Assisi Hall is a parish facility to be used without charge by St. Francis for its Christian ministry as mandated by the call of Christ and as expressed through the agencies of the Diocese of Richmond and the Parish itself. Assisi Hall may be rented out for private purposes to individual parishioners and non-parishioners or to private groups (whether they have parish members or not). Schedule of fees are established according to defined criteria. Imposition of fees varies by the status of the renter (parishioner/non-parishioner) and/or hall use (personal, parish, non-profit, time etc) as defined below. The pastor reserves the right to consider each rental on a case by case basis, if necessary, so as to determine the fairness of applying this policy in specific cases and under certain circumstances.

If circumstances determine that Assisi Hall must be rented, there are two categories of rates: Parishioner or Non-Parishioner. Under each group there can be Small Events (rental by hour) or Large Events (rental by an 8 hour block of time).

I. Parishioner Rate:

A. Small Event (hourly rate): $25/hour plus $100/ day special event diocesan insurance rider unless renter can provide insurance meeting diocesan requirements (Appendix C).

B. Large Event (8 hour block of time): $250.00/ day plus $100/ day special event diocesan insurance rider unless renter can provide insurance meeting diocesan requirements (Appendix C).

II. Non-parishioner Rate:

A. Small Event (hourly rate): $50/hour plus $100/ day special event diocesan insurance rider unless renter can provide insurance meeting diocesan requirements (Appendix C).

B. Large Event (8 hour block of time): $350.00/event / day plus $100/ day special event diocesan insurance rider unless renter can provide insurance meeting diocesan requirements (Appendix C).

III. Deposits and Insurance

A. All parties renting Assisi Hall, whether parishioner or non-parishioner and even those cases in which fees are waived, must pay a Damage/Cleaning/Loss of Use Deposit of $250.00, all or part of which is refundable dependent on timely payment of rental fee and post-event conditions of Hall.

B. All parties must provide an insurance rider that meets the diocesan requirement (Appendix C) or purchase insurance through the Diocese of Richmond at the rate of $100 per day.

Definitions for Groups, Usage, Events

1. Parishioner: A member in good standing of St. Francis Parish, a regular contributor, registered for at least the past six months.

2. Non-parishioner: Any person failing to meet the above definition of a parishioner.

3. Parish Authorized Group (PAG): These are groups which fall directly under the administration of parish/pastor and/or exist at the pleasure of the parish/pastor, being connected to the parish by virtue of the Church’s mandate for spiritual formation, outreach, justice and peace, Christian formation, etc. Their use of facilities here is free for most meetings/events as membership in these groups is open to the parish. If one of their events necessitates rental money to be paid, they pay at the “parishioner” rate. (Example: A group of cenacles wishes to hold a day long retreat, closed to the parish, by retaining full use of Assisi Hall for 8 or more hours. They would need to rent Assisi Hall at the parishioner rate.)

a. Some PAGs may be considered adjuncts to specific diocesan/parish ministries (Example: Diocesan Mandate for Adult Catechesis: The Catholic Scripture Study Series is an adjunct ministry since we have our official Adult Education on Sunday mornings)

b. Some PAGs exist under the broader auspices of mandated ministries, but retain their own structure and independence. (Example: Apostolates: Divine Mercy Cenacles, Lay Carmelites, Secular Franciscans)

4. Parish Sponsored Group (PSG): These are groups which may exist fully independent of a Catholic Parish and/or, if necessary to be connected to a parish in order to exist, retain their own leadership, administration and finances.( Examples: Knights of Columbus, Legion of Mary). Meetings can be held at no cost, but should an event necessitate broad use of facilities, certain conditions control whether they will be charged. Their rate would be as for a parishioner. (Example: A Knight’s Fish Fry or fund raiser for the parish costs them nothing for rental, but should the Knight’s wish to hold a party for their group, not open to the parish, they would pay at the parishioner rate.)

5. Non-parish Groups (NPGs): these are groups- Catholic or non-Catholic- that exist outside the parish altogether. There may be parish members within these groups, but this does not necessarily entitle these organizations to free use of the facilities, nor rental at the parishioner rate. The nature of the group and the event to be held will determine both the necessity to pay any rental fees and at which rate (parishioner or non-parishioner). This category does provide leeway in determining fees, with the pastor as the final arbiter.

a. If an event which involves a NPG is subsumed under a Parish ministry there is no charge: (Example: The Friendship Club picnic sponsored by Justice & Peace Committee)

b. If an event is being hosted by an NPG, even a nonprofit organization, which is not subsumed under a specific mandated ministry, then the group may need to pay rental for a large or small event at the non-parishioner fee, unless exempted by pastor. (Example: Home school group that is not entirely composed of parishioners must pay at a non-parishioner rate. Example: If Pregnancy Crisis wished to host a fund raising dinner, whether a small or large event, the non-parishioner fees would apply without permission of exemption from pastor.)

c. If an event is a fund raiser for group (even a non-profit group)it falls under non-parishioner rate.

6. Personal/Private use: This category includes any individual or group whose event is restricted by invitation, whether individual/group is of parishioner or non-parishioner status. No commercial or political use is permitted. Fund raisers for non-profit organizations may be held.