Capital Campaign

One year ago we kicked off our Building On Excellence Capital Campaign. The campaign was well received and we received over $700,000.00 in pledges to the campaign. The goal was $600,000.00! Thank you to the Pastors and parishioners in the deanery who helped to make this campaign run so smoothly. We couldn’t have done it without the organization done at the parish level!

· The science wing at Aquinas is completed and will be blessed by the Bishop this fall.

· We will have an open house for the new science wing with the blessing--date to be decided on soon!

Aquinas and St. Mary's Catholic Schools are a tremendous blessing for the people of Butler county in Nebraska and beyond. The schools are known for excellence in education with an individual, Christ-centered atmosphere. The thirteen deanery parishes have supported Catholic education in heroic measures. Teaching and practicing good stewardship continues to be our focus in life.

Aquinas and St. Mary's have attractive facilities that are well maintained and up-to-date. Some of the recent capital improvements include:

Taking good care of our facilities and planning for future major expenses is good stewardship. We appreciate your generous support of our school. We are confident that our parishioners, alumni, benefactors and friends will make this campaign a success as we continue to maintain our "Tradition of Excellence" at Aquinas and St. Mary's Schools.

“While we are proud of our past and current progress, we want to keep improving. We want to be good stewards of what has been handed down to us.” - Fr. Connor

This is an excellent time for Aquinas and St. Mary’s to accomplish some things that will have an effect on many generations to come. Anna Nolan and Allen Covault, who have volunteered teaching Science at Aquinas for the past ten years, are helping with the plans for the science lab. “There is an obvious need for redesigning space to meet the changing demands of modern science teaching including laboratory work while enhancing lab safety.” Fr. Connor added, “We have had many graduates go into science related fields, and we want to keep that tradition strong. The plans to improve the science rooms are very exciting.”

Mike and Laura Moravec are helping lead up the Campaign as the Chair couple. They said “We are excited to be a part of this capital campaign. Having four children of our own, we recognize the importance of providing the foundations necessary to build a good sound educational knowledge base through our school system that will serve them well in their future pursuits. This campaign is about providing the basic foundations necessary to provide the education that our young people need to continue on with their life paths. We aren't looking at extravagant additions, just basic improvements to the school structure to provide an updated environment so that the instructors are able to teach without the physical distractions of such things as limited lab seating for the students. The teachers are dedicated to teaching, the students are committed to learning, its time now to invest in the children’s future by literally "building" on this pursuit of excellence.”

The campaign will run for three years to give people more flexibility in when they would like to contribute. It has been organized locally by the development office at Aquinas to save money on professional expenses. Fr. Connor felt they had plenty of expertise and talent locally, with professional expertise available if needed. He noted, “Deb Svec gave me a “How to Organize a Successful Capital Campaign” book and we have followed it. Svec said, “It has been over 15 years since our last major campaign. A capital campaign gives everyone a chance to help prepare our school for the future and to meet needs that would not ordinarily be covered in a yearly budget.”

Aquinas and St. Mary’s, with the assistance of the pastors and their parish leadership, will be contacting all the local parishioners in the Deanery within the next couple of weeks. The Major Gift Phase will be the key to success. They will also contact alumni and other friends and benefactors of the Catholic Schools. Fr. Connor is convinced the campaign will be a success “Because of the generous tradition towards Catholic education” that historically has been evidenced towards the schools. All the book-keeping will be handled through the Development Office at Aquinas. Questions can be directed to Fr. Connor or the Development office.

¨ We received $14,108.04 in gifts to the Guardian Angel Fund since Sept 1, 2006. We also received our first disbursement from the Guardian Angel The Alumni Phone-a-thon has received over $40,000 in pledge receipts!

¨ We received $14,108.04 in gifts to the Guardian Angel Fund since Sept 1, 2006. We also received our first disbursement from the Guardian Angel Endowed Fund.

¨ We have received $20,408.84 in memorials to the Endowment, Guardian Angel Fund, KOTA Fund, etc since Sept 1, 2006

¨ The Endowment Fund is growing nicely and we have received $114,959.30 in gifts and memorials since Sept 1, 2006.

¨ We have received $20,408.84 in memorials to the Endowment, Guardian Angel Fund, KOTA Fund, etc since Sept 1, 2006

¨ The Endowment Fund is growing nicely and we have received $114,959.30 in gifts and memorials since Sept 1, 2006.

Funds raised over and above the $600,000 goal will be shared between the Aquinas & St. Mary’s Endowment Fund and the supporting parishes.

Renovation of the Science Labs is expected to begin early summer 2007 and completed by August 2007. This will be done so not to interfere with the school schedule.

Will the other Aquinas and St. Mary’s fund raising activities be held in 2006 and 2007?

The annual Phone-A-Thon and Gold Rush events earmark funds for specific areas of the school. Donors are asked to continue their support of Aquinas and St. Mary’s as they usually do.

We are organizing the campaign through the Development Office at Aquinas and St. Mary’s so there are no consultant fees.

We had a Major Capital Campaign in 1991 for the Middle School and St. Mary’s additions.

Every Catholic household in the David City Deanery, alumni and friends of Aquinas and St. Mary’s will be asked to prayerfully consider a sacrificial gift to the campaign.

In the short term, offertory giving is expected to remain constant. Parishioners are asked to make extraordinary pledges to the campaign above and beyond regular giving. In the long term, similar campaigns have caused increases in the parish offertory by embracing stewardship and strengthening their vision of the “Church”.

Often times, once the children are grown, parents are in a better situation to contribute financially to Catholic Education. Parishioners before us sacrificed greatly to build and support Catholic schools. We need to ensure that this legacy is continued and the Catholic faith is passed down to successive generations.

Pledges allow individuals and families the opportunity to consider larger commitments than they would usually consider by making a one-time gift. Often donors who pledge are able to consider gifts two-to-three times larger than those who make one-time gifts. This is important in a campaign of this magnitude.

A donor may choose to pay monthly, quarterly, semi-annually, annually, or according to a special schedule of their choosing. Aquinas and St. Mary’s Schools have a centralized pledge collection system.

How can I make a pledge to the campaign when the future holds so much uncertainty?

We need to remember the assuring promise of Jesus that whatever we give back to God will be returned one-hundred fold in this life and with the gift of eternal happiness in the world to come.

Yes, a donor can designate their gift to any area of the campaign they desire. Designations to non-campaign areas are acceptable, but discouraged because they do not provide for the needs as outlined in the case statement.

All gifts are tax deductible to the full extent of the law. Donors can deduct up to 50% of their adjusted gross income and carry forward any unused deduction for up to five additional years.

Donors may also want to inquire about their employers’ matching gift program. These programs match the amount of the donor’s charitable gift, often doubling or even tripling their donation.

Yes. In fact, some donors may prefer to make a gift of appreciated stock or property or consider a deferred gift. Gifts of grain and livestock are also acceptable methods of giving.

While pledges and cash gifts will be made most often, many donors prefer giving appreciated stock. The value of the stock determines the tax deduction on the date the transfer occurs. Donors do not have to pay capital gains taxes and the tax deduction varies with individual financial circumstances. Donors are encouraged to consult with their financial advisor. Please contact the Development Office for assistance with transferring stock.

When considering your pledge amount, here are some giving categories that you might consider:

The Building on Excellence Capital Campaign for Aquinas and St. Mary's Schools has officially kicked off. If you haven't already been contacted by someone in your parish about giving to this exciting campaign, you will be very soon. Please call the school or your pastor if you have questions. We'd like to see 100% participation from our families who have children in our school system, as it is your children who will directly benefit from this endeavor. Help us to "Build on Excellence."

Father Connor states, "I think our Building on Excellence Capital Campaign is off to a great start." There was good coverage in the Banner Press on October 18th and in the Southern Nebraska Register on October 27th. The five minute video over the Campaign was presented to all the deanery parishes on October 21st and 22nd. Also the letters to all the parishioners in the thirteen parishes of David City Deanery were mailed out. Currently, three parishes have exceeded their goals. Some of the alumni will be contacted after the Alumni Phone-a-thon, which was Nov. 12-14th.

The Building on Excellence Capital Campaign is at 92% of the goal in pledges with many more pledges yet to be returned. The school has met with parents of Aquinas and St. Mary's the architects twice now concerning the Science rooms and have some good tentative plans. The local committee has gotten together before the Christmas break to discuss the plans. The school is very grateful to everyone who has made a pledge for these important improvements to our schools. "What a relief it is to have the money for roofs, windows, St. Mary's addition, buses, and Science rooms all paid off now. The school will accomplish many great things with this Campaign," stated Father Connor.

The Capital Campaign is currently at 116% of the goal of $600,000 or $696,825. We have had eight of the thirteen parishes exceed their goal and some that are getting close. We have collected almost $300,000 so far and are scheduled to collect another $175,000 by October 2007. $350,000 is earmarked for the Science renovation/expansion. Additional funds would go towards unforeseen science expenses or Science Endowment. We are very pleased with the response towards this Campaign. The success has allowed us to plan to build an addition that will be a considerable blessing for the future of our school.

Father Brian Connor, Msgr. Herbek, Dave McMahon, Carm Fiala (administrators), Elissa Gilger, Allen Covault, Anna Nolan (Science Teachers), Amy Tomasevic (art teacher), Mark Stara (Pres. Council of Administration), Deb Svec (development), Bill Kozisek (maintenance), Bill Lawson (construction superintendent), Todd Hilfiker (Mech. and Electrical), Dr. Randy Schwang (science rep.).

We have met with architect Kevin Clark of Sinclair Hille on three occasions and been communicating with him by email and phone on a regular basis. Ms. Gilger has done a lot of research for this project and has been in contact with Flinn Scientific for their advice on the plans. We have visited numerous different HS Science Classrooms (DCPS, Northstar in Lincoln, Pius X in Lincoln, Neumann in Wahoo, Aquinas and St. James in KCKS, GINW.....)

After looking at numerous plans, making revisions, flipping things around and incorporating good ideas, we arrived at a consensus within our committee that this plan is the best. There are still a few modifications that will be made but the floor plans have been included, for those who like to study such things.

After the above committee approved the plan we also gained the approval of the Council of Administration. On Tuesday, January 16th, we met with the Diocesan Building Commission in Lincoln. They gave the project a thorough evaluation. They observed that costs may exceed our current funding. They mentioned it would be a nice complement to the good facilities that we currently have at Aquinas and St. Mary's and gave their approval. We are very fortunate to have Bill Lawson willing to help lead up the construction on this project.

Amount Paid

Pledges will be paid over the next 3 years. Thank you so much for your timely pledge payments!

Amount Pledged

We have surpassed our goal of pledging $600,000.00 to the campaign with over $705,000.00 in pledges and gifts!

Our Building on Excellence Capital Campaign continues to go very well. The floor plans were inadvertently left out in last month’s mailing. We are awaiting the architect’s detailed plans for the science addition today. The best cost estimate for the science addition is $550,000. Although this estimate is unofficial, it is clearly more than anticipated. We are trying to do what is best for the future of the school and Fr. Connor is convinced that it is heading in the best direction. Thanks to our benefactors for your generosity and commitment to the Capital Campaign.