St. David’s Center, which provides early childhood education and resources for kids and adults with special needs, exceeded its $13.7 million capital campaign goal this past November. In fact, they’ve surpassed the $14 million mark.
According to Lynn Stranghoener, co-chair of the Building Our Children’s Future campaign, the unprecedented success of this campaign was because of strong community support. “St. David’s Center has so many successful stories that make parents grateful and devoted,” she says.
In addition to updating the lobby and classrooms, St. David’s Center has already completed a new state-of-the-art, all-accessible playground and finished a brand-new occupational therapy wing; service started in January. They also built an in-house mental health clinic with treatment spaces and an assessment space and, in early summer, they will be finishing a parking lot and landscaping.
“Every successful campaign has to start with a really solid case for funding and we knew that we could double our capacity in early intervention and assessment,” says Julie Sjordal, St. David’s Center’s executive director.
Campaign contributions came from a number of sources: State of Minnesota contributions ($3.75 million) and a large donation by the Peter J. King Family Foundation, along with donations from corporations and foundations (totaling $4.7 million), and individual donors ($5.2 million).
