Question 1

What is Commitment Sunday on March 27th?

Accepted Answer

Commitment Sunday is the day we hope all outstanding pledge cards will be returned to wrap up the Strong Roots New Season Campaign fundraising within the parish.  On this day, we will tally the full support of the parish in celebration of the Bishop's visit and the official grand opening of this new Season at St Aidans.  Community fundraising may continue outside the parish as well as communication within the parish regarding the execution of the initiatives.

Question 2

Are all parishioners being asked to contribute?

Accepted Answer

Yes. We invite all parishioners to make a proportionate gift (above their weekly offerings) in accordance with their income and as an expression of their faith and commitment to the parish.  If a monetary gift is unrealistic, we are grateful for the gift of your prayers for the success of the campaign.

Question 3

Why are we being asked to consider a five-year pledge?

Accepted Answer

Spreading your contribution over five years can help us to achieve our goals without making this year’s contribution a challenging financial burden. It will also help the parish plan, by giving us an idea of what you may be able to contribute in the years to come.

Question 4

How much should we give?

Accepted Answer

Consider a meaningful and proportionate personal donation above your regular weekly offerings. It should align with your financial ability to give. A Guideline has been provided on the pledge card for your prayerful consideration.

Question 5

Is my campaign pledge different from my regular offering?

Accepted Answer

Yes. Your campaign contribution would be over and above your regular offering as the funds are for two different things and we don’t want parishioners to have to reduce their support for ongoing operations in order to give to the Campaign.  Tax receipts will be provided for all your contributions to St. Aidan’s.

Question 6

Will my donation be kept confidential?

Accepted Answer

Yes. We handle all donations in strictest confidence. Only the Campaign Treasurer and 2-3 appointed volunteers will have access to the pledge amounts.

Question 7

If my financial situation changes, can I alter my pledge?"

Accepted Answer

Yes. Pledges aren’t legally binding, and are only an expression of your intention. You can change your gift at any  time by emailing the Campaign Treasurer at donations@staidansinthebeach.com, or by calling the parish office at 416-691-2222.

Question 8

Are there other ways I can give?

Accepted Answer

Yes. We accept gifts of publicly traded securities (stocks or other marketable securities), annuities, life insurance, and other planned gifts. For more information, email the Campaign Treasurer at donations@staidansinthebeach.com.

Question 9

Why don’t we just use the St. Aidan’s ’s endowment fund to pay for these five initiatives?

Accepted Answer

Currently, our parish relies on the dividend income from the endowment fund to balance our books each year.  Between the final renovation costs, timelines related to grants coming on and off our books, and our intention to grow our relevance in the community, we know that investing the entire endowment fund in these projects wouldn’t be a prudent use of the funds.  That said, if needed, we intend to use a portion of the endowment fund to cover the cost of some of our Strong Roots, New Season Campaign.  See our Campaign Financial breakdown for details (on the homepage).

Question 10

What can I expect from a Campaign Visit?

Accepted Answer

Visits may be virtual or in-person. The Ambassador visiting you will give you a package that provides details on the Strong Roots, New Season Campaign. The Ambassador won’t tell you what you should give, and they won’t ask you for money. Campaign visits are about answering your questions about the Campaign, and they’re also about building community and getting to know each other as parishioners outside of the church setting. Through these visits, we’ll learn more about each other, what we are passionate about supporting, and what impact we’d like to see in our community.

Question 11

Do Ambassadors need to be vaccinated for COVID-19?

Accepted Answer

Yes.  All Ambassadors are required to be vaccinated and to have their vaccination status confirmed by St. Aidan’s Leadership / Wardens prior to any visitations.

Question 12

What if I don’t want anyone to visit me?

Accepted Answer

Campaign Ambassadors will only visit parishioners who agree to it. That said, it is our hope that everyone will want a visit as the goal is to build community between each other as parishioners of St. Aidan’s.  There will be no pressure or discussion of what you should give - only that they will ask for prayerful consideration of support. If you do not wish to receive a visit, email us at donations@staidansinthebeach.com, or let the Ambassador know when they reach out to you to arrange a visit.

Question 13

Where can I drop my pledge card?

Accepted Answer

After putting your pledge card into the confidential envelope, you can either place it through regular mail (after putting a stamp on it), or you can leave it in the mail box on the North-East side of the church (near the old entrance way).

Question 14

How much are we paying our fundraising consultants?

Accepted Answer

Our parish hired M&M International Inc. to support and manage the parish campaign for $18,850.00.  Additionally, Martha Asselin, a Partner at M&M, is providing additional hours weekly, over and above the contract, to support the Campaign Committee with her knowledge and experience free of charge.

Question 15

How do I find out more?

Accepted Answer

Our website (strongrootsnewseason.com) contains extensive information, additionally, you will receive hard copy information during the (likely virtual) visit from our Campaign Ambassadors.  If you have additional questions, please feel free to email us at donations@staidansinthebeach.com.

Question 16

How many churches our size have an associate priest? Is there a defined role?

Accepted Answer

An associate priest or a curate is not uncommon in a parish our size. The role depends on the ministry needs of the parish and its setting. In our case, the associate position began in 2014  when the church renovation period meant there were increased demands on the incumbent priest’s time. The cost of this role is supplemented by a Diocesan grant, with a small portion remaining. The focus of the associate has successfully, been congregational development and community engagement, which is what we hope to continue going forward.

Question 17

Why does the Incumbent need help, and with what?"

Accepted Answer

The incumbent provides leadership and oversight of the parish as a whole. That takes enough time that if St. Aidan’s wants to expand the reach of our ministry into new areas, and grow its existing ministries, we need an additional priest. The Associate Priest would develop innovative programs for new Christians and seekers, aid our church school, and vitally support a growing family and small group ministry program—all priorities for St. Aidan’s that can only be addressed with an Associate Priest’s support.

Question 18

Will youth ministry funds be used for older youth (10-16 years) programs?

Accepted Answer

Possibly. We know that if we’re going to continue growing the parish, we need to deliver both a wider and deeper breadth of youth-focused programs.  As we reopen the church, our youth participants and church leadership will help us identify the best growth opportunities to expand our youth ministry.

Question 19

Does the masonry deterioration mean the building is falling apart?

Accepted Answer

The masonry is over 100 years old and subject to the effects of weather. Over that time some bricks and mortar have understandably deteriorated.  This is an item that requires regular maintenance and repair, and not enough of this has been done to date.  The building is still solid, but this needs to be addressed and regularly tended to in the future.

Question 20

Why was the masonry not addressed within the original renovation budget?

Accepted Answer

Some masonry was addressed within the original renovation - waterproofing to all below-grade masonry. The vast majority of it, however, was beyond the scope of what the real estate sales and supporting grants could pay for.  The church and community now need us, as parishioners, to support the last mile of funding so that we may complete our Strong Roots, New Season vision for St. Aidan’s.

Question 21

Has there been any consideration to changing the colour of our brickwork?  There may be more appealing colours or perhaps our bricks just need a cleaning?

Accepted Answer

Due to the already high costs of repairing only the bricks in need of work (which is just a partial scope of all the bricks that make up our building), and our goal to only do what’s necessary for maintenance reasons, we aren’t looking into solutions that would increase the scope and cost of work at this time.  This may be something to revisit after the initial scope of work is complete.

Question 22

Stained glass is a lot of money. Maybe we can put plexiglass over the windows and delay the repair?

Accepted Answer

Most of the windows already have storms on the outside, and some of those need repair too.

Question 23

These windows represent the old story. Where is the 'new story'? What about artwork?

Accepted Answer

Changing the artwork of our stained glass was beyond the scope of this initiative, and would need to be a separate investment post- or parallel to the Campaign.   There are a few original windows that have not yet been replaced by stained glass/picture windows if someone would like to give such a gift, but that is outside the scope of this campaign work.   We are exploring new Indigenous Art along the west wall / fence side of the West Garden project, to pay tribute to the original occupants of this space.

Question 24

How can we make the stained glass windows more energy efficient?

Accepted Answer

Stained glass is very sensitive to light and moisture and we have to be careful that efforts to make them more energy efficient do not cause more damage to the integrity of the window.  We will try to achieve the best balance of energy efficiency and protection of the windows as we restore them.

Question 25

Why is the West Garden so expensive?

Accepted Answer

It is our understanding that the costs associated with the West Garden are in line with the direction provided to the design consultants which included keeping the design in line with a $100,000 budget.  This project also includes replacing the retaining wall and replacing the fence running down the entire west property line and into the back of the rectory yard.

Question 26

Can we volunteer to plant trees?

Accepted Answer

We’re not sure yet what volunteer opportunities will arise with the West Garden. We’ll share any volunteer opportunities with the parish as they come up.

Question 27

Can this project be done in stages?

Accepted Answer

Yes. In fact, it will likely need to be done in stages, because the West Garden work must coordinate masonry and window repairs in the same area.  We expect to start with a new retaining wall and fence on the west property line, followed by foundational work, and finishing with the planting.  Though we outline the West Garden funds being spent in 2023 in our preliminary Financial Plans 2022-2026 of the Campaign documents, the staged nature of the West Garden may mean the work will extend into 2024.

Question 28

How will St Aidan’s prioritize the Campaign Funds?

Accepted Answer

We’ve obtained realistic quotes for the work involved in each of the five Campaign initiatives.  If we meet our fundraising goal, we may not need to prioritize the funds. However, St. Aidan’s leadership will inform vestry promptly if it becomes clear we cannot complete all 5 initiatives with the funds raised. Our goal is ensuring St. Aidan’s continues to thrive in the community.

Question 29

Why aren’t the costs of initiatives like this simply baked into our annual budget?

Accepted Answer

This is no different than anyone that has ever owned a large asset they need to maintain (condo, house, car, etc.).  An example might be a condo reserve fund not being large enough to address an unplanned maintenance issue.  There are times when additional funds must be pooled to address issues.  A church, perhaps, even more so as any additional funds are typically directed more towards the care of, and outreach to, others instead of keeping it within the church to look after only itself.   Although St. Aidan’s leadership, with the support of parish offerings, legacy gifts, and community donations, do their absolute best to plan the financial requirements of our ongoing  mission and facilities needs, there are times where additional funds are needed for us to maintain our strong roots and plant the seeds for a new season of growth and mission in the community.

Question 30

How can we access the money in the endowment fund?

Accepted Answer

Although we anticipate  up to $150,000 for the Campaign will come from the endowment fund, please note that a supportive vote at vestry is necessary to officially invest that money in the Campaign.  We believe vestry, when required,  will support that investment based on our 2021 feasibility study with members of the parish.

Question 31

What will be the timing of the Capital spending?

Accepted Answer

Assuming we hit our financial targets and that costs don’t materially change, we have outlined a rough timeline of spending in the Financial Plans 2022-2026 (see Year(s) Needed column).  This timeline is still subject to change by St. Aidan’s Leadership based on availability  of funding and coordination of supporting resources including space use, the timing of incoming pledged funds, contractors,  etc.

Question 32

Will the visits be conducted in person?

Accepted Answer

Maybe. We’d hoped to conduct the visits in person, but virtual visits may be more appropriate, depending on public health guidelines and the comfort level of both parishioner and  Ambassadors.  If you want an in-person visit, but the Ambassador who reached out to you is only comfortable with a virtual visit, they’ll consult with the Campaign Committee to find out if another Ambassador would be willing to come in person.

Question 33

Given the funding and initiatives will be a multi-year effort, will progress on the Campaign and execution of initiatives be communicated?"

Accepted Answer

Yes.  The domain strongrootsnewseason.com was purchased to support ongoing communications of our campaign from kickoff to fundraising and all the way through to spending the funds and completing the initiatives.  St. Aidan’s Leadership will be responsible for executing on the initiatives, but members of the Campaign Leadership will ensure updates continue to be made after all the ambassador visits have been conducted and the vast majority of our fundraising is complete.

Question 34

How will you keep us informed about progress?

Accepted Answer

We will send out progress reports in the weekly notices, pulpit announcements, and on the parish website and social media. We will also have exterior signage and a display in the parish lobby. Look for our Visiting Tree and Campaign Thermometer to see the Campaign progress on the website (strongrootsnewseason.com) or in the parish lobby (once we have access again).

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS