Capital Campaign

Building for Our Family of Faith

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February 2010 Update

Over the past several months, we have been making a great deal of progress preparing for our building program.

Bids for the project were let out on Wednesday, February 3rd to seven general contractors who had been pre-approved by the Joliet Diocese. The bids will be opened later this month.   We will then review them with the diocese to ascertain if we have enough funds pledged and collected to break ground and begin building.

As of this date *, we have $4,798,236 pledged and $4,489,035 collected.

If we get the bids we need, we hope to start the building project in late March. So please pray for good bids so we can start the project soon. Thank you for all of your prayers and contributions that have brought us this close.

Update on other parish facilities

The air conditioning work for the church is complete and ready for the spring. In addition, we have replaced the a/c system in the Valentino Center, and the sound system will be replaced in Podesta Hall this month.

Deacon Tony Spatafore

* Amounts updated since this report was given at Masses on February 6-7, 2010.

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September 2009 Update

Dear Visitation Parishioners:

I have the pleasure of sharing some wonderful news with you regarding the progress of our Capital Campaign and our building program. This May we presented the plans for the first phase of our building program (new parish center, school additions, parking, etc.) to the Board of Administration for the Diocese of Joliet.  The Board was very enthusiastic about our plans, and Bishop Sartain has given us permission to build. The Diocesan Finance Office is very confident that Visitation has the capability of raising the remaining funds necessary to begin building in the spring of 2010!

Also, after many months and many meetings, the permit process with the City of Elmhurst has been completed, and permits have been approved for our building project. The permit from the Illinois Environment Protection Agency has also been received.  This is an approval of the storm water retention plans that we had submitted for this project.

The new air-conditioning unit that will be installed in the fall for the church has been designed to also run the air-conditioning in the new parish center.  By combining these units, we will save considerable money by off-setting the cost of installing a full system to only run the parish center. Plans have been drawn up by the architect to ensure that the footprint of Visitation Parish will remain as green as possible by not only replacing any landscaping lost during construction, but also enhancing the natural beauty of our grounds even more.

All the progress on the Building for Our Family of Faith Capital Campaign has been made possible by your whole-hearted commitment of your prayers, time, energy and resources.  Over 900 parish families have made gifts amounting to $4,700,000 in pledges and $3,693,387 in money collected. This is a tremendous outpouring of support, especially during these incredibly difficult economic times. I can’t thank you enough for all that you have done and all that you continue to do to make the vision of the Building for Our Family of Faith campaign a reality.

Over the next few months, we will be redoubling our efforts to raise the final monies needed to break ground this spring.  If you are in a position to make an additional gift, I would be extremely grateful if you would consider stepping forward to offer your financial assistance once again. Many parishioners who have fulfilled their pledges still continue to make donations by using the gold campaign envelops in the Sunday collection. If you have given all that you can, I thank you for your sacrificial gift and ask no more.

Most importantly, I ask for your prayers as we begin an exciting new chapter in the life of Visitation Parish. Our new and renovated facilities will enable our ministries and organizations to better serve the many and varied needs of our parishioners and our community today and well into the future, and thus fulfill our mission to continue to do the work of Christ. We turn to the powerful intercession of Mary, Our Lady of Good Remedy, and St. Joseph, asking that the Lord will continue to bless the work we have begun and bring it through to a successful completion.  May all that we do be for the greater glory and honor of God and the service of our brothers and sisters.

God bless you and your family.

Sincerely in Christ.

Rev. Joseph M. Siegel
Pastor

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Easter 2009 Update

Where are we now? What is next?

Where is the Campaign at this point?

As we reported in January, the Matching Program was very successful. Through that effort, we have over $4.7 million pledged toward our goal of $5.2 million for the first phase of our master building plan. That means we are 89% toward our pledge goal.

Since that time, pledge payments have continued to come in on a regular basis, despite the difficult economic situation in our country. At this time, we have slightly over $3 million on deposit with the Diocese of Joliet earning interest (currently 5%). As you recall, we need to have 75% of our pledges paid ($3.9 million) before we can begin construction.

What is being done regarding our building plans?

Deacon Tony Spatafore, our Project Manager, continues to work with our architects and civil engineers in finalizing our building plans. Soil borings were completed in the fall and were successful. We will be having an initial meeting with the Elmhurst Zoning and Planning Commission on April 23 to present our building proposal.

How will we raise the remaining funds needed to begin building?

Fr. Siegel and the Capital Campaign Steering Committee, with the advice of Latz Bruni, have identified a series of initiatives which will be implemented from spring through fall of this year including an engraved brick program, a new trees memorial program to help green our Parish campus and a charitable gold program. Latz Bruni’s experience suggests that such programs are usually successful in cover the range of funding gap we currently face and are great programs to complete an extended capital campaign like this one.

Furthermore, in planning for the actual construction and the hopeful groundbreaking in Spring of 2010, Fr. Siegel is establishing a development committee that will guide the completion of the capital campaign effort and the transition from fundraising into project management and oversight of the forthcoming active construction. We will continue to solicit new donors among those who have recently registered in the parish as well has those who have not yet had the opportunity to contribute.

Please continue to keep these efforts in your prayers and do not hesitate to contact members of the Campaign Steering Committee, Deacon Tony or Fr. Siegel with your comments or questions.