Year-end is a great time for giving. When you make a donation by December 31 to Saint John the Evangelist, you aren’t just giving money. You are perpetuating our faith by supporting St. John’s ministry to the people of Center City Philadelphia. 
 
Before making a year-end gift, talk to your tax advisor.  A CPA, attorney, or other advisor can help you understand the impact of your gift on your income tax return and estate.  It also applies to life-income gifts (gift annuities, trust arrangements, etc.). Take the time to calculate your income and do some planning while you still have the opportunity to make a year-end gift. Try to get a handle on your tax liability for the year. Did your unearned income increase? Did you sell any appreciated assets? Will you owe more taxes? This alone may motivate you to increase your giving before December 31.
 
Finally, do your giving early.  This is especially true if you want to make a gift of non-cash assets (stock, real estate, etc.).  Transfer of these assets can take time.  To make a gift to Saint John the Evangelist Parish please call the parish office (215) 563-4145.

 The 30 participants in this past Sunday’s town hall meeting came up with some great questions and comments for the capital committee. Here are some highlights from the discussion:

Comment: The parish should play up the value/leverage of what we’re doing with the project Home/Bethesda Project- Hidden Asset, Community Value.

Response: We agree that St. John’s will be the beneficiary of lots of positive attention thanks to this collaboration which we hope will generate funding and good publicity.

Comment: The printers Mass drew huge crowds at 2:15 AM on Sunday. This would be a good “alumni” source to tap into.

Question: When will this capital campaign start?

Answer: We have been in the planning phase for 2 years and we are now organizing the working campaign around the 1st of the year. We will begin the actual solicitation phase and will go through May – for the Parish phase. Beyond that, we will go out to seek foundation and grant support.

Question: Is there a timeline for the Towers and do we have to rebuild them? There was also a rumor that one option was to take them completely down.

Answer: While permanent removal was one of the options given to us by the architects, it is not really a viable option because of Historic Commission requirements. The Towers are more damaged than originally thought so they have required additional work. We hope it will be completed by the end of year.

Question: What is the actual cost of the Towers?

Answer: We have borrowed money on an emergency basis from the Archdiocese and the cost is approximately $1.3 million.

Comment: The amount of weekly contributions is down, yet the parish base is growing which shows folks are hurt by the current state of the economy.

Response: We are working to address this and need to assure that weekly contributions are not further diverted or redirected to the capital campaign.

Question: Are there plans to clean up the immediate area which might be seen as an incentive to the other local businesses?

Answer: Yes, between St. John’s and the new project (St. John’s Home) there will be much more focus on these areas, in fact the City is already doing a better job keeping the dumpsters cleared in a timely fashion.