In early 2006, the congregation decided that we should seek professional help to better define and prioritize immediate needs and desirable improvements that could realistically be done. In mid-summer 2006, Dennis Mires, The Architects was hired to do this research for us.

In May 2007 three committee members were accepted to and attended the first two sessions of Partners for Sacred Places training program called New Dollars/New Partners. Participants from six historic churches in New Hampshire were chosen for the significance of their buildings, the preservation needs they demonstrated, and the degree to which the congregations had the capacity, community support, and readiness to undertake a major fund-raising program. This is an innovative training program available to congregations with older or historic buildings. It is the only national organization providing practical help on property care and stewardship to congregations with older religious properties. Training combines the best of the resources, techniques, and knowledge developed by Partners since 1989, and is the only one of its kind to focus on community-serving congregations with older and historic properties. Two additional training sessions were completed in October 2007.

As an extension of the Sacred Places training and under the direction of the New Hampshire Preservation Alliance, a grant of $4,000, with an additional $1,000 from UCP, was received for the purpose of obtaining professional assistance in some facet of the capital improvement process. In early 2008 the Alliance arranged training sessions with several resources:

• A Vermont-based fundraising consulting Christine Graham assesses readiness to start a campaign and offered several recommendations including information gathering through focus groups.
• A Concord-based consulting firm Full Circle Consulting coordinated a series of focus groups in the congregation to elicit opinion about the projects and readiness to embark upon a major fundraising campaign. A revised project plan was developed based on congregational input.
• Architectural plans were reviewed by Richard M. Monahon, AIA, Architects under the auspices of the NH Preservation Alliance with recommendations to reduce the cost of projects and better-integrate changes within the building.
• Full Circle later returned to present Fundraising 101 training followed by role playing practice sessions by the NH Preservation Alliance.

In the summer of 2008, Richard M. Monahon, AIA, Architects was hired to design the maintenance and improvement projects outlined in the Projects section of this site.