Rochester Business Journal

Thomas Golisano will give $10.2 million to the B. Thomas Golisano Foundation, the largest gift in the foundation’s history, the organization’s officials said Tuesday.

The donation also is the largest Golisano, founder and chairman of Paychex Inc., has made to any organization since donating $14 million to Golisano Children’s Hospital at the University of Rochester Medical Center in 2002.

Ann Costello, the foundation’s director, said the gift will help increase support for organizations dedicated to serving individuals with developmental disabilities in the Rochester area. This is especially important given the difficult climate for endowments, she said.

The foundation is one of the largest private foundations in the nation devoted exclusively to supporting programs for people with developmental disabilities by integrating independence, self-determination and productivity into all facets of their lives. In the past three years it has awarded grants totaling $3.8 million to 78 organizations.

“Throughout our history and especially in the last few years, we have worked to transform the community’s understanding of people with intellectual disabilities and partner with organizations that are allowing people to be more who they are and share their abilities,” Costello said. “We have come a long way, but we have a lot more to do here, especially for young adults as they transition from school age to adulthood.”

The economic climate is equally difficult for the organizations serving the developmentally disabled, said Daniel Meyers, president of the Al Sigl Community of Agencies. Golisano’s investment will help create a measure of stability and allow organization to look to the future, he said.

“This is a forward-looking investment that is going to help create a pathway of new services leading to the kind of future in which we all so dearly want to believe,” Meyers said. “Before long we will look back and say, look at this network that has been put together.”

Golisano recently hosted a private meeting with the region’s university and college presidents to discuss the foundation’s goal of enhancing transition services, foundation officials said. The focus was on campus-based options for young adults with developmental disabilities and encouraging more opportunities for them to experience the higher education environment.

The meeting showcased the work of the Golisano Foundation-funded Institute for Innovative Transition, a partnership of the Golisano Foundation and the University of Rochester housed at the Strong Center for Developmental Disabilities at Golisano Children’s Hospital, foundation officials said. The institute provides support to young adults, family members, local education institutions and agencies to address transition issues for individuals ages 14 to 25 with developmental disabilities.

Golisano said the discussion was “energetic and encouraging.”

“There is clearly tremendous potential for partnerships and movement in policy and culture change that can benefit the next generation of people in need of disability services,” Golisano said. “It is my hope that this gift will help advance this work and more.”

Founded in 1985 with an initial gift of $90,000 from Golisano, the foundation now has more than $28 million in gross assets and has awarded more than $13 million in grants to non-profit organizations in a multi-county region surrounding Rochester.

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