Council backs naming-rights strategy for 14 Church community hub campaign

St. Marys council has awarded a nearly $250,000 contract for the rehabilitation of the two sets of outdoor stairs at town hall.

By Galen Simmons

St. Marys council has approved a key piece of the fundraising strategy for the proposed Community Commons at 14 Church St. N, giving the St. Marys Public Library board and its capital campaign fundraising committee the green light to offer naming rights for rooms within the future intergenerational community hub.

At its March 10 meeting, council unanimously supported a recommendation approving naming rights for rooms within the Community Commons to be offered at 75 per cent of the estimated construction cost for each space. The move is intended to encourage significant private donations while helping offset the capital costs associated with redeveloping the former Mercury Theatre building.

“We’d like some input from you tonight on naming opportunities,” library CEO Sarah Andrews said. “This is a bit tricky, we know, because financial times are hard and we want everyone in town to feel like this project is for them and that they can contribute to it at any donor level. Our campaign is starting with the higher-level potential donors and trying to make some strides and build some movement to the campaign, but over the next three years, we do anticipate having a variety of elements to this campaign, right down to read-a-thons with children who are going to raise maybe $20.

“ … Those donors are equally as important to us because we want everybody to feel like 14 Church St. is their library and town space, but for now, we are focusing on the larger donors.”

The naming-rights model forms part of a broader, million-dollar fundraising campaign being organized by the library board and its capital campaign advisory committee, which was created late last year to help generate community support and financial contributions for the project.

Under the draft donor-recognition framework presented to council, a range of spaces within the building could be named after donors, organizations or service clubs in recognition of their financial support. Larger spaces such as the Commons Hall, Makerspace, sound studios and community rooms offer the greatest naming opportunities because of their higher construction costs and visibility within the building.

According to the fundraising report presented to council, the committee developed the proposed naming structure by examining benchmarks used in similar community capital campaigns, including St. Marys Healthcare Foundation fundraising projects for the St. Marys Memorial Hospital.

While naming rights for the Makerspace have already been spoken for following the recent donation of $65,000 by local lawyers John Sipos and Mark Poulton in memory of their friend and colleague, Ben Waghorn, Andrews said basing naming-rights donations on estimated construction costs for each room gives the fundraising committee members a starting point when discussing larger donations with potential donors.

The naming rights, Andrews said in response to a question from Coun. Rob Edney, would likely expire after 10-20 years – a practice that is in alignment with similar fundraising strategies employed elsewhere and allows funds to be raised for the cost of renovating or updating the rooms at 14 Church in the future using the same strategy.

“Seventy-five per cent … seems like a nice number to focus on,” Coun. Fern Pridham said. “If someone is thinking a smaller number but would still like to be included in a naming, have you (considered) the 25-25-25 (per cent of construction costs) so there’s three names in a space, or four?”

“Absolutely,” Andrews responded. “These are just guides for the team as we’re having conversations with the large donors to say, ‘This is what we feel the room value is that the donation should bring to the project. If that’s really high, would you be willing to share naming rights with another organization?’ There’s lots of discussion that can be had there.”

Andrews also said naming rights for the Community Commons building itself may also be considered, should a large enough potential donation be brought to the table.

In addition to outlining potential naming opportunities tied to construction costs, the fundraising report also notes donors could be recognized through plaques, digital displays within the library, creative installations at 14 Church St. and other forms of acknowledgement as the campaign progresses.

“With the amount of enthusiasm and the nature of the project, I think the fundraising committee has done a remarkable job and has a lot of enthusiasm and put a lot of thought into this,” Mayor Al Strathdee said.

Council receives letters of support for the Community Commons project

Council also received several letters of support from organizations that see the future Community Commons as an important addition to the community’s social and cultural infrastructure.

Among those was a letter from the Canadian Mental Health Association Huron Perth, which noted that centralized community spaces can improve access to services, reduce stigma and help individuals build connections that support mental-health recovery.

A letter from the City of Stratford’s social services department similarly highlighted the benefits of community hubs, noting integrated service spaces can improve health and social outcomes by making supports easier to access and better coordinated for residents across the region. Huron Perth Public Health also expressed support for the project, emphasizing the role accessible public spaces play in fostering social connection and reducing isolation across all age groups.

One of the most detailed expressions of support came from the St. Marys Kinsmen Club, whose representatives were present at the March 10 council meeting. In a letter to council dated March 8, the service club said it has followed planning for the redevelopment of 14 Church St. with interest and sees strong potential for collaboration between the town and local community organizations.

The club proposed making a $30,000 donation toward the project, paid over five years, along with potential in-kind contributions during the construction phase that could help reduce overall project costs. In return, the Kinsmen have proposed negotiating a lease agreement allowing the club to use a large multi-purpose room within the building for its regular meetings and committee activities, which typically take place monthly from September through June.

The group also suggested naming the room the “Kinsmen Room” in recognition of the club’s long history of community service in St. Marys and its contributions to the redevelopment project.

“(Your letter) says that you want to keep your memorabilia permanently displayed in a room; that would be a community room used for all types of different activities. I just wonder if you would be amenable to (having those items on display) when you’re using the room, and taking them out after?” Pridham asked the club representatives, noting she is worried if the town offers storage or display space to one donor organization, it might set a precedent for others that could lead to rooms becoming cluttered.

“We’re very flexible in any approach that you take with regards to the decoration in the room,” responded Kinsmen representative Don Van Galen. “The main concern for us is storage of the items, so some of them could be put into closets or whatever. … We don’t have a lot, but there are some permanent items we need to take care of on a regular basis we want to have in one location. … We understand it’s going to be a multipurpose room, but we kind of want to be the lead on this and get you started and make it a facility we can make use of for our own needs.”

If an agreement were reached, the club suggested an initial lease term of 20 years with the possibility of renewal and future collaboration on improvements to the space if needed. CAO Brent Kittmer told council town staff would work with the Kinsmen Club to draft a basic memorandum of understanding for the Kinsmen’s contribution to and use of the Community Commons space, however a formal use agreement won’t be finalized until closer to the project’s completions date, potentially in three to four years.

The capital campaign committee and library board are expected to continue outreach to local businesses, service clubs and community members as they work toward building financial support and momentum for the project in the months ahead.

The Community Commons project envisions transforming 14 Church St. N into a flexible, multi-use hub for residents of all ages with space for library programming, community meetings, adult learning, cultural events and partnerships with local organizations.

Editor’s note: The author of this article is an active member of the capital campaign ad-hoc fundraising committee for the Community Commons project.