Help St. Mary Appleton Reach Safe Harbor
St. Mary has weathered many storms over its 164-year history, and generous supporters like you have always helped keep our parish ship on course. Thank you for being a sustaining member of St. Mary Parish! As our fiscal year draws to a close, and summer activities begin to captivate our attention, we ask that you remember St. Mary in your giving plans.
As we enter into a new fiscal year, we have seen an increase in facility, staff and maintenance costs. We need your help to cover these costs and keep St. Mary
parish going strong.
You may remember the “non-raffle raffle” we ran last year, when, due to the pandemic, we were still unable to host an in-person fundraiser. Contributions we received through the non-raffle helped us stay on track financially. This year, we were thrilled to hold Shamrock Shenanigans again, though the focus was on celebrating our ability to get together, rather than fundraising.
There are several current and upcoming demands on the St. Mary Parish budget:
- Our offertory is down by approximately $35,000 (compared to down approximately $17,000 at this time last year.)
- Our boiler and air handlers are in need of repair, leaving us over our maintenance budget by 202%.
- Our various insurance costs have increased 8-30% this year.
- We want to become a more equitable employer in terms of salaries and benefits. We’ve been unable to fill staff positions due to our inability to compete in the job marketplace.
Easy Online Giving Options
One easy way to give – especially while you’re away – is to utilize our secure e-giving provider, Faith Direct. It’s a win-win situation – you can easily set up giving for the entire year, and St. Mary can depend on steady contributions, which makes budgeting easier. With Faith Direct, you can even set up recurring gifts to things like Christmas and Easter flower funds (no more wondering if you remembered this year!).
Thank you for your past support, and for considering supporting us again with a one-time gift, as we steer the parish ship into a safe harbor.
