St. Francis Xavier, Louisville, KY

Established in 1846, St. Francis Xavier Church has enjoyed a rich history that is marked by consistent growth.  Clearly the Parish has always been known as a community of faith dedicated to upholding Gospel principles and serving the needs of parishioners. However, in recent years, that reputation has grown and as a result the Parish has experienced explosive growth.  With average weekly attendance increasing by 75% between 1995 and 2005, it had become obvious to everyone that it was time to build a new church and make room for their growing congregation.   In fact, in anticipation of this need, parish leaders had already put some money aside for the new building.  However, they still needed to raise an additional $1.5 to $2 million.  After obtaining 1.76 acres of land adjacent to their current property, they decided to call the Covenant Group to help them with their campaign.

Father Scott Wimsett talked about how The Covenant Group worked with the Parish, “The Covenant Group’s approach was very much in line with where we were.  They had a personal interest in our success, and helped us pay attention to the details.  Joe was very involved and attended all of our meetings, which was great.”  Father Scott explained further that The Covenant Group brought the experience and know how that the Parish lacked, “The Covenant Group helped build confidence in our people.  We didn’t really know how to solicit funds…we just didn’t ask for money.  However, Joe helped train our people (myself included) on the best ways to approach solicitations.  This really was the key to our success in soliciting pledges.”

With The Covenant Group’s help, St. Francis was able to raise about $1.9 million, and the parish now plans to break ground in the spring of 2008.  Father Scott commented, “Other firms kept telling us that the most we would be able to raise would be $1.2 million.  They were telling us that we would not be able to achieve our goal of $1.5 – $2 million.  However, The Covenant Group believed that we could do more than $1.2 and that our goal was very feasible if we approached it in the right way.  They were right.”

Their new state-of-the-art facility will have many new accommodations including a 1000 seat sanctuary that can be expanded to 1300; a covered drop-off with entrances that are all handicap accessible; a gathering area; a permanent baptistry; music space apart from the sanctuary; a significantly larger sacristy area and larger and more accessible handicap seating.

Father Scott concluded by saying, “The results of the campaign have been very uplifting for our church community.  People have a new sense of accomplishment.  I would absolutely recommend The Covenant Group to other organizations seeking campaign counsel.  In fact, I already have.”