MEDIA ALERT                                               December 5, 2016
MEDIA CONTACTS
Golisano Foundation
Dalmath Associates (585) 586-6650
Tom Golisano and Golisano Foundation
Recognized on  Forbes' " Philanthropy's Big Bets
 for  Social Change"
List recognizes most promising philanthropic gifts aimed at 
solving global social problems 
ROCHESTER, NY --December 5, 2016--  U.S. businessman and philanthropist Tom Golisano and t he Golisano Foundation, one of the largest private foundations in the United States devoted exclusively to supporting programs for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities, have been recognized among the 30 great givers and causes on Forbes' " Philanthropy's Big Bets for Social Change of 2015. "

Nonprofit advisory firm The Bridgespan Group and Forbes magazine teamed up to showcase some of the largest, most promising philanthropic gifts aimed at solving social problems in the U.S. and around the globe. These  "big bets "  range in size from $25 million to more than $1.5 billion and include funding for a range of issues from providing scholarships for disadvantaged youth to efforts to vaccinate millions of children. The list will appear in the December 20, 2016  edition of Forbes and is available online now .

Tom Golisano and the Golisano Foundation have made a major global commitment to expand access to inclusive healthcare for people with intellectual disabilities, one of the most marginalized populations in the world who often receive virtually no health care at all. Golisano is doing this by partnering with Special Olympics, the largest global public health organization dedicated to serving people with intellectual disabilities. 

Through the launch of Healthy Communities in 2012 and its expansion in 2015, Tom Golisano has committed $37 million to expand Special Olympics' health-related services in more than 100 sites around the world. This model program addresses the severe health disparities faced by people with intellectual disabilities through immediate and long-term solutions. 

"Having activated year-round health programming in more than 55 locations since our launch, we are 'imagining the possibilities' and on our way to reaching our target of 100 Healthy Communities around the world within five years," said Ann Costello, executive director of the Golisano Foundation. "Although progress is steady and significant, the evidence still points to the need for more work. Too few people know the glaring and oftentimes preventable and treatable health problems experienced by people with intellectual disabilities. In communities around the world, people with intellectual disabilities are not receiving equitable health care."

Through the recent establishment of the Golisano Health Leadership Awards, individuals around the world -  from Paraguay to Romania, South Africa to Thailand and Golisano's home states of Florida and New York - are  being recognized by Special Olympics for their extraordinary progress in improving access to health care. The finalists will be announced in March 2017 in Austria at the Special Olympics World Games. 

Other donors on Forbes' list include  Bill and Melinda Gates, Michael Bloomberg, Donald E. Graham, William and Karen Ackman, David and Dana Dornsife, the John D. & Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, Lilly Endowment, the Rockefeller Foundation, and the David & Lucile Packard Foundation.
About Tom Golisano and the Golisano Foundation
Tom Golisano - entrepreneur, philanthropist, and civic leader - is the founder and chairman of the board of Paychex, Inc., headquartered in Rochester. With more than 12,000 employees and 100 office locations nationwide, Paychex is a leading national provider of payroll, human resource, and benefit outsourcing solutions for more than a half-million small and medium-sized businesses. Golisano's vision, perseverance and action have left an indelible mark on a broad spectrum of issues that touch our lives - in business, healthcare, education, voter policies, politics, and tax reform.  

Golisano's personal philanthropic contributions to hospitals, educational institutions and other organizations exceeds $260 million. A fierce advocate for dignity and inclusion, in 1985 Golisano applied his pioneering spirit to establish the Golisano Foundation to help make the world a better place for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities. The Golisano Foundation is now one of the largest private foundations in the United States devoted exclusively to supporting programs for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities. The Foundation recently celebrated its 30th year of "Imagining the Possibilities." With $33 million in gross assets it has awarded more than $21 million in grants, about $2 million annually, to non-profit organizations that serve people with intellectual and developmental disabilities.
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