The non-profit Tucson Centurions are no longer raising money for the Carondelet Health Network.
Rather than being a booster group for the non-profit Catholic hospital chain, the men’s philanthropic organization is an independent 501(c)3, and says it will now be able to support a wide range of charitable projects in Southern Arizona.
The timing coincides with an expected Carondelet ownership change, where for-profit Tenet Healthcare of Texas will be entering into a joint venture with California-based non-profit Dignity Health and Missouri-based non-profit Ascension. Ascension is currently the sole owner. Under the ownership change, Tenet is expected to be the majority owner.
“Unfortunately the changes at the Carondelet Health Network didn’t coincide with our charter,” fundraising event chairman and Centurions vice president Tony Poe said Friday. “We had to make a decision. We really enjoyed our relationship with Carondelet.”
The Centurions say they have raised almost $7 million for Carondelet hospital and healthcare projects since 1969, and most recently completed a $2 million capital campaign.
The Centurions’ annual fundraising event, set for May 9, will for the first time not benefit Carondelet. Rather, funds will go to Tu Nidito, a Tucson non-profit dedicated to supporting children affected by serious medical conditions and death. The annual event typically raises $300,000 to $500,000, the Centurions say.
Poe said the Centurions, which includes 100 active members and 240 senior and life supporting members, never thought about disbanding. The group began as a group of men, mostly local business leaders, who wanted to make Tucson a better place. That mission hasn’t changed, nor has their enthusiasm for giving, Poe said.
“We’ve got a really great reputation in the community and we’ve got a bunch of business leaders who want to contribute and make the community a stronger and more desirable place to live,” he said.
The Centurions’ website says that 2015 is a “new chapter” for the organization, which formed in 1969 to support the burn unit at Carondelet St. Mary’s Hospital.
The group subsequently became an associate support group of all Carondelet hospitals — Carondelet St. Mary’s and Carondelet St. Joseph’s in Tucson and Carondelet Holy Cross in Nogales.
Officials with the Carondelet Health Network said the decision for the Centurions to become an independent organization was a mutual one.
“The Centurions are a valuable civic and fundraising organization in our community,” an emailed statement from Carondelet spokeswoman Lisa Contreras says.
“As Carondelet moves forward with our corporate transition, the two parties mutually agreed that the best way for the Centurions to continue to serve their mission was to become an independent organization We greatly appreciate their 45 years of service to our hospitals and are pleased to know that this year’s recipient will be Tu Nidito.”
There’s no word yet on what will happen with the Carondelet Foundation, which is the philanthropic arm of the Carondelet Health Network. It was established in 1993 as a 501(c)3 organization, and is governed by a board of trustees comprised of Southern Arizona community and business leaders.
“When the work to form the new joint venture is completed by the partnering organizations, we will share details with the community,” Contreras wrote. “We will not comment on any specific details until the transaction terms are final.”
When the local non-profit University of Arizona Health Network merged with Phoenix-based non-profit Banner Health earlier this year, the philanthropic arm of Tucson’s only medical center — the UMC Foundation — became part of the Banner Health Foundation.
Banner-University Medical Center Tucson spokeswoman Katie Riley said Friday that all dollars donated to the UMC Foundation will continue to support the programs and entities in Tucson for which they were donated.
