November, 2024
Dear St. Lawrence Family,
"What's going on with the St. Lawrence Capital Campaign?" We've been hearing this question
from some of you recently, so we'd like to provide an update.
When we completed our Feasibility Study in August, we heard strong support from our parish
community for a capital campaign. As one member said, “Parishioners are dedicated to the well-
being of our church; our purpose is clear.” Therefore, the Vestry decided to move forward into
the "asking" phase of the campaign, guided by our consultant, Leslie Pendleton of Core
Campaigns. Since then, there has been lots of activity going on behind the scenes. Julia
Karnstedt and Andrea Larson have agreed to serve as our campaign co-chairs, and they have
recruited a terrific Leadership Team, consisting of Erin Armstrong, Janet Chickey, Carolyn
Finch, Mary Hazen, Dave Jones, Cele Secor, Cindy Smith, and Lisa Wooddy. Together with
Kristin and our amazing staff Susie and Carol, this group has begun pulling together the many
pieces that will allow us to move forward.
As we announced at our Town Hall meeting in September, we seek to raise $565,000 – a goal
that the Feasibility Study indicated would be reasonable. This will fund a new roof, new HVAC
system, and a three-year part-time position dedicated to parish formation. In addition, we will
have a challenge goal of $85,000 for a three-year part-time building management position.
These goals support the physical needs of our parish – our foundation – while also continuing to
promote our community’s spiritual growth.
Our campaign theme is “Forward in Faith.” If the last few years have shown us anything, it’s that
St. Lawrence is strong, resilient, and filled with faith in our future. Now is the time to take on this
campaign challenge, and we know our parish is ready for the task.
You'll be hearing more about the campaign at our Annual Meeting in January, with our official
kick-off taking place in March. In the meantime, if you have any questions about the process,
please reach out to Julia, Andrea, or Kristin.
Faithfully in Christ,
The St. Lawrence Vestry
Deborah DeManno, Senior Warden
Jenny Speers, Junior Warden
Brian Bowers
Scott Gauthier
Mary Haas
Piper Hodson
Mandy Paustian
Betsy Swank
Carolyn Finch, Treasurer
In Fall 2023, members of the capital campaign committee conducted 6 listening sessions with parishioners. The same questions were asked at each session and centered around asking participants about their hopes and dreams for St. Lawrence’s future.
Three primary themes evolved from these discussions.
Formation – There was much energy around formation for all ages and the desire to hire a part-time employee to direct this effort. Many comments centered around youth formation and the need for additional Sunday school programs, teen programs, service opportunities, and having a youth minister.
Building and facilities management – Discussion occurred regarding St. Lawrence’s prime location in the heart of Libertyville. Opportunities abound for the use of our building by the community; however, someone needs to market and manage this. It may be difficult to manage by a volunteer. In order to increase use of the building by outside users; it was suggested a part-time building manager be hired.
Emergency Fund – Discussion centered around an emergency fund being established for future building repairs. Many of our systems are aging, specifically our HVAC system, and it would be wise to have a fund to have available when these issues arise.
A graphic overview of responses and insights from the Summer 2024 Capital Campaign Survey.
The full report of responses and insights gathered by the Summer 2024 Capital Campaign Survey.
Slides presented by the Capital Campaign Committee during a congregation town hall meeting on September 15, 2024.
Please reach out to us at office@stlawrencechurch.org if you cannot find an answer to your question.
A Capital Campaign is an intensive fundraising effort designed to raise a specific sum of money within a defined time frame to increase the capacity of an organization to carry out its mission.
A successful capital campaign explores a church's mission, vision and core values to identify needs and solutions to live into the future. Once those needs are identified a pledge campaign is launched to raise funds over a multi-year period, in addition to the church's annual campaign for annual needs. Capital campaigns typically occur only once every 10 or 15 years. Our last campaign occurred in 2004.
The timeline below provides enough time to complete the project funded by an earlier campaign, enable donors to pay off their multi-year pledges, and begin planning for the next 5 or 10 years.
All campaigns have a set of specific campaign objectives included in the campaign plan that is approved by the vestry. Money raised through the campaign will be designated to the objectives spelled out in the campaign plan.
STEWARDSHIP DRIVE
Gathers annual gifts/pledges
Supports operation of the church/annual budget
CAPITAL CAMPAIGN
Gifts given to a capital campaign are in addition to normal, annual gifts
Capital campaigns have a specific, clear objective
Goals are reached largely through securing major gifts
Requires one-one relationship building and solicitation
Capital campaign gifts are often paid in installments over a specified time frame (approx. 3 years)
Besides funding a specified project, it is typical to see an increase in annual pledging after donors have completed payment of their capital campaign pledge.
Kristin Saylor - Rector
Andrea Larson - Co-Chair
Julia Karnstedt - Co-Chair
Lisa Wooddy - Communications Co-Chair
Erin Armstrong - Communications Co-Chair
Andrea Larson & Julia Karnstedt - Campaign Brochure Coordinators
Cecelia Secor - Spiritual Emphasis Coordinator
Janet Chickey - Gift Worker Coordinator Co-Chair
David Jones - Gift Worker Coordinator Co-Chair
Cindy Smith - Kick Off Event Co-Chair
Mary Hazen - Kick Off Event Co-Chair
Carolyn Finch - Planned Giving Shepherd