Morristown Fellowship Launches $3.4 Million Capital Stewardship Campaign

PRESS RELEASE

For Immediate Release
September 28, 2018

Morristown, NJ – The Senior Minister, Rev. Alison B. Miller, and Board of Directors of Morristown Unitarian Fellowship located at 21 Normandy Heights Rd. in the Township of Morris, NJ recently contracted with James D. Klote & Associates, Inc. of Falls Church, VA to conduct a Readiness Assessment and Feasibility Study to determine the congregation’s support for a Capital Stewardship Campaign.  The Fellowship had previously availed themselves of the professional services of the Klote organization during a recent Capital Campaign in 2014 where they successfully raised $2.3 million, over five times the congregation’s annual giving at that time.

In reporting to the congregation on the results of the very productive and successful Readiness Assessment, Board President Franklin Heller noted:

“Once again, the Morristown Unitarian Fellowship has affirmed we are a strong, vibrant Congregation that has believed in itself in the past and, once again, has made a statement about our future.  We have been through a lot over the last few years and though our spirits may have been dampened at times, we are resilient enough to keep our eyes focused on our future.  During the past month the Board held 16 Focus Groups to share the vision of our Building Plan   Your interest was keen, 156 members and friends attended at least one meeting, 110 people took the time to fill out a questionnaire.  We wanted you to be well informed about the Fellowship’s history, our recent detours and successes and what it would take to realize our building dreams.  We listened to your questions, your concerns, and your dreams.  Then we asked you to vote on moving forward with a Capital Campaign to raise funds to commence our project. 

On September 23^rd we asked you to vote for moving forward with a James D. Klote professionally-guided Capital Campaign; 139 members voted yes, 4 voted no and 6 abstained.   On behalf of the Board I want to thank you for taking the time to get informed and for your support of the project.  I also want to thank those who presented at Focus Group meeting and those who attended.  We have a lot of work ahead to realize our dreams, but I am confident next summer you will hear construction equipment in our parking lot.  Next fall you will be parking on a newly paved, beautifully landscaped and well-lit parking lot.  We will be finishing up our planning for a new Fellowship Hall and looking forward to beginning its construction.  

We have work to do to meet our goals.  We will be asking all to contribute some combination of your time, your treasure and your talent.  We will be asking for your help as it will take many hands to get the project completed.   We are on our way and the Capital Campaign has already received our first substantial pledge.   I have no doubt that we can do it!  We look forward to meeting with each member and friend in the coming months.”

Morristown Unitarian Fellowship will now embark upon another Capital Stewardship Campaign to raise needed funds for improvements to their historic Gateways Mansion, originally built in 1912, the construction of parking facilities for over 160 vehicles, and a new 9,000 square foot facility that will house meeting rooms, a new kitchen, ADA compliant restrooms, and a 4,500 square foot fellowship hall.  Additional site improvements and stormwater management measures will also be made to the Fellowship’s 6-acre property.

With offices in Falls Church, Virginia; Dallas, Texas; Chicago, Illinois; Los Angeles, California; and Toronto, Ontario, Canada, James D. Klote & Associates is the largest full-time, on-site stewardship consulting firm in North America.  For additional information, please contact the firm at www.jdklote.com or (800)-360-2315.