A few members have stepped forward to provide loans and additional donations to allow us to complete the Babb Families portion of the Reconstruction by year’s end. About half of the funds have come in the form of a zero interest loan which will need to be repaid as we conclude our fund raising process. We will need to continue fund raising until we retire the debt, but will be able to finish the reconstruction without further delay.
So, I have ordered the completion of the interior and a crew is busy already installing the flooring, stairs & interior wall. We have also placed an order with the Blacksmith for the reproduction hardware needed to properly hang the doors & shutters. A couple of items have come in below estimate this last week which has improved our situation by about $500. Additionally, we have received $1050 in donations.
There is some serious higher math involved in what needs to be accomplished. It took me several hours to come up with the totals, so I won’t bore you with the details, but the key points are:
• The homestead will be complete by the end of the year (excluding the chimney which the BFA is not responsible for).
• We will transition into debt retirement mode. We currently need to raise $3840 to retire the debt.
How are we going to raise it?
• I’d like to collect an additional $5 in dues at renewal from each member. Coupled with the savings from our pending transition to an electronic newsletter. This will raise approximately $1500 towards debt relief.
• I plan on working in a $25/pp surcharge on the upcoming reunion in Philadelphia (more info on the reunion soon). This will raise approximately $1000 towards debt relief. I will work to keep the reunion dues as low as possible to minimalize the effects.
• The remaining $1340 would be raised through the traditional method of requesting donations online and in the newsletter. Which we can hopefully achieve in the next few months.
I think this is a very doable plan and allows all to participate without overly burdening any one member. I hope you agree. Our new era is about to begin and I’ll need the full faith and credit of the Babb Family Association behind me to conclude this very important work.
Dan
Repost: Originally posted on Dec 5, 12