Project Description
Guidance In Giving is honored to have been partnered with St. Martha since 2004, conducting 2 of their 3 campaigns.
In 2004, St. Martha’s Building and Planning Committee conducted a study of area demographics, which forecasted continuing rapid growth of the surrounding communities. At the time there were about 3,800 families registered in the parish, and the study projected that we would probably grow to over 6,000 families in 10 years with severe limits on our ability to meet their ministerial needs. Several options to address these challenges by expanding the original church campus and adjacent properties were explored, but none were viable. Consequently, the committee recommended to Monsignor Borski that the parish must consider a new, larger site. With the concurrence and support of the archbishop, they then developed a Long Range Master Plan that would provide the facilities required by the growth and expressed needs of the parish family. Several properties within a reasonable distance were evaluated, and in September 2006, in anticipation of pursuing the Master Plan, the Archdiocese purchased the 35-acre site on which the new church now stands.
In late 2006, St. Martha’s Finance Council engaged a fundraising consulting firm, Guidance in Giving (GIG), to help us understand the financial capacity we might have to begin making our Long Range Master Plan a reality. In April and May of 2007, GIG conducted a feasibility study in which 3,821 families registered in the parish were surveyed via direct mail, and 120 families were personally interviewed. The First Capital Campaign was kicked off in April 2008 with a goal of $6 million to $7 million in a three-year timeframe. By mid-year $3.6 million had been pledged creating confidence that raised the campaign goal to $8 million. The final total of the first campaign raised was $8.2 million, which provided the seed money to construct the church, administration building and rectory. Future construction phases will include a daily Mass chapel, Family Life Center, Youth Center and relocation of the parish school.
Most recently, in the winter of 2015/Spring 2016, Guidance In Giving partnered with St. Martha to raise over $5.7 million to try and eliminate as much towards the $13 million remaining debt. This was an overwhelming achievement considering, this was the second debt campaign and the third campaign since 2008.
St. Martha’s next plans after debt reduction will be to build the new Parish Life Center, coupled with a new daily Chapel for the church.
