THE CHALLENGE
Formed in the 1970s, the St. Elizabeth Ann Seton community in Lake Ridge, Virginia, underwent thoughtful planning during its creation and growth, culminating in the development of a permanent campus in 1994, the 220th anniversary of St. Elizabeth Ann Seton’s birth. In the years after the campus was built, the parish continued to grow, and eventually it hit the limits of that campus. Parish leadership underwent an extensive planning process that resulted in a five-phase master plan. The first phase was completed early in the covid pandemic, and the parish was ready to take the next steps forward in 2021.
THE VISION
The next step of the master plan included numerous construction and renovation projects to expand and beautify the campus, including:
- Building out the lower level of the church
- Renovating the narthex.
- Beautifying the campus through site work.
- Building a campus outreach center.
- Constructing a columbarium.
THE SOLUTION
After interviewing four fundraising firms, St. Elizabeth Ann Seton leadership partnered with the Steier Group for an extensive fundraising effort for the next phase of the parish master plan. Transparency and openness were key to building enthusiasm for this campaign, and the pastor – in whom the community placed great trust – was a valuable resource. St. Elizabeth’s held multiple social events to keep parishioners informed and to showcase the architectural plans of the renovation, upgrades, security and deferred maintenance projects. The parish also reached out to evert registered household by mail and at Mass with details about the projects. All of this inspired the St. Elizabeth Ann Seton community to enthusiastically support the campaign and raise $3.2 million.
“We interviewed four different firms who had expertise in Catholic fund-raising on parish, school and diocesan projects. Two of the companies interviewed were local, two were based outside of Virginia. The Steier Group, although the company based furthest from our Northern Virginia parish, impressed my team the most with their thoughtful presentation and willingness to listen to what we desired for our campaign and adjust their processes as necessary. After their three months of on-site work, we still feel even stronger that the Steier Group was the best choice for our capital campaign.”
Reverend Brian G. Bashista, Pastor
Campaign Stats
The Steier Group’s unique, hands-on campaign management model, combined with our expert grant writers, award-winning designers and creative fundraising strategies, allowed us to exceed goal.
Goal
Raised
Percentage of Goal
A Customized Approach
We founded our firm on the belief that the best capital campaign is one that is customized and executed by one team, under one roof. When you hire the Steier Group, you eliminate the need to contract with additional vendors for services like copywriting, graphic design, grant writing, video production, website development or wealth screening. We reject the one-size-fits-all approach to fundraising and embrace every opportunity to design a capital campaign plan that will maximize our client’s fundraising potential.
Contact Steier Group today
You have a vision for the growth and success of your church, school or organization. Now it’s time to gather the generous, wholehearted support you need to make it happen. Contact Steier Group today to discuss the benefits of a customized capital campaign.
