If you are still interested and have not registered yet, there are seats available, so we invite you to experience firsthand the difference the Foundation is making in our community. On October 20th, we are hosting our first ever Legacy Bus Tour. The half-day event will include a tour of at least two ministries supported by the Foundation and a special Mass celebrated at the Diocesan Pastoral Center followed by a luncheon. Click here for complete details. Call before 4pm, Oct 19th if you would like to join us for the tour. If you can not make this event but are interested in attending a future tour, please contact our offices at 602.354.2400.

The Phoenician in Scottsdale will be the venue for the 18th Annual Crozier Dinner which will take place on Saturday, April 29, 2006. Colleen Gaia is chairing a committee of more than 50 volunteers to produce the event.

The committee has announced that six-time Grammy Award-winning performing artist José Feliciano will be the featured entertainer. Feliciano, who has been called "the greatest living guitarist," has been recognized as the first Latin artist to cross over into the English music market. He was honored with Billboard Magazine's Lifetime Achievement Award in 1996. Some of the songs that earned him widespread recognition are "Light My Fire," "Che Sera," and "Feliz Navidad," which was named by ASCAP as one of the 25 Greatest Holiday Songs of the Century.

For more information about the Crozier Dinner and to make reservations click here. The Crozier Dinner was established in 1989 to provide an important annual fundraising vehicle for the Foundation to further the goals of education, communication and faith formation.

For the third time in four years, the Catholic Community Foundation has been recognized by the International Catholic Stewardship Council (ICSC) for its excellence in promoting the theology of stewardship. In the annual awards presented by the ICSC, the Foundation received top honors in the category of "Total Foundation Effort." Foundation President John Scola traveled to San Francisco in early October to attend the ICSC Annual Conference and to accept the award. "We have worked hard this year to develop a strategic plan to help us prepare for future growth, and receiving an honor such as this helps reassure us that we are on the right path," he said. Dan Santy, Chairman of the Foundation's Marketing Committee, commented, "As one of the leading foundations in the country we are proud to receive the award again this year. It's great to receive such recognition from our peers."

Parish "A" and Parish "B" each received a gift of $150,000 from the estate of a parishioner. Both parishes needed funds for maintenance and capital improvements. Parish "A" decided to apply the entire $150,000 toward these improvements. Parish "B" decided to put 25% of the gift ($37,500) into its endowment fund, and use the remaining $112,500 to make needed repairs. Click here to see how the initial gift impacted each parish over a 10 year period. The results may surprise you.