).

Donations by Companies

The procedure for company donations has now been greatly simplified. Companies can claim corporation tax relief on all donations to charities, including covenanted donations.

For a company paying corporation tax at the standard rate of 19%*, the actual cost of a gift of £25,000 to the Campaign would be £20,250. *Currently the standard rate of corporation tax.

Gifts of Shares

Gifts of publicly quoted shares, in addition to being exempt from capital gains liability, will enable the donor to claim income tax relief on the current value of the shares, which makes such gifts extremely tax efficient.

Other Gifts

Any form of gift is, of course, most welcome. Direct transfer of stocks, shares, property and works of art will not incur liability to capital gains tax. All outright gifts, including bequests, are exempt from inheritance tax.

Contribution and Enquiry Details

Contributions should be made payable to the St Joseph’s College Fundraising Campaign and sent to:

The Bursar St Joseph’s College Belstead Road Ipswich IP2 9DR Telephone: 01473 690281 Email: Bursar@stjos.co.uk

Please contact the Principal’s office if you have any questions or would like further information. Telephone: 01473 690281 Email: Principal@stjos.co.uk

This project has been carefully planned to meet the needs of St Joseph’s College. However, the Governors reserve the right to make changes in light of altered circumstances.