At the Special General Meeting (SGM) last Saturday, members voted unanimously to support purchasing the School House Bush. See the details at /news/news-items/notice-of-rescheduled-sgm. Hopefully you received our Gravel publication this week announcing the outcome.
This is an exciting opportunity for Rathkeale and the mood of the meeting was strongly in favour of the Old Boys making our contribution to acquire this land.
Now it is time to match words with action and raise the funds required.
Without beating around the bush (pun definitely intended), we need to raise $200,000 asap, with the first tranche due on the 14th of December 2020, being the deposit of $116,000. So please consider this request and, if you can support this project, take steps to do so now.
The ROBA executive want to make this task as easy for Old Boys as possible. There are two ways you can show your support. We ask that as many Old Boys as are able donate $1,000 to the fundraising effort. If this isn't feasible then any other amount below this figure would be gratefully received. Old Boys may also wish to pool resources, say from within their group of friends, to make up $1000, or a higher amount, perhaps from amongst their year group.
All you need to do now is get on to your internet banking and make a donation. When doing so, please make sure you record the following information on your transaction:
Then, please email oldboys@rathkealeoldboys.org.nz confirmation of these details so that we may assist TSTB by confirming your details.
We appreciate we are asking for significant donations. However, this purchase effectively depends on the Old Boys' raising this $200,000 - if we do not, the contract will be lost. This purchase will be one of ROBA's largest contributions to the College and is arguably more important than our previous major projects such as the School Gates, the Squash Court and contributing to the Auditorium (valuable as those items are).
To ensure ROBA are not overextending ourselves, given the short time frame, the committee have obtained a financial underwrite (a Letter of Comfort) from the Rathkeale College Foundation.
For administrative ease, and to allow donors to receive a charitable donation receipt, your donation will be deposited into a dedicated account of Trinity Schools Trust Board. TSTB will administer this account on our behalf. These funds will remain under the control of ROBA.
This is a once-only opportunity for us to protect and enhance the unique physical character of the school. We thank you in advance for your support and generosity, and acknowledge this is a direct request for substantial donations. We believe this approach is warranted we believe because of the importance of this unique opportunity, and the short time frame in which to achieve it.
Any questions, please feel free to get in touch via email; grant.harper@trinityschools.nz or tristan@umbrella-group.co.nz or edward.cox@gibsonsheat.com
