$250,000 by Thursday, 5pm.
Apr. 26th, 2010 09:27 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
icarusI hate banks.
You'd think what they did to the economy was enough. But they've now surpassed themselves.
Temples and churches and nonprofits have been struggling in this recession. My temple's no exception. Many of the members have been out of work and we've been making partial payments on our property since pretty much the beginning of the recession.
Saturday, the bank called in our note. We got word that we have to pay off the entire amount -- $250,000 -- by close of business Thursday.
Or we lose the temple and all its property.
The temple's been here 25 years. The mortgage was paid off years ago. But the temple wildlife refuge had been purchased from an elderly woman who was getting on in years. She'd been generous and let us pay that mortgage in fits and starts but no telling what would happen when she passed on. So the temple was refinanced to pay her and permanently own the wildlife refuge. The temple could afford the note ... until the recession.
25 years ago this property was in the middle of nowhere. Now, thanks to suburban sprawl, it's far more valuable. The banks slaver over this deal because they can get property potentially worth over a million dollars for less than you'd pay for a townhouse.
Because it's the wildlife loan and not a mortgage they don't have to give us 90 days notice. And they haven't.
$250,000 by Thursday.
Temple members are emptying their rainy day funds to save 25 years of work. You can guess where my car fund has gone. We've been able to pull together $69,000 since Saturday.
I helped build this place. I tied the rebar on the Buddhist monuments, the stupa. I painted and helped renovate the barn into living quarters for the monks and nuns. My brother spent hours of backbreaking work with a pickax carving gardens out of sun-baked clay. I sewed the brocades that line the temple walls and helped paint the little statues. My mom bought the little heated house for the stray cats the nuns captured and had spayed and neutered, that now walk with you and are actually pet-able. I helped buy the dozens of windchimes that hang in the trees.
We can't lose it all. Especially not to a slavering greedy bank.
We've got four days to save the temple and we've got no big donors, it's just the same hundred or so people who started 25 years ago.
I don't know what else to do but ask everyone I can. You're only seeing this if you're on my ultra-flocked filter. If you can help, even a little, thank you.
ETA: unlocking this, with some trepidation. This violates my own personal posting policy and invites wank. But at this point we have less than three days. We are trying to negotiate with the bank, yes.
ETA 2: Perteenygozer, I've been asked (told, firmly) to make it easier and put the donate button here.
Okay. I didn't want to be crass, but the people have spoken and they hath said, "Don't make this hard!"
You'd think what they did to the economy was enough. But they've now surpassed themselves.
Temples and churches and nonprofits have been struggling in this recession. My temple's no exception. Many of the members have been out of work and we've been making partial payments on our property since pretty much the beginning of the recession.
Saturday, the bank called in our note. We got word that we have to pay off the entire amount -- $250,000 -- by close of business Thursday.
Or we lose the temple and all its property.
The temple's been here 25 years. The mortgage was paid off years ago. But the temple wildlife refuge had been purchased from an elderly woman who was getting on in years. She'd been generous and let us pay that mortgage in fits and starts but no telling what would happen when she passed on. So the temple was refinanced to pay her and permanently own the wildlife refuge. The temple could afford the note ... until the recession.
25 years ago this property was in the middle of nowhere. Now, thanks to suburban sprawl, it's far more valuable. The banks slaver over this deal because they can get property potentially worth over a million dollars for less than you'd pay for a townhouse.
Because it's the wildlife loan and not a mortgage they don't have to give us 90 days notice. And they haven't.
$250,000 by Thursday.
Temple members are emptying their rainy day funds to save 25 years of work. You can guess where my car fund has gone. We've been able to pull together $69,000 since Saturday.
I helped build this place. I tied the rebar on the Buddhist monuments, the stupa. I painted and helped renovate the barn into living quarters for the monks and nuns. My brother spent hours of backbreaking work with a pickax carving gardens out of sun-baked clay. I sewed the brocades that line the temple walls and helped paint the little statues. My mom bought the little heated house for the stray cats the nuns captured and had spayed and neutered, that now walk with you and are actually pet-able. I helped buy the dozens of windchimes that hang in the trees.
We can't lose it all. Especially not to a slavering greedy bank.
We've got four days to save the temple and we've got no big donors, it's just the same hundred or so people who started 25 years ago.
I don't know what else to do but ask everyone I can. You're only seeing this if you're on my ultra-flocked filter. If you can help, even a little, thank you.
ETA: unlocking this, with some trepidation. This violates my own personal posting policy and invites wank. But at this point we have less than three days. We are trying to negotiate with the bank, yes.
ETA 2: Per
teenygozer, I've been asked (told, firmly) to make it easier and put the donate button here. Okay. I didn't want to be crass, but the people have spoken and they hath said, "Don't make this hard!"
no subject
Date: 2010-04-27 10:56 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-04-28 03:45 pm (UTC)We've managed to pull together $109,000 so far. We're doing a second telethon tonight.
no subject
Date: 2010-04-29 04:20 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-04-30 03:57 am (UTC)http://icarus.dreamwidth.org/901696.html
*pant, pant*