RALEIGH – Woman’s Missionary Union of North Carolina has ended an effort to purchase a new headquarters building in Lillington, N.C., citing the difficulty of fundraising for the project in a weak economy.
WMUNC’s executive board voted Nov. 15 to rescind the contract agreement on a 16,500-square-foot former furniture store on Main Street in Lillington, about 35 miles south of its current headquarters in north Raleigh.
Woman’s Missionary Union of North Carolina will remain at its north Raleigh location for the foreseeable future.
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In a press release, the organization said it would suspend fundraising activities for the purchase and give existing donors “options for redirecting the use of their donations or of requesting the return of that gift.”
Last spring, several supporters of WMUNC offered to fund purchase of the 65-year-old Lillington property to replace the group’s current offices on Front Street near the Raleigh Beltline. WMUNC moved to that location in 2008 following a dispute with the Baptist State Convention of North Carolina over hiring policies, which prompted WMUNC to reassert its autonomy. The mission organization had been housed in offices in the BSCNC’s headquarters in suburban Cary, N.C.
“Because of the building’s age, significant renovations, conservatively estimated at $800,000, would have been required,” said WMUNC president Tana Hartsell in an email.
“The executive board was confidently assured that the necessary funds to purchase the building could soon be made available upon the announcement of the decision to move forward,” said Hartsell, of Concord, N.C. “In the meantime, the economy continued its downward spiral and those funds were not so easily available. The vision and desire to help us still exists. Unfortunately, enough money just wasn’t.”
The press release said two contract extensions were “graciously granted by the seller,” but as the Nov. 30 closing date approached, it became apparent the funds would not be available.
Last September, as the executive board monitored fundraising progress, it asked its executive committee to evaluate the purchase decision by mid-November.
“Advice and counsel were sought to help determine the decision that would be in the best interest of WMUNC,” said Hartsell. “The executive committee unanimously approved the recommendations made to us, which were then referred to the full executive board for their decision. By majority vote, the recommendations were approved and immediate action [to rescind the contract] was taken. This was a most difficult and disappointing decision, but through it much has been learned.”
Hartsell said WMUNC will continue to lease the Front Street building for the foreseeable future.
WMUNC no longer receives funds through the Baptist State Convention of North Carolina’s state missions offering, though it continues to promote the state convention’s mission causes in North Carolina churches, as well as those of the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship and the Southern Baptist Convention.
Funding for the organization is provided through its own annual Heck-Jones Offering, contributions from individuals and churches and the Missions Resource Plan of the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship of North Carolina.
Robert Dilday (rdilday@religiousherald.org) is managing editor of the Religious Herald.