HOLY MACKEREL! Mortgage Prevented!
- Shari Loe
- 15 hours ago
- 2 min read
It wasn't the largest pledge ever. But it may be the most memorable since Jehan Chu electrified us with his pledge of $2 million!
It’s a very generous $45,000 – exactly the amount needed to pay off the construction loan balance, in full and “IN CASH” as my past co-chair of the Mortgage Prevention Campaign, used to say!
We will not need a mortgage! And the Board can quit scrambling to figure out alternatives.
How We Got Here
We had announced in March, as the Operating Budget Drive got underway, that we needed just $47,500 more to be pledged and paid before 2027 to pay off our outstanding construction loan balance without needing a residual loan. When Katy Julich picked up the phone a couple of days ago, she was delighted to receive an offer of a pledge to pay off the full amount still needed, in a check to be mailed this week. Katy, Helene and I checked and rechecked and confirmed that with the donations and pledges that have continued to come in, $47,500 was indeed the amount still needed. But then, Helene realized that the $47,500 figure conservatively assumed that we would not get full payout of that amount till 2027. Since this family was willing to cut the check now, there would be about $2500 in interest saved due to their generosity. So, their check for $45,000 is on its way, and we will have enough to pay the loan in full.
But wait, there’s more!
As you may recall, due to several larger pledges not being able to be paid until 2027, and to give all of you more time to consider and spread out your donations to the Capital Campaign/Mortgage Prevention Fund, the Board already was planning to extend the construction loan due date an additional 12 months, to August 2027. This was estimated to cost an additional $10,000 or so, of which $5000 or so was slated to be paid out of the Operating Budget, and was included in the Pledge Drive goal for this year.
However – due to prudent management by Helene and Katy, but mostly due to additional pledges, large and small, but always critical pledges received over the year, AND because of interest savings because so many of you paid your pledges ahead of the schedule you originally proposed, Helene also has calculated that the Capital Campaign fund will be able to cover 100% of the cost of extending the loan due date to 2027.
Our “Closeout Angel Donor” has insisted on remaining anonymous. SO – it could be anyone! And this achievement truly belongs to all of us. SO – our Angel Donor could be any of us!
Next time you see another Fellowship Member or friend, wrap them in gratitude and say thanks. Just in case – and just because. And continue to pay your pledges – our Angel Donor’s Gift will fall flat if the rest of us don’t stay the course and finish before 2027!
Your Deeper Roots/Wider Wings + Mortgage Prevention Capital Campaign Committee
Shari Loe (chair), Helene Ferm, Paul Ferm, Laurent Comes, Steve Parker (and Franklin Heller, Co-Chair Emeritus)
Supported by Board Members Candice Donaldson, David Horst and Tim Davis, Reverend Sasha, and of course, Katy!
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