April 29, 2018

Capital Campaign

We started this campaign with an incredibly generous unsolicited anonymous donation of $1 million!  Since then we have collectively pledged another $1.45 million. Wow! We are a generous congregation that is excited to “Make Room for our Future”!

Building Project

While the Capital Campaign has been progressing, the Building Committee has been working with the architect, builder, and engineers to refine the plans and get better cost estimates, working with the city on zoning and design approvals, and receiving feedback from you on the building design.  In the presentations to the congregation, the Committee has been clear about risks and uncertainties in the project. Now they have more information and the projected costs have risen due to a variety of factors as we learned more:

• The infrastructure required for this project is significant.  We must move the parking lots, install sidewalks, construct detention ponds to manage runoff from our property, and build a storm sewer line all the way to South Boulder Road.  These projects will cost $800,000, nearly $300,000 more than the initial estimate. Even if we economize on the building, this infrastructure is still required.
• We are planning an energy efficient building with a renewable source of energy from the ground (ground source heat pump-GSHP) that speaks to our environmental stewardship. While we get long-term cost savings, the initial costs are high. Our current estimate of heating, air conditioning, and GSHP is about $415,000, about $100,000 more than our initial estimate.
• We will need to borrow money to finance construction because many people are paying their capital campaign pledges over three years, so the building will be finished before the pledged funds are all received.  With the information we now have about pledges for this project, we have projected our cash flow needs. We met with our bank and got more detailed information on terms and interest rates for such a loan. The cost of short-term borrowing will be about $75,000 more than we initially estimated.

The total of all of these factors (infrastructure requirements, building costs, and borrowing costs) means that the project we once estimated to cost $3.1 million will now cost $4.1 million.

Fulfilling Our Vision

We currently have a gap of a little over $1 million between the income and the expenses for this project.  We have three strategies to meet this gap.

First —

The Building Committee has identified $280,000 in cuts to the project.  These cuts eliminate the diamond shaped youth room at the end of the education wing, eliminate one vestibule, reduce landscaping, economize on some finishes in the building, minimize the remodel of office space and reduce technology infrastructure.  These are significant cuts, but they do retain most of the square footage of the building remodel.

Second —

Our major anonymous donor has pledged an additional $500,000 to the project.  Wow! Amazing! These funds are offered as a 2-to-1 match for additional pledges to be raised from the rest of the Congregation.  

Third —

The Congregation raises an additional $250,000 in pledges, which as noted above will be matched 2-to-1 by the anonymous donor.

We have only a short time, until May 20, to raise the additional $250,000.  At that time, the Board will meet, review the funds pledged and the most up-to-date information from the Building Committee, and make a recommendation on whether or not to proceed with the project.  The Congregation will vote on June 2 on this recommendation.