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Cornerstones V2: Frequently Asked Questions about our Capital Campaign and New Church

As the Capital Campaign continues its success we have been asked questions about the building, the process, the timing, and the campaign. Each week we will put forth the most often asked questions with their answers in this section titled Cornerstones. We ask you to submit any questions you may have because if you have a question, it is likely others are wondering the same thing. You may send your questions electronically to holyname@holynamecc.org or you can write them out and drop them in the Building Campaign Question Basket located in the entryway.

Q: When it says the Campaign is ‘Confidential’, what does that mean?
A: It means that what you pledge is not known to any of the campaign volunteers, Finance Committee, Pastoral Committee, Building
Committee, nor anyone else who does not now handle your personal parish business – no one will have access to Campaign records. If you have not been called upon yet, a volunteer will make an appointment with you to come and visit about the campaign. They will bring a pledge card and a return envelope all sealed in a larger envelope. Only you will open your envelope. Then you decide what you wish to pledge and fill out the card. After doing so, you return the card into the enclosed envelope and give it back to the volunteer. This way the volunteer does not ever see your pledge card. I am the only person who fills out the pledge cards and inserts them into the envelopes.

After you give the sealed envelope back to the volunteer, they will deliver it back to me in the campaign office. No one else is authorized to open the sealed envelopes. This is one of the reasons we use dedicated volunteers who agree to maintain the confidentiality. After I open your pledge card I will enter your information into the parish records and hand the card to the existing bookkeepers and Campaign Auditor who will secure the pledge card in a locked place. This way the only people to see the pledge cards are the people who already deal with your personal church finances. None of the volunteers, none of the committees and none of the committee chairs are privy to personal
financial information. The committees will receive reports that simply have totals of all pledges but none of the volunteers associated with the Campaign has access to, or is permitted to review financial information.

In order to further insure confidentiality, the office bookkeepers and auditor must all sign a Campaign Confidentiality Pledge which requires that they not reveal any information about pledges or payments. This is over and above their normal levels of confidentiality required for
day-to-day parish business affairs.

Q. Will I have to discuss my pledge with a volunteer?
A. No. As mentioned, a volunteer will deliver your pledge card in a sealed envelope, talk to you about the campaign, and answer any
questions you may have. Only then will you open your envelope and fill out your pledge card privately. We ask that you re-seal the card in the new envelope. The volunteer will then return your card to the campaign office. The volunteers can assist you with information to prayerfully consider your pledge. They might share with you how they came to make their own decision because the volunteers have already made their own pledge, but they will not discuss your pledge amount unless you specifically request to do so.

Q: Should I cut back on my normal offertory in order to make a bigger pledge?
A: The answer is simply, no. We must first and foremost support the parish and meet our operating expenses. Cutting back on your gifts in the offertory would cause financial hardship for the parish, limiting its ability to meet budgeted expenses, and would eventually require
cutting back on the essential services.

Your pledge should be in excess of your normal offertory. Before meeting with a volunteer you should pray and reflect on what God has given you and how you are to manage these gifts which include your time (praying for the campaign), talent (volunteering for the campaign) and treasure (offering back to God a pledge of your finances). One of the fundamental responsibilities of being a Catholic is to “assist with the material needs of the church“ (Catechism of the Catholic Church #2043 ) committing ourselves to the church’s mission for the benefit of the whole community. Since this project has clearly emerged from expressed and verified needs of our community, all parishioners should give serious consideration to their own responsibility for its support. Obviously we welcome all gifts. However, one-time, out-of-pocket giving will not enable us to reach our goal. Because our financial goal is ambitious, you are urged to increase the effectiveness of your gifts by budgeting and making a pledge for the five-year pledge period.

Robb Spence – Campaign Director

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