A $500,000 gift from the trusts of Ralph C. Wilson Jr.’s late daughters will support the Detroit riverfront park named for their father.

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A million dollars from the trusts of two of Ralph C. Wilson Jr.’s daughters, both deceased, will go toward a relocated Barkyard, Buffalo’s first dog park, and a planned entry garden by a pedestrian bridge that will be built in the park named in his honor.  

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A cross-sector group of government and nonprofit leaders in Pontiac is working to finalize data-driven goals for the next five to 10 years to help spur economic growth and revitalization in the city.

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The Ralph C. Wilson Jr. Foundation is putting $3 million in grants behind afterschool programs inspired by feedback it solicited from 1,000 high school students.

The foundation last fall paid 1,000 high school students across its focus areas of Southeast Michigan and Western New York $1,000 each for their year-long participation in a project dubbed “Generator Z.”

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With the groundbreaking for a transformed Ralph C. Wilson Jr. Centennial Park one year away, the question of who will operate and maintain the park has become clear.

A newly-established not-for-profit called the Ralph Wilson Park Conservancy will be in charge.

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Parks and trails have always been a big part of the Western New York experience, but their prominence and accessibility have grown significantly in recent years thanks to the support of the Ralph C. Wilson Jr. Foundation.

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Watch the ESPN award announcement made on SportsCenter last month.

The Ralph C. Wilson, Jr. Foundation was honored to be named the recipient of ESPN’s inaugural Sports Philanthropist of the Year honor as part of its 2020 Sports Humanitarian Awards. We’re proud to share and celebrate this recognition with our amazing Project Play Western New York and Project Play Southeast Michigan partners, and incredible grantees that are working each and every day to provide equitable access and a better youth sport experience for all children. 

We are excited to announce that as part of this special recognition ESPN Citizenship is directing a $100,000 charitable donation in our honor. We have requested their donation be split equally between our two regions, to support COVID-safe play initiatives being led by our Project Play partners. This includes a mini-grant program in Western New York and the Project Play Kit project in Southeast Michigan providing sports equipment, games and activity ideas for home play. More details will be shared in the coming weeks. 

And be sure to check out this great recap by Tom Farrey, executive director of Aspen’s Sports & Society Program, reflecting on the #DontRetireKid campaign we helped to launch together nearly a year ago with ESPN and our Project Play 2020 partners.

The Ralph C. Wilson, Jr. Foundation recently announced more than $1 million in grants to support small, home-based childcare providers through the “Small Grants for Small Children” program. The funds were granted to four Western New York-based community foundations to cover nine counties across the region.

“Childcare is essential now more than ever,” said Amber Slichta, vice president of programs at the Ralph C. Wilson, Jr. Foundation. “Small home-based childcare providers rarely qualify for support and in turn, do not view themselves as small businesses. It’s important that we continue to fill these gaps and uplift these providers, as they are often the only option for working families in rural areas and urban neighborhoods.”

Grants were distributed to the following:

• Cattaraugus Region Community Foundation – $50,000 for Cattaraugus County
• Chautauqua Region Community Foundation – $100,00 for Chautauqua County
• Community Foundation for Greater Buffalo – $516,000 for Erie, Niagara, Wyoming and Allegany counties
• Rochester Area Community Foundation – $384,000 for Genesee, Monroe and Orleans counties

These foundations will work with local child care resource and referral agencies to distribute grants of up to $2,000 to nearly 525 small home-based childcare providers across Western New York. Childcare providers will have flexibility to use the funds as they best see fit to help them re-open or remain open to continue to provide high quality care to children.

“As we begin the reopening process here in Cattaraugus County, childcare will be more important than ever,” said Cattaragus Region Community Foundation Executive Director Karen Niemic Buchheit. “Many people will be returning to work for the first time in months to provide for their families, and they need dependable, safe childcare to make that possible. It is a crucial piece of how we can begin to move into the ‘new normal’ for our community.”

“We are so pleased to partner with the Ralph C. Wilson, Jr. Foundation on this important grant,” said Tory Irgang, Chautauqua Region Community Foundation executive director. “Their quick response to the needs of childcare providers in making this funding available was amazing. These are dollars are helping our childcare providers remain viable during the most challenging circumstances they have ever faced.”

“As we move toward COVID-19 recovery efforts in our community, these childcare grants made possible by the generosity of the Ralph C. Wilson, Jr. Foundation will make a big impact in Western New York,” said Betsy Constantine, Executive Vice President, Community Foundation for Greater Buffalo. “The regional collaboration between the foundations and the Childcare Resource Networks will ensure that we can support childcare providers during a critical time of building back in our community.”

“In-home childcare has always been in demand. But the pandemic has more families looking at home-based childcare as a way to minimize their children’s exposure to large numbers of other children and adults,” says Jennifer Leonard, the Rochester Area Community Foundation’s president and CEO. “This sudden need by families during an already difficult time has placed a great deal of strain on home care providers who want to help.”

During the pandemic, childcare providers have been struggling to accommodate the changing needs of families and balance this with their own needs for reliable income and fears of being exposed to COVID-19. Most challenged are the small home-based childcare programs that serve between three and twelve children. Currently, they are ineligible for many of the Federal and State supports available to small businesses. This is exacerbated by the fact that most programs supporting small business do not have childcare on their radar.

This program is modeled after the long-standing Small Grants to Small Children developed by the Adirondack Foundation.

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The Cattaraugus Region Community Foundation is the area’s supportive, responsive and trusted community foundation. Established in 1994, CRCF is growing good by connecting donors to the causes they care about most in the region. Grants from the foundation support many areas, including education, scholarships, health care, the arts, community development, human service, and youth development. To learn more, call (716) 301-CRCF (2723), email foundation@cattfoundation.org, or visit online at www.cattfoundation.org. CRCF is also on Facebook (facebook.com/cattfoundation) and Twitter (@CattFoundation).

The Chautauqua Region Community Foundation is a tax-exempt, grantmaking organization that serves the charitable purpose of benefitting the people of the Chautauqua Region. Since 1978, the Foundation has helped donors make a positive impact on their community. In 2019, the Foundation awarded $3,385,723 to the community in the form of grants and scholarships.  

For more than a century, the Community Foundation for Greater Buffalo has enhanced and encouraged long-term philanthropy in the Western New York community. A 501 (c)(3) organization, the Community Foundation’s mission is: Connecting people, ideas and resources to improve lives in Western New York. Established in 1919, the Community Foundation has made the most of the generosity of individuals, families, foundations and organizations who entrust charitable assets to the Community Foundation’s care. Learn more at cfgb.org.

The Ralph C. Wilson, Jr. Foundation is a grantmaking organization dedicated primarily to sustained investment in the quality of life of the people of Southeast Michigan and Western New York. The two areas reflect Ralph C. Wilson, Jr.’s devotion to his hometown of Detroit and greater Buffalo, home of his Buffalo Bills franchise. Prior to his passing in 2014, Mr. Wilson requested that a significant share of his estate be used to continue a life-long generosity of spirit by funding the Foundation that bears his name. The Foundation has a grantmaking capacity of $1.2 billion over a 20-year period, which expires January 8, 2035. This structure is consistent with Mr. Wilson’s desire for the Foundation’s impact to be immediate, substantial, measurable and overseen by those who knew him best. 

We are heartbroken over the continued pain and loss within our African-American community. We remain committed – as a Foundation, as Trustees, as individual staff, as human beings – to deepen our listening, and address inequalities through our work. 

We hope that peaceful protests and dialogue can heal relationships between our communities, dedicated law enforcement members, and the small businesses that have been impacted throughout our regions.

We continue to see and hear the need to actively work together and renew our commitment to creating a better world, one that clearly recognizes inequities and seeks to eliminate them. While there is a long, challenging road ahead, we remain certain that through our collective and collaborative actions, we can together create the change required to build a better, more equitable and just world.

Dear friends and partners,

In accordance with guidance and recommendations from the Centers for Disease Control and the State of Michigan to mitigate community spread of COVID-19, the Ralph C. Wilson, Jr. Foundation has closed its physical office in Detroit effective today.

As the coronavirus situation unfolds we will continue to review potential reopening on an ongoing basis, which would happen, at earliest on April 6^th. In addition, the Foundation is imposing a ban on travel and all in-person meetings through April 20^th, at which point we will reassess.

During this time our staff will remain active and committed to our work and communities, and will be accessible via email, phone and remote meeting technologies. We will also continue to process grant payments through our usual means, and organizations may continue to apply for grants through our Fluxx system. Grantee updates related to report deadlines and other related adjustments can continue to be shared via the Fluxx system for active grants.

We want to assure each of our grantees that we understand your work will undoubtedly be affected during this time, including, but certainly not limited to, the cancelation of events/convenings and other necessary program delivery changes and adjustments that will need to occur. And, many of you are working through very real concerns about how this situation will affect your day-to-day operations. Our staff recognizes these concerns and will have flexibility in working with each of you around potential impacts.

Your service and commitment to our communities is critical, especially during these times of uncertainty and crisis. We are grateful for each of you and know that our communities will rise to the challenges that will undoubtedly face us in the coming weeks and months.

We will continue to monitor this evolving situation and, of course, work with our partners on how we can best serve our communities.

Sincerely,

David Egner
President and CEO
Ralph C. Wilson, Jr. Foundation