Please join an exciting new matching gift campaign to repair and renew our sanctuary. The purpose of the campaign, entitled “Over the Top,” is to upgrade the sanctuary by replacing the leaking sanctuary roof, painting the interior/exterior, improving the lighting and sound systems, and repairing and updating the organ.
What are the reasons for the campaign?
Our well-used sanctuary needs repair. Seven years ago, experts gave our roof five more years to “live.” The leaking roof needs to be replaced by fall 2015. Interior/exterior painting is long overdue. An Excel Energy Audit recommended changes that will save energy while improving the brightness in the sanctuary (4.8 years payback). Badly needed is a modern sound system that will enable all parts of the service to be heard in all parts of the sanctuary. The organ, nearly 60 years old, was last refurbished and upgraded thirty years ago in 1985. It failed to work at the 11 p.m. Christmas Eve service.
Matching gift
We have a generous $150,000 matching gift from fellow parishioners! An anonymous matching gift for another $50,000 has already come in. A matching gift is a dollar per dollar challenge. Each dollar that Augustana members and friends donate to our “Over the Top” campaign will be matched up to $200,000, bringing our total of matched dollars to $400,000. The campaign kicks off on April 12 and concludes on May 31. The total campaign goal is $500,000. After subtracting the matching gifts, this leaves us $300,000 to raise. (To put this in perspective, it represents about 1/3 of our annual budget.)
Your steering committee members for the campaign are Margaret Aarestad (chair), Norm Aarestad, Randy Degerness, John Richardson, Mary Richardson, Al Spies, Karen Spies, Rosalee Wanchisen, Kim Kouba (Stewardship Committee Rep), Pastor Tim Drom, and Pastor Caitlin Trussell.
Your committee has plans for events and communications over the length of the campaign to keep you informed. Please contact any of us if you have questions. We ask for your prayerful consideration to join us in raising funds for what will be an awesome opportunity to keep our sanctuary in wonderful condition. Thank you in advance for your support! When we raise $500,000, we will be “Over the Top” to meet this need!
If you wish to donate you may do so at anytime via our new online form.
