Faithful to Our
Mission Capital Campaign
Fr. Chuck’s Frequently Asked Question
Why not wait till we know exactly what we will
renovate and how much it will cost before raising money for the church &
rectory renovation?
While it makes
logical sense to figure out first exactly what we are going to do in the course
of our renovation, find out how much it will cost, and then ask for money for
the project, there are several reasons that do not make this a good option for
us at this time.
First of all,
the driving force of the church and rectory façade renovation is safety.
Raising funds while we are still working out the details of the construction
(and hence of the cost) shortens the time during which we continue to live with
a building in an unsafe condition. Raising money now shortens the time of our
liability, minimizing the chance that people could possibly be harmed by
falling stone. That is important to us, as hundreds of people walk in front of
the most troublesome eastern façades of the church and rectory every day.
Secondly, by
conducting the campaign now, we will build up a reserve to use when
construction finally begins. If we wait until we know the final details of
construction to launch the capital campaign, in order to begin work we would
have to either wait until the campaign pledges have all been collected before
we begin construction or borrow funds from the Diocese of Austin at a higher
rate than the average commercial loan. The longer we wait to begin, the higher
the likelihood that construction costs will increase. If we borrow, we pay more
for the money than necessary and add to our existing debt load instead of
reduce it. In either case, the cost of the renovation has gone up considerably.
This is why our Property Committee and Finance Council decided that conducting
the capital campaign now is the best fiscal option.
Third, a
renovation like this is difficult to pin down completely. In new construction,
you know exactly what you are doing and how much it will cost. In repairing an
aged structure, there is always the possibility of “unforeseen
conditions.” Already we have discovered
that the south and west faces of the church are considerably different than on
the east and north faces. We are attempting to eliminate as many potential
surprises as possible by performing thorough studies and sample work; for
example, we know from testing that we are not dealing with any asbestos. But until we remove the crumbling façade, we
will not know the true scope of the project, so it is not possible to quote the
construction cost to an exact amount prior to beginning work.
We are designing
a renovation and construction project to a budget limit of $3,250,000, which
includes all of the architect, permitting, licenses, and other soft costs, and
construction as well as contingency funds. Our renovation and construction
plans will not exceed this budget unless some truly extraordinary event or
condition is discovered (if, for example, the tower is ready to fall over).
A fourth
consideration for timing is competition from other major fund-raising
campaigns. We anticipate that both the
Diocese of Austin and the Paulist Fathers will run major campaigns in the near
future. We would not be allowed to solicit funds during the time of a Diocesan
campaign, and running a parish campaign concurrent to a Paulist campaign would
jeopardize one or both campaigns. In addition, St. Austin Catholic School will
celebrate its centenary in 2017, and it is likely that a fund drive will be
associated with it. Right now is the
best time to conduct this campaign.
Other
considerations for timing include the fact that if we wait, the condition of
the buildings may worsen and cause other problems, Fr. Chuck may complete his
term and be moved to a new parish before we can finish, and people may lose
interest and enthusiasm for the project.
For these
reasons we believe it is appropriate to conduct the capital campaign while
finalizing the renovation plans. It seems that the right time to address this
is now, and by conducting the capital campaign in advance, we will have the
funds necessary when construction begins.
God Bless,
If you have any questions regarding this
information, please contact CapitalCampaign@StAustin.org.
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