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Ralph C. Wilson, Jr. Foundation Announces $200 Million Investment in Parks & Trails Initiative

The gift honors the Foundation’s namesake, Ralph C. Wilson, Jr, on the 100th anniversary of his birth and celebrates his legacy in the communities he was most devoted to. The funds will be split evenly, dedicating $100 million to each region to help develop signature legacy parks, advance the vision of completed regional trail systems, and support the sustainability of these public spaces. (more…)

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The Ralph C. Wilson, Jr. Foundation has announced its cohort for STEM 2035, a $5.5-million initiative through which grant funding and technical assistance will be provided to existing afterschool and summer STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) programs in Western New York and Southeast Michigan.

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In 2016, NPQ wrote about the founding of the Ralph C. Wilson Foundation in Michigan. The emergence of the new philanthropy was made notable by a number of factors, including its $1.2 billion endowment and the fact that it will sunset or spend down within twenty years of its founding.

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Ralph C. Wilson, Jr. Foundation Expands its Opportunity to Impact Caregivers with
$4 million Investment and Partnerships with the Michigan Health Endowment Fund and the Health Foundation for Western & Central New York

RCWJRF provides $2 million grant to each organization to endow new Program Officer positions focused on strategies and program to support caregivers of older adults, Kenneth M. Genewick joins the Health Foundation for Western & Central New York, Tim Niyonsenga joins the Michigan Health Endowment Fund.

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Play is critically important to a child’s development. Kids learn how to interact with the world around them through play. It helps them learn the cognitive, physical, social and emotional skills that they need to thrive. Play is considered so essential to child development that the United Nations High Commission for Human Rights see it as a right of every child.

Despite that, not many foundations support initiatives that support play outside of broader education work. However, there’s a small—and growing—number of funders that do. A recent gift that fits the bill came from the Ralph C. Wilson, Jr. Foundation.

Read the full article at Inside Philanthropy »

With the impending sale of the Buffalo Bills in 2014, most fans were united in anxiety over a single question — would the team be sold to an owner who would relocate the beloved franchise? It was a question that hung in the air for several years preceding the death of Ralph C. Wilson Jr., founding owner of the hometown team, and it intensified upon his passing in March 2014 at age 95. With so much focus on the negative possibilities surrounding the sale of the team, few in Western New York considered the incredible benefits the region could garner from the inevitable sale/

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The Ralph C. Wilson, Jr. Foundation has announced the launch of STEM 2035, an initiative aimed at strengthening the STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) pipeline in western New York and southeast Michigan.

Read the full article at Philanthropy News Digest »