St. Therese Catholic Parish and School

THE CHALLENGE

Founded in 1946 with humble beginnings as a basement church, the growing St. Therese community now celebrates Mass in a beautiful church at the heart of a thriving campus. However, in building their campus the parish took on significant debt. After two unsuccessful capital campaigns and 15 years of struggling to retire the debt, St. Therese faced a critical juncture. Mortgage payments, which were already a challenge, were set to double in 2018. The remaining debt load of $4.8 million was not sustainable and hindered the parish’s ability to do ministry.

THE VISION

Parish leaders believed that a successful campaign could finally retire the debt, start a new chapter in the parish history and saved the parish $1.9 million in interest payments. To do that, they turned to the Steier Group. With Steier Group’s guidance the parish launched the Confidence in Jesus Capital Campaign.

THE SOLUTION

Debt reduction campaigns require finesse and hard work. While everyone looks forward to building a new parish hall or renovating a beloved church, paying the bill after its already complete is less enticing. To combat donor fatigue the Steier Group used a series of matching gift challenges. Major donors stepped forward with a $1 million challenge at the start of the public phase and an additional $400,000 challenge later in the campaign. These two efforts helped sustain momentum as the parish and school raised more than $5.6 million, eliminating the debt in its entirety.