AmazonSmile is a simple way to support the mission of the Catholic Community Foundation every time you shop with no fees or extra cost to you. AmazonSmile is available at smile.amazon.com on your web browser and can be activated in the Amazon Shopping app for iOS and Android phones. When you shop with AmazonSmile, you will find the exact same low prices, vast selection, and convenient shopping experience as Amazon.com, with the added benefit that AmazonSmile will donate 0.5% of your eligible purchases to the Foundation.
How do I shop with AmazonSmile?
To use AmazonSmile, simply go to https://smile.amazon.com/ch/54-2119051 or click on the Amazon logo at the top of the Foundation’s website and sign in with your existing Amazon.com account. You can also activate AmazonSmile in the Amazon Shopping app on your mobile device within the Settings or Programs & Features menu. If you are asked to pick a charity, please enter the full name of Catholic Community Foundation of Southwest Florida. Since you are using the same account on AmazonSmile and Amazon.com, your shopping cart, Wish List, wedding or baby registry, and other account settings are also the same.
About shopping on AmazonSmile
If you shop on smile.amazon.com using an internet browser on your desktop or laptop computer, your mobile phone, or your tablet, then your purchases of eligible products (marked “eligible for AmazonSmile donation” on the detail pages) will result in donations. If you shop on your Amazon Shopping app, with AmazonSmile ‘active’ (your app must be active for AmazonSmile when you make the purchase), then your purchases of eligible products will result in donations.
If you are interested in learning more about supporting the Catholic Community Foundation by shopping with AmazonSmile, please contact the Foundation at CCF@dioceseofvenice.org.
The Catholic Community Foundation of Southwest Florida is proud to announce a new endowment fund that was established by members of the Notre Dame Naples Club in honor of Father Thomas Glackin. The Fr. Thomas J. Glackin Memorial Scholarship Fund was established to provide need-based tuition assistance to financially needy Catholic students at St. John Neumann Catholic High School in Naples, Florida. The Club is asking all those interested in honoring Father Glackin to contribute to the Memorial Fund as a way to remember him.
Father Glackin served as the Chaplain of the Notre Dame Naples Club for more than 20 years. In addition to being an avid Notre Dame fan, Father Tom was a force behind the establishment of both St. John the Evangelist Catholic Church in Naples and St. Agnes Catholic Church in Naples.
You can also contact the Catholic Community Foundation by phone at 941-441-1124, by email at Morse@dioceseofvenice.org, or by mail at 1000 Pinebrook Rd., Venice, FL 34285
November 1-7, 2020 is National Vocation Awareness Week, when the entire U.S. Church is focusing on vocations – specifically on encouraging young Catholics to seriously consider the priesthood and religious life.
The Church needs more priests and sisters and each of us has a role to play by talking to our children and grandchildren. “What do you want to be when you grow up?” In healthy, normal conversations about the future, we need to encourage boys and girls in our families to remain genuinely open to a vocation in the Church.
Invite young people. When we see teens and young adults in our parishes, encourage them! Do not be afraid to say, “I think you’d make a great priest/sister if God were calling you!” Even if they are not called, it is a compliment to their faith – one they will never forget.
Aside from our decision to follow Jesus, our vocation is life’s most important decision. Whether we are called to serve God through the priesthood, religious life, marriage, or single life, we must act when the time comes. Move in the direction your heart tells you, confident that God will never send you where his grace cannot sustain you.
Currently, the Diocese of Venice is training and supporting 16 seminarians to be the priests and pastors of tomorrow and annually spends more than $1.1 Million to cover the costs related to Vocations and Clergy Formation. To help address this expense, the Timothy Fund was created with the Catholic Community Foundation of Southwest Florida. The fund is named after St. Paul’s disciple who eventually became the first Bishop of Ephesus.
The Timothy Fund is an endowed fund that is designed to last in perpetuity by investing the principal and using the earnings to make annual distributions to the Diocese of Venice is support of seminarian education. The fund is a perpetual gift to the people of the Diocese for the future of our Church.
You already know the joy that comes from sharing with the less fortunate. Think about the joy that will be yours when you know you have created a legacy that will provide priests to the Diocese forever. You will share in the blessings of all the lives they touch because you made it possible.
If you, or someone you know, are discerning your vocation to the priesthood or religious life, please
contact the Diocese of Venice Office of Vocations. Please also consider these three tips from Vianney Vocations for figuring out your call:
Find good information. Dig into the books, websites, and videos that present a clear Catholic view.
Seek Guidance. Get help from a priest, deacon, or sister you trust. Do not discern alone.
Pray Consistently. Seek the sacraments and pray daily to know God’s plan for you. Be patient and give it time. In His will is your peace.
If you are interested in learning more about supporting the future of our Church through the Timothy Fund, or establishing your own named fund, please contact Michael Morse at 941-441-1124 or by email at Morse@dioceseofvenice.org.
On April 9, 2018, the very first Donor Advised Fund (DAF) with the Catholic Community Foundation of Southwest Florida was established by Janine Marrone. Since that time, $731,250 in grants from the DAF has been distributed to numerous Catholic entities within the Diocese of Venice in Florida as well as to multiple pro-life organizations and Catholic causes throughout the United States.
The idea of a Donor Advised Fund was not new to Mrs. Marrone. In fact, she already had a DAF at another community foundation that had been serving her well. What interested Mrs. Marrone the most however, was the Faith-based aspect of the Catholic Community Foundation (CCF).
As a person deeply rooted in her Catholic Faith, Mrs. Marrone was very attracted to the fact that the CCF will only support organizations whose missions and purposes are in alignment with the teachings of the Catholic Church. In addition, donor funds are invested in accordance with the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Guidelines for Socially Responsible Investments.
Mrs. Marrone looks at her Donor Advised Fund with the Catholic Community Foundation as her “Catholic charitable checkbook” and uses it to make all her faith-based charitable gifts. When she deposits money, or appreciated assets, into her DAF, she receives an immediate tax deduction. She then decides over time where she wants her gifts to go. It can be used right away or used over a period of weeks, months, or even years. Mrs. Marrone can even choose to invest her DAF in the CCF’s investment pool and have it grow tax-free until she is ready to use it.
Faith-filled donors like Mrs. Marrone make it possible for the Catholic Church to serve as the hands and feet of Christ by providing resources to countless individuals and families, by saving lives, by educating our youth, and by sharing the Gospel with all of God’s people.
If you are interested in learning more about establishing your Catholic Legacy through a Donor Advised Fund, Endowment Fund, Bequest or other type of gift through the Catholic Community Foundation, please contact Michael Morse at 941-441-1124 or by email at Morse@dioceseofvenice.org.
Catholic Community Foundation of Southwest Florida has partnered with the Diocese of Venice Parishes and local estate planning experts to host a complimentary workshop, which will provide participants with the knowledge they need to make critical health, legal and financial decisions for themselves and/or a loved one.
Attendees will obtain important information on:
Avoiding Guardianship, Wills vs. Trusts, Probate, Durable Power of Attorney, Beneficiary Designations, Healthcare Surrogates, Advanced Directives, Financial Planning, and more.
Referrals to Catholic attorneys and financial advisors available to those interested & an Estate Planning Record Book to take home.
This year, the Catholic Community Foundation of Southwest Florida, Inc. has awarded 39 deserving students from throughout the Diocese of Venice with college scholarships totaling $110,400. These awards were made possible by way of three different scholarship funds established by donors with the Catholic Community Foundation. Scholarship funds are wonderful ways to honor or memorialize friends, teachers, family members or other loved ones passionate about the importance of education.
Scholarship funds, like the Mary Fran Carroll Scholarship, serve as a powerful Catholic Legacy to support and encourage students. This scholarship is awarded to both traditional and non-traditional students in Sarasota County who have articulated a focused career plan along with how they expect to help the community with their chosen career. This year, 11 new students received the Mary Fran Carroll Scholarship along with 23 students who successfully renewed their scholarship by maintaining a high grade point average while in college.
The Frank & Florence Coseglia Scholarship is awarded to one graduating senior from each of the four Catholic High Schools within the Diocese of Venice. The four winners were recognized for their academic standing, service to their Parish and School, as well as an essay on what their Catholic Education has meant to them.
The Catholic Community Foundation added a new scholarship this year. The Frederick W. Schaerf, M.D., Ph.D. Neuroscience Scholarship is awarded to a graduating senior from Bishop Verot Catholic High School in Fort Myers who is interested in pursuing a career in neuroscience or similar field. The family chose to create the scholarship to honor the late Dr. Schaerf, who specialized in clinical research associated with Alzheimer’s disease and related memory disorders.
The Catholic Community Foundation of Southwest Florida, Inc. supports the mission of Christ in the Diocese of Venice by providing philanthropic opportunities for individuals and families to create lasting Catholic Legacies. It is also the only foundation in Southwest Florida that invests donor gifts in alignment with the teachings of the Catholic Church.
During the fiscal year ending June 30, 2020, the Catholic Community Foundation of Southwest Florida distributed more than $1.38 million from endowment, scholarship, donor advised and fiscal sponsorship funds to Parishes, Schools and programs throughout the Diocese of Venice and beyond.
This funding was made possible because of the generosity of donors who wanted to provide long-term support and sustainability to the Catholic entities and programs about which they care most. These donors chose to give through the Catholic Community Foundation to help safeguard their assets and to ensure that their donations would always be used in alignment with their wishes.
In addition to distributing $1.38 million this past fiscal year from existing donor funds, the Foundation also work with donors to open eighteen new funds to benefit Parishes, Catholic Education, Vocations and other programs throughout the Diocese. These new funds bring the total number of donor funds with the Foundation to 110 and represents a 69% increase over the past four years.
The Catholic Community Foundation of Southwest Florida, Inc. supports the mission of Christ in the Diocese of Venice by providing philanthropic opportunities for individuals and families to create lasting Catholic Legacies. It is also the only foundation in Southwest Florida that invests donor gifts in alignment with the teachings of the Catholic Church.
AmazonSmile is a simple way to support the mission of the Catholic Community Foundation every time you shop with no fees or extra cost to you. AmazonSmile is available at smile.amazon.com on your web browser and can be activated in the Amazon Shopping app for iOS and Android phones. When you shop with AmazonSmile, you will find the exact same low prices, vast selection, and convenient shopping experience as Amazon.com, with the added benefit that AmazonSmile will donate 0.5% of your eligible purchases to the Foundation.
November 1-7, 2020 is National Vocation Awareness Week, when the entire U.S. Church is focusing on vocations – specifically on encouraging young Catholics to seriously consider the priesthood and religious life.
On April 9, 2018, the very first Donor Advised Fund (DAF) with the Catholic Community Foundation of Southwest Florida was established by Janine Marrone. Since that time, $731,250 in grants from the DAF has been distributed to numerous Catholic entities within the Diocese of Venice in Florida as well as to multiple pro-life organizations and Catholic causes throughout the United States.
This year, the Catholic Community Foundation of Southwest Florida, Inc. has awarded 39 deserving students from throughout the Diocese of Venice with college scholarships totaling $110,400. These awards were made possible by way of three different scholarship funds established by donors with the Catholic Community Foundation. Scholarship funds are wonderful ways to honor or memorialize friends, teachers, family members or other loved ones passionate about the importance of education.
During the fiscal year ending June 30, 2020, the Catholic Community Foundation of Southwest Florida distributed more than $1.38 million from endowment, scholarship, donor advised and fiscal sponsorship funds to Parishes, Schools and programs throughout the Diocese of Venice and beyond.