Frequently Asked Questions:

1.    What is the Fund for the Future? Fund for the Future is a churchwide capital campaign to grow our St. Mary’s Endowment Fund.

2.    What does the Endowment Fund do? The Endowment Fund is used to help support non-budget needs of St. Mary’s. The three main missions of the Fund are to support capital improvements and campus maintenance, to fund the missions and ministries of the church and to provide a capital reserve fund for St. Mary’s for lean years.

3.    Why are we raising money now? If you look around our campus, you will see that a great deal of work has been competed over the last year and a half. This work includes renovating Freeman Hall, moving the Church Office and Music Room, improving the audio and video components in the sanctuary and improvements in the Sacristy hall. The building Committee has been able to accomplish this work by funds left for St. Mary’s from prior generations of parishioners. We want to be able to leave the same legacy to future generations of St. Mary’s families, so we are prayerfully asking everyone to help us not only re-fund but grow the Endowment Fund for those future generations.

4.    How much are you trying to raise? Our goal for this campaign is to raise $300,000 over the next three years. That comes out to $100,000 per year.

5.    So, how much do I have to give? As always, you are asked to give what you can. We are asking the entire congregation to prayerfully consider the work that has been done and the growth that is ahead of us. Remember that every gift is significant no matter the amount and we hope that everyone can contribute something to help in this cause.

6.    So, how do I give? There are several options available, and we urge you to use the option that best appeals to you. You can contribute weekly/monthly in the collection plate, or you can contribute on-line through our website and set up an automatic payment that fits your budget. Some other ideas include gifting stock or other financial instruments and remembering St. Mary’s in your will (planned giving.)

7.    What if I want to make a gift but can’t pay it all right now? That is fine. Most of us can’t make a large contribution immediately. The capital campaign will run for three years, so you can spread your gift over there years or 36 months. You can also feel free to take longer to pay if you need to. We understand that your commitment to the campaign is a gift to St. Mary’s and we appreciate your gift however and whenever it comes in.

8.    Great! How do I start? In this mailing is a simple commitment card to indicate to the Committee how much you prayerfully plan to give. It is not a contract, just an expression of your goal for giving to the Fund for the Future! Simply feel out the commitment and return it to St. Mary’s. Then, begin to meet your commitment in the manner that works best for you.

9.    What if I have more questions? If you have more questions, simply ask any member of the Endowment Committee, The Committee includes Mike Avadikian, Doug Dunkelberger, Jim Stokoe, Greg Gude and John Finnerty. Father Jim can also answer your questions if need be.

To Give to the Fund4theFUTURE, just click on the GIVE NOW button below!