FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS What is the Next Step Campaign? As the name implies, the building of our entire Saint Michael School and Church is a multiphase project and requires multiple capital campaigns. The Next Step Campaign was anticipated when we conducted the successful Our Family, Our Faith, Our Future Campaign in 2014-15. This current campaign is intended to result in our parish having the required 50% of our Phase II Church and Middle School cash in hand. When will the campaign start? The campaign is currently underway. To allow us to visit all parishioners, we ask you to promptly accept the visit from the campaign volunteer and make your pledge at that time or shortly afterward. We also may ask you to serve as a campaign volunteer so we can accomplish our goal of personally visiting all families. Why emphasize personal visits? Home visits emphasize the personal nature of giving, allow campaign volunteer visitors to express their enthusiasm, give potential donors a thorough presentation of the campaign case, and offer potential donors the opportunity to ask questions. In addition, personal visits place a greater emphasis on stewardship, allowing the volunteer to share his/her own faith experience and campaign participation. How much am I expected to give? All parishioners are being asked to consider a specific gift amount. However, you alone can determine the amount of your gift. Consult the various gift plans accompanying the brochure. Please remember, we need the participation of all parishioners and, if your gift is one of sacrifice, it is truly a generous gift regardless of its size. What if I choose not to give the amount requested? Matters of giving are questions of priorities. Your family is unique unto itself; however you are asked to prayerfully consider a specific gift. Whatever your response, it should be one of choice and sacrifice. I dislike pledging. Why am I asked to make a pledge instead of a one-time gift? You can make a one-time gift; however, the success of the campaign rests largely on pledges payable over three (3) years. In addition, by making a pledge, you are able to donate more than would be otherwise possible with a one-time gift. I would like to make a pledge, but our budget is especially tight this year. How can I still participate? The campaign pledge is structured over a three (3)-year period, and you can determine when you want to start payment of your pledge.

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS We have been transferred to this area and will probably move in a few years. Why should we contribute to a campaign that will not directly benefit our family? More than likely, you have been the beneficiaries of facilities in this parish as well as in other parishes. When you move and join another parish, you will benefit from the generosity of others in your new parish. Will I need to maintain my weekly contribution? Yes! Weekly offerings are used for the normal operating expenses of the parish. We depend on these contributions to maintain the parish and its programs. Can I make a gift other than cash? Yes! A range of attractive possibilities exists, including appreciated stock, real estate, bequests, etc. Please contact your financial advisor or the parish office for further information. What if my financial situation changes and I am not able to fulfill my pledge? Your pledge to support the campaign is made in good faith. Should financial difficulty arise, making it impossible for you to continue your payments, please notify the parish office. What features are included in current Phase II plans? The primary components are a 750 seat church and a lower level Middle School education space for 6th, 7th and 8th graders. In addition to these features, plans include a large Narthex, cry room, family rooms for weddings and funerals, covered drop off, enhanced parking and other related spaces. During the 2014-15 Our Family, Our Faith, Our Future campaign, the master plan called for the lower level of the church to ultimately be built as a parish hall. Is that same space now planned instead to be Middle School educational space? Yes. The various committees that met over the last year determined that the need for additional classrooms within the main facility was a higher priority than a standalone parish hall especially given the fact that the building of a permanent church will free up the current commons/worship space for parish activities, funeral luncheons and other parish functions. Will the addition of Middle School classrooms in the daylight lower level of the church be a permanent plan and eliminate the need for the portables? Given the amount of investment in the new Middle School space, it is likely to be a long term, if not, permanent plan. It is unlikely, however, given the uncertainty of school enrollment and other parish needs that Phase II construction will lead to the immediate elimination of the portables as they will likely be repurposed for other student or adult education or meeting spaces.

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS Who has been involved in the planning leading up to this campaign? Under the leadership of Father Borowiak, a diverse representation of the parish has met multiple times with architects, the Bishop and Diocesan leadership and campaign consultants over the last year. The committee represented student families, long term parishioners, parishioners involved in earlier campaigns and Phase I construction and parishioners new to our facility planning process. Some are also members of SFA, Finance Committee, Stewardship Committee or Parish Council and other parish organizations. If our 2017-18 Next Step Campaign reaches its $4 million pledge goal, will Saint Michael be able to move forward with its planned Church and Middle School construction? As the campaign name implies, this is an important “Next Step” but not the final step. If we are successful, it will put us in a position to conduct another successful capital campaign with an estimated goal of $8 million in 2020-21 enabling us to get permission from the Diocese to proceed with construction. What would be the most likely timing for breaking ground and completion of a Phase II church and middle school classroom project? If we are successful in reaching the goals of our next Step campaign and a 2020-21 campaign, it is possible that we could break ground in spring 2021 with completion of the project in fall 2022. Many other variables including pledge redemption rates, then current construction costs and our ability to borrow against pledges could impact this schedule. What would it take to expedite the timing on a Phase II project? The Diocese requires parishes planning a capital project to have 50% of the total project costs in hand and to have the balance of the project costs plus a 10% allowance for uncollectibles pledged by parishioners before requesting permission to borrow against the pledges and to begin construction. A combination of large additional cash contributions and pledges beyond our 2017-18 and 2020-21 campaign goals might allow us to move forward earlier but that is not guaranteed. I understand there is a $2 million challenge pledge toward our $4 million Next Step goal. How does this work? The donors who pledged the funds to provide the match are highly motivated to get other parishioners to give to this campaign so that we can keep moving toward our ultimate goal. For this reason, they have offered to match every dollar pledged to this campaign up to $2 million effectively doubling the financial impact of each parishioner’s commitment and increasing our chances of success. Why does the Diocese require that we have 50% cash in hand and the balance plus 10% in pledges before we can move forward? Prior to recent policy updates, some parishes over extended themselves and borrowed beyond their ability to repay the debt. We believe that the current Diocese’s policies are appropriate and in keeping with Saint Michael’s history of sound financial management.

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS The sign outside the entrance to our worship space shows 100% payoff of debt. How did we pay that off? At one point after Phase I, our debt reached $5.5 million. We have steadily paid down that debt through parishioners’ pledge payments on our 2009-10 Moving Mountains Campaign and our 2014-15 Our Family, Our Faith, Our Future Campaign. Who will be asked to contribute to the Next Step Campaign? The campaign will focus on four primary groups of parishioners. Approximately 200 parish families who have joined Saint Michael since our 2014-15 campaign and have not yet been asked to make a gift to our Capital Campaigns. Approximately 175 parish families who in 2014-15 indicated a willingness to be approached again in a follow up campaign. Approximately 80 parishioners who have paid off all prior campaign pledges. All parishioners who pledged in 2014-15 will be asked to consider extending their pledges an additional year so that all pledge payment periods will end simultaneously in late 2020. Has the Diocese committed to extending Saint Michael a loan if we meet all the requirements outlined? While not a firm commitment, we have a letter from the Diocesan CFO on behalf of the Bishop that gives us a strong indication that if we meet all commitments and continue to have a balanced operating budget for the school and parish that either they will lend us the funds or allow us to borrow commercially. With interest rates low and construction costs rising wouldn’t it be wise to borrow the money now and start construction instead of waiting? While Diocesan policy does not allow any parish to borrow money that is not 110% backed by pledges, it is also a fact that raising money to pay off debt is significantly more difficult after a project has been completed. Saint Michael could never service the debt to pay off a loan from normal operations and needs to rely on successful capital campaigns to fund 100% of any future expansion. Our 2014-15 campaign indicated a funding need of $10 million to move forward with a church. Why has this number grown to $13.25 million? There are three primary reasons for this difference. First, Diocesan policy has changed since our 2014-15 campaign to include this requirement that 50% of the funding must be pledged and 50% must be already held in cash. Secondly, the decision has been made to include the buildout of the lower level of the Church into a Middle School. Thirdly, we hired a construction cost estimator to provide an updated realistic construction cost estimate based on current and likely future increases including cost that have significantly impacted construction costs is the Lincoln area. The First and Second explanation explains most of the difference as construction cost escalation was included in 2014 funding estimates.