MAIL

You can mail a check to the office at :

Catholic Education Foundation
Diocese of Joliet
16555 Weber Road
Crest Hill, IL 60403

STOCK DONATIONS

A gift of stock is an excellent way to support Catholic education. If the stock has appreciated in value, your gift may now be worth significantly more than your initial cost, and in most cases, you will be able to avoid capital gains tax on the appreciation. It is really simple to make a gift of stock to the CEF.
To donate a gift of stock, click here for step-by-step instructions.

PLANNED GIVING

Leave a gift to the Catholic Education Foundation in your will or estate planning trust. Our team can ensure your planned gift is unique to you and the things you care about, and help you make an impact well into the future. Click here to learn more about your planned giving options.

CREATE AN ENDOWED OR CURRENT-USE SCHOLARSHIP

Donors can create an endowed or current-use scholarship, which can offer an opportunity to honor a loved one or a favorite teacher, or support a parish school, while providing support for the current generation of Catholic school students. To learn more about creating a scholarship fund click here

Catholic education thrives on the involvement of volunteers. At the Catholic Education Foundation, we have many volunteer opportunities throughout the year. Contact the CEF at 815-221-6131 to learn more.

The Women’s Giving Circle is a component fund of the Catholic Education Foundation that allows for each member to have personal involvement in the decision-making process. Every dollar creates real and sustainable change by funding programs for our Catholic schools.

Membership contributions are pooled together into one fund. At the annual Spring luncheon Giving Circle Members will decide by vote which projects and opportunities to fund based on grant proposals submitted by diocesan school teachers. The larger our membership, the more projects we can fund!

We invite women of all ages to join the Women’s Giving Circle. Please become a member at whatever commitment level is comfortable for you or share your time and talent. Please complete the form below and someone will get back to you with more information on membership to the Women’s Giving Circle.

For Donations:

Mail your check to our office at:
Catholic Education Foundation

Diocese of Joliet
16555 Weber Road
Crest Hill, IL 60403

OR save a stamp and donate easily and safely online with a credit
or debit card by clicking on the link below.

Certain smells from childhood cannot be forgotten. We can all remember those scents of a brand-new school year. The smell of pencil shavings from a new package of pencils or the fresh smell of wax from a full box of perfect crayons can take us back to our first days of school.

This was true in the New Testament as well. There were smells that a person living in Roman-conquered cities could not forget following a Roman triumphal procession. Scents of the conquering generals’ incense, legions of soldiers and calvary, and packs of people were strongly tied to the people in Corinth’s memories. St. Paul uses those memories to parallel Christ’s triumphal procession as one that spreads the knowledge of him everywhere. He asks us to spread the Gospel through our actions: “For we are the aroma of Christ for God among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing.” 2 Corinthians 2:15

We are the new pencils and fresh crayons in the lives of those we meet. We are called to make Christ present on earth and spread the Gospel as a fragrant scent. None of us alone can address problems like hunger, poverty, or disease, but when we invest in Catholic education, we equip students with the skills to become wise and just leaders prepared to answer the complexities of a dynamic and ever-changing world. As our students move on, they translate their faith, skills, and academics into actions that transform the world. Their actions carry the scent of Christ filling the air.

Each year, applicants to the Catholic Education Foundation have more than $16 million in verified need, however, with $3 million in annual funding, half of the applicants are turned away. But you can change that!

Every gift makes an impact and provides financial assistance to students in the Diocese of Joliet. Please help us deliver the promise of Catholic education by sending a gift of “Ask” to the CEF today.

Thank you for your support and may the aroma of Christ precede you now and forever!

Pax,

Most Reverend Ronald A. Hicks

Bishop of Joliet