2020 Vision Capital Campaign
/fairfaxs-website/image-f878f-i65ab.png "Fairfax Presbyterian Church")
2020 Vision Capital Campaign
Our vision and mission is to help:
Reduce Long-term Debt
The Capital Campaign will fund a wide range of projects that will make FPC’s 60+ year old facility more resilient, efficient and safe, reduce our long-term debt and dramatically demonstrate our congregations’ commitment to serving the less fortunate of our community. These projects represent prudent investments that will enable FPC to meet the physical and spiritual needs of our congregants and the world around us for many years to come.
And while we are at it, we can enhance even more…
The Session and our Congregation identified additional priorities that need expanding and deepening. Through this Capital Campaign our donors will enable FPC projects to:
$100,000 to Expand our Strengths
apply $70K to purchase tympani drums, replace worn-out music, and fund special music events; expand avenues for worship, meditation and spiritual growth apply $30K to FPC Pre-School upgrades including acquiring new playground equipment and replacing countertops/toilets. •
$100,000 to Deepen our Connections
apply $30K to increase outreach to prospective new members and nurture small groups, apply $15K to pursue innovative ‘connecting’ activities
apply $5K to expand the reach of our health ministry
apply $50K to help nurture the local and international missions/ministries FPC supports
CAPITAL CAMPAIGN MISSION AND VISION
$750K for HVAC Resilience and Improved Environmental Efficiency
To serve the needs of our congregation and those who depend upon us we need to make our heating and cooling solution more dependable, resilient and efficient. Much of our 40+ year old air conditioning system is increasingly prone to unpredictable catastrophic failures that have forced painful cuts in FPC’s operational budgets and forced worship services to be relocated to Fellowship Hall and even outside. Without effective heating and cooling church work cannot get done and negatively impacts our ability to serve one another or those in need.
This project will:
1) replace outdated, inefficient air conditioning units,
2) implement energy efficiencies such as double-paned windows, weather-resistant doors, and improved insulation and
3) strengthen our emergency funds to address future heating/cooling needs without impacting FPC’s operational budget.
$150K for Parking Lot and Entry Improvements
One of the first impressions visitors and regular congregants experience when they drive up Presbyterian Way comes from the parking lot that surrounds our beautiful Glebe and the main entry to our House of Prayer for All Peoples. Time and weather have taken their toll on both the parking lot and the exterior stairways resulting in reduced ‘curb appeal’ as well as potential accessibility challenges and safety issues. This project will fund a comprehensive repaving/restriping of our parking lot and several needed repairs for FPC’s front stairs and rails.
$100K for Kitchen Update and Repair
From all-church celebrations to preparing hot meals for the homeless to hosting our hypothermia prevention and response guests FPC counts on our kitchen to help us achieve our lofty hospitable congregation goals. Many of our appliances are no longer up to health/safety code and several floor and workspace surfaces are in disrepair. A limited-scope capital campaign several years back aspired to address many of the kitchen shortcomings but the cost of resolving our sanctuary lighting issues forced a redirection of funding. This project will fund replacement of failing appliances, repair of potentially dangerous flooring and an improvement in kitchen workflow.
$100K for Technology Enhancements
As a faith community we are constantly challenged to remain relevant to a rapidly changing world so that our message of hope and hospitality reaches the broadest possible audience. We must make reasonable investments in technology to both enhance the worship experience of long-time congregants and reach out to new faces/voices by using tools that resonate with them. This project will fund improvements to the audio and video systems in our sanctuary and other large rooms and new technologies for our classrooms and common spaces that together will enhance our ability to learn from and connect with one another, our community and the world in which we live.
CAPITAL CAMPAIGN MISSION AND VISION
Reduce Long-term Debt
$300K for Debt Reduction
FPC takes very seriously its commitment to practicing good stewardship of the resources entrusted to us by God and our donors. In recent years, the cost of maintaining our aging facilities has necessitated ‘borrowing’ funds from restricted and emergency funds to cover unplanned repairs and expenses.
Funds raised for this project will replenish restricted and emergency funds and eliminate FPC’s existing mortgage debt.
Burn the Mortgage
Jun 21, 2018 | Update-debt
Burn the Mortgage—Thanks to your generous giving, we have succeeded in paying off the FPC mortgage, which will save the church $48,000 per year! We will celebrate this success with a "burning of the mortgage" in worship on SUNDAY, JULY 1 2018 at 9:30am.
CAPITAL CAMPAIGN MISSION AND VISION
$400K for Creating Housing Solutions for People in Need
Throughout our 60+ years of ministry FPC has been committed to addressing the affordable housing challenges in Fairfax City. FPC can be counted on to help build houses, rebuild existing housing in disrepair and advocate for those at risk of losing their housing.
In an innovative collaboration with three leading affordable housing solutions organizations – Habitat for Humanity, Homestretch, and HomeAid – FPC will create a combination of permanent and transitional housing on our property as an ongoing commitment to serving our community.
Under a long-term ground lease from FPC, Habitat for Humanity will build up to 10 housing units on FPC’s site, up to 8 of which will be for ownership by Habitat clients and the remaining 2 to be Homestretch homes to help transition families from homelessness to selfsufficiency.
HomeAid will provide skilled professionals to perform expert work Habitat volunteers cannot do.
FPC’s $400K Capital Campaign investment, the $1.5 – 2M value of its land, combined with the expertise and ‘sweat equity’ of our members and our partners, will result in affordable housing that will bring value to FPC and our local community for decades.
CAPITAL CAMPAIGN MISSION AND VISION
What is affordable housing?
Affordable housing is for households earning less than 80% of Area Median Income (AMI). The DC Metropolitan AMI is $113,208 for a family of four. The cost of affordable housing cannot exceed 30% of household income.
How did the affordable housing initiative become a goal within the 2020 Vision Capital Campaign?
The FPC Session at FPC requested initiating an affordable housing study as part of the FPC Capital Campaign. As we embarked on the Capital Campaign, our leadership aspired for the campaign to pursue goals beyond fixing our decrepit heating and air conditioning systems and remodeling the kitchen. Additionally, they relied upon the results of the CAT scan completed in 2016 in which the members clearly indicated a desire for more outreach.
Who is responsible for the planning and implementing the Affordable Housing initiative?
The Mission Outreach Ministry formed the AHI (Affordable Housing Implementation) Team composed of 23 members of FPC. Membership on this team is open to all FPC members and all are welcome to attend meetings and participate actively. Meetings are the third Wednesday of each month at 7:30PM in the Multipurpose room.
What organizations will be working with FPC on this initiative and what are their roles?
Three organizations are involved with FPC for this initiative. These are:
Habitat for Humanity, Northern Virginia
Habitat will be the developer and general contractor. It will manage homeowner selection (with input from the Team), provide financing, and manage future resales for up to 8 units.
Homestretch, Inc, Northern Virginia
Homestretch assists homeless families attain self-sufficiency within 2 – 3 years. It will manage and maintain 2 units for two of their client families and direct the Sacred Homes Program.
HomeAid Northern Virginia
HomeAid was created by members of the Northern Virginia Building Industry Association to build shelters and homes for the homeless. HomeAid provides the expertise of trades workers as well as materials at greatly reduced costs.
Surely there’s some other land where we could build affordable housing?
This has been explored and no viable options have been found in Fairfax. The cost of land for one unit is over $100,000 – $200,000. This cost alone would preclude the development of affordable housing unless the land were a gift.
Why use Fairfax Presbyterian Church property?
FPC property includes 8.26 acres with potential open space to support building low income housing. The property, in fact ALL of the church property, is actually owned by the National Capital Presbytery. We have confirmed the NCP’s willingness to offer a lengthy lease on whatever portion of the property might be involved for a very small fee (likely $1 per year). Additionally, the NCP has offered their strong endorsement and support for projects such as this one.
Are we selling or leasing land to Habitat?
National Capital Presbytery (NCP) is the owner of land. FPC will propose that NCP lease the land for the development to an entity (corporation or trust) created and controlled by FPC. This entity will lease the land at a nominal fee for the two Homestretch units to Homestretch which will own the two Homestretch structures. Habitat will act as the developer and lender for the remaining units. Once the homeowners are selected, the homeowner will purchase the structure with a mortgage from Habitat. The homeowner will lease the land on which the structure stands from the FPC entity at a nominal fee.
Are there really homeless people in the Fairfax Area?
Each year in the Fairfax Area (Fairfax City, Fairfax County, and Falls Church City) a once a year “point in time” count of the homeless is conducted. On the night of Jan. 25, 2017 there were 964 people who were homeless in the Fairfax Area. Of these, 474 were people in families, including 286 children, and 490 people were single individuals, including 155 older adults, ages 55 and over.
Who would be eligible for the affordable housing on FPC property?
Homestretch Homes: Homestretch determines what families will live in the homes for a period of +/- 2 years.
Remaining Habitat Homes: Habitat NOVA (as the lender) will lead the homeowner selection process which will include both input to the criteria by FPC and representation of FPC on the selection committee for new homeowners. Additionally:
The selection committee will determine the criteria that will be used for selecting applicants as prospective homeowners on the FPC site. (The Team recommends that in this criteria, income eligible church members, staff, or families affiliated with the FPC Preschool be given careful consideration.)
The selection committee will determine the income levels (30% to 80% of Area Median Income) required for the prospective homeowners
Working with the Member Connections Ministry, the FPC AHI Team will recruit volunteers to serve as participants in the Family Partners and Mentors program for prospective homeowners