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Frequently Asked Questions
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General Questions
How will we learn about the campaign?
There will be many opportunities to learn about the campaign including:- Announcements at mass
- Parish letters, emails, website
- Campaign brochures
- Small group gatherings & ministry meetings w/ Fr. Miguel
- After mass gatherings w/ Fr. Miguel
Why did we decide to have a capital campaign?
For the current fiscal year, we were not able to balance the parish budget with operational revenue. Eliminating the annual mortgage payment of $312,895 for the ELC debt would allow those funds to be used for parish ministries and help balance the parish budget. Additionally, there were several growth projects that parishioners wanted that could not be started without an infusion of new capital. The capital campaign is expected to pay off the ELC debt and allow us to begin the first of the expansion projects. With the support of the Finance Council and Parish Pastoral Council, we began our Capital Campaign.
What are the campaign priorities?
The list of projects considered in this campaign include:- Priority #1 – Debt elimination for the ELC building ($3.7 million as of 3/1/24)
- Priority #2 – Chapel – relocate chapel and tabernacle
- Priority #3 – ELC cafeteria/kitchen upgrade and expansion
These projects will be done in priority order. That is, we will begin the chapel only when the ELC mortgage debt is paid in full. We will not begin the cafeteria/kitchen until the debt is paid and the chapel is completed. We do not plan to incur any new debt.
How much do we plan to raise? How long will it take?
Our campaign goal is $4.0 million over 5 years (2024-2029).
How did we set our campaign target of $4.0 million?
We hired an outside consulting firm, Greater Mission, to perform a feasibility study of a potential capital campaign. The results of the study indicated that we had the potential to raise $4.0 million with a 5-year capital campaign.
What timeframe do families have to pay their pledge?
Parishioners are free to complete their payments early but may take up to 5 years to fulfill their pledge.
Am I legally bound to pay my pledge?
There is no legal binder to your pledge. We expect that families will pray about how and to what extent they will support the campaign and will generally meet their pledge. We know that circumstances happen that may change a family’s ability to complete their pledge and we leave it to the family to decide how that may affect their pledge payments. We do expect that most families will complete their pledge in 5 years.
Should I decrease my offertory to participate in the campaign?
No. We need to sustain current offertory while raising money for these projects through incremental sacrificial giving.
Can I give appreciated securities (stock) to the campaign? What is the advantages of doing so?
Yes, appreciated stock can be given to the campaign. Donating appreciated securities directly to a charity eliminates capital gains tax you would otherwise have to pay. Plus, you are eligible to deduct the full fair-market value (not just your cost basis) of the asset you donated from your income taxes, up to the overall amount allowed by the IRS.
Can I make a Qualified Charitable Distribution (QCD) to pay my pledge?
Yes, a QCD is a great way to give to the campaign and it has some tax advantages for you. Individuals age 70½ or older with an IRA can have the administrator distribute up to $100,000/year directly to a qualified charity such as our parish. The gift can offset a Required Minimum Distribution (RMD) and can be particularly beneficial for donors who file the standard deduction.
What is the campaign timeline?- Planning & Preparation 2023-2024
- Information Sharing / Request for Pledge March – September 2024
- All pledges returned December 2024
- All pledge payments received December 2029
Greater Mission is a fundraising consulting company that assists churches and dioceses with fundraising projects and has a history of successful fundraising campaigns. The Diocese of Lexington is using Greater Mission separately as a consultant for their capital fundraiser. Greater Mission has resources and extensive fundraising expertise that MQ believed would improve our chances of success.
Campaign proceeds will be used to pay all non-donated campaign expenses, including the fee to Greater Mission, printing, mailing and any other campaign expenses. We expect campaign expenses to be about 2.5% of the amount pledged to the campaign, which is significantly better than 10% which Charity Navigator, the nation's largest evaluator of nonprofits, allows for its best charity rating.
How were the project priorities determined?
Over the last couple of years, many vision/strategy sessions were held, and surveys taken, to develop a plan of what our parish should look like in the future. Then we engaged with a consulting firm (Greater Mission) for a formal assessment of how much capital we could expect to raise with a campaign, and another survey of what projects were most supported by the parishioners.
Debt reduction was a clear #1 priority on all surveys. Greater Mission’s advice was that debt reduction alone would not generate enthusiasm for the campaign – we needed to have a building project to get people excited. The chapel and parish hall both received a lot of support for the second priority, but only the chapel could be accomplished with a $4.0 million goal. The parish hall estimate is $4.0 million by itself, and it was decided the hall should be a future project. The original parish hall concept included a kitchen, but a more affordable solution would be to have one kitchen to support both the school and future parish hall.
Ultimately, Fr. Miguel agreed with and supported the campaign priorities as Pastor of MQHR. He is the ultimate decision maker for the parish.
How were the construction cost estimates developed?
Estimates were developed after preliminary plans were designed by an architect firm, Sherman Carter Barnhart. This is the architect firm that designed both the current church and ELC buildings. Cost estimates at this stage are very generalized, typically using a cost per square foot model based on recent construction experience of the architect. We should keep in mind that many factors will affect the final building costs of each project including final design and finishes details, the construction market at the time the projects are sent out for competitive bids, and any inflation between now and when the construction gets underway. These are our best estimates for project costs in today’s dollars, and we should expect some adjustments in the future as the plans firm up.
Do we have a campus master building plan?
We are working on a master building plan and have some preliminary plans developed. We want to make sure we have a long-term vision and plan for our campus buildings, so as much as possible we only invest in things that will be used/needed for many years into the future, and we avoid projects that will interfere with future building plans. It will be shared once completed.
Debt Elimination
Why is debt reduction priority #1?
There are two reasons to focus on debt elimination. First, as stated above, eliminating the mortgage payment on the ELC would balance the current year budget. Second, our current ELC loan agreement is due for refinancing in June 2025, and we expect an increased interest rate (more interest expense) on the renewed loan. Our current loan interest rate is 2.8%, and while we won’t know the renewal interest rate until next June, we expect it will be in the 5-7% range, which would increase our annual interest expense by over $100,000.
How much is our ELC debt?
As of March 1, 2024, the ELC loan balance is $3.691 million. Our plan is to use $1.0 million from existing savings to apply to the loan, as well as continued monthly payments until next June – leaving a balance of $2.5 million to be paid from the campaign in June 2025.
Will we have collected enough money from the campaign to pay off the debt by June 2025?
We won’t know for sure until after the campaign gets going, but we are expecting that some families will pay their pledge up front rather than use the full five years, and that should put us in a position to pay off the debt (or at least a large portion of the debt) in June 2025. We will need to make a final assessment early in 2025 and may possibly need a smaller loan for a short time starting in June 2025.
Why do we still have debt on the ELC?
The ELC was built in 2005 at a cost of $7.3 million. The parish financed $6.3 million of the cost of the building. We made on-time payments on the loan since then and refinanced the loan at the required intervals. Commercial loans (the type MQHR has on our buildings) are typically written for five years. After five years, a new loan is taken to pay off the old loan.
Our current loan originated in 2015, had a longer term of ten years, and is up for renewal in June 2025. The balance as of March 1, 2024, is $3.691 million and is on a path to be paid off in 2035. The mortgage payment was made from prior capital campaign funds, church offertory and additional donations from 2005 until now.
Adoration Chapel
Why do we need a new chapel?
There are multiple factors driving the need for a larger chapel including size, location, and usability. The chapel is often too small for the number of parishioners wanting to pray, and the gathering area is often used as an overflow area for the chapel. It would be nice to have smaller masses in the chapel, including most daily masses to develop more of a community feel for the service. The location of the chapel does not lend itself to proper reverence for the Eucharist in the tabernacle with events in the gathering area (coffee/other sales, people entering and exiting the church, conversations in the gathering area, etc.).
With the proposed location, the Eucharist would be placed in the new chapel tabernacle after communion and would no longer have to pass through the gathering area on the way. Lastly a new chapel that had direct access to the main church assembly area would be a good buffer for Easter and Christmas masses. As part of the new chapel, we would include a separate restroom, relocate the confessionals to the new chapel area, and update the gathering area space.
When do we expect to start building the chapel?
We do not want to take any loans to build the chapel, or any other future building projects, so we don’t expect to have the funds to build the chapel until towards the end of the campaign. We will start, as funds are available, to complete detailed designs for this project so that as the funds are collected/available we can begin construction.
Why don’t we move the tabernacle to the Sanctuary?
Bishop John stated that the tabernacle must not be relocated behind the altar where the priest would have his back to the Eucharist during mass. Moving the tabernacle to a new chapel provides a location of reverence for the Eucharist. This is consistent with the direction from the Roman Missal.
Roman Missal – Arrangement and Ornamentation of Churches 315.
It is more appropriate as a sign that on an altar on which Mass is celebrated there not be a tabernacle in which the Most Holy Eucharist is reserved.
Consequently, it is preferable that the tabernacle be located according to the judgement of the
Diocesan Bishop.
Cafeteria/Kitchen
Why do we need to improve the ELC kitchen/cafeteria?
The cafeteria/kitchen in the ELC was part of the original construction of the campus. In addition to being very out-of-date, both the cafeteria and kitchen are too small to meet the needs of the school and the parish. Our plans are to improve the kitchen/cafeteria such that it would support the school, formation and fish-fry meals, and the future parish hall – thus giving us more function with less cost.
Only half of the school students will fit into the cafeteria, leaving the other half to eat in the classrooms. The fish fry and other events are very cramped in the existing kitchen and the kitchen equipment is old and in need of repair/replacement. The initial plans for this would double the space for the cafeteria/kitchen and be sufficient to support both the school and the parish hall at some time in the future.
If we attain or exceed our campaign goal of $4.0 million, and after we pay off the ELC debt and build the new chapel, we will assess how much money is available to start this third priority project. To complete the cafeteria/kitchen requires a campaign achievement of at least $6.5 million. Initial thoughts would be to start with equipment upgrades that would be transferrable to the larger facility when that is built in the future. As much as we overachieve our goal, that money could be set aside for the future full kitchen/cafeteria project.Contact Jeff Terhune with questions [email protected].
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Together in Christ (Capital Campaign) FAQ (Downloadable PDF)